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Jeff Brinker

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Why can't you be self promotional if you are qualified?

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Orin Sherman MBA

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I see this under so people, not me of course but I wonder what's there?  Perhaps you should be given the option to turn it on or off because sometimes you wonder if the person is qualified to speak on the topic.
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July 07 - US
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sunnyview

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Oh thank goodness Pasa. I thought he was just talking about me. ;) Well, I am also not here selling anything and I owe my family more in the way of privacy than I owe the board in providing my professional background. I do my best to back up what I say with helpful links to solid info from other sources and I wish that agents/professionals would do the same. If I don't know, I admit it. I do not feel that I give advice that I am not qualified to give. Good advice is not guaranteed by a professional license. Just ask the people who trusted licensed professionals that lost 40% of their 401K or are underwater on their house. Since I do not charge for replies or earn commissions, I consider my advice worth exactly what people pay and most of the time I think they get more than their money's worth. My goal is to help people with no other motive.
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July 07
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Pasadenan

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And as to Orin's question about how to tell the "qualifications" of someone that refuses to give any information about themselves, except perhaps their "location"?  (Such as me...)

If I'm not here to "sell" anything, why should I give more personal information than I need to?  Of course I have "experience"; more so in some areas than others, same as anyone else.  Where I'm more qualified and more experienced, I will give more detailed answers.  Where I'm in an area that I'm not as familiar, I will either state it is an "opinion", or refrain from posting.  And really, if you have a variety of "opinions" posted, most people can tell the difference between a "good answer" and a "guess".  And if someone is "wrong" for a given situation and area, usually someone will post a "correction" (such as issues about wheither a given State is a "non-recourse" State or not, and how that would impact walking away from a loan).

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July 07
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Pasadenan

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Zillow provides everyone ample opportunity to "self promote" for "free" on their user profile, and every post has a link to the profile.

There is absolutely no reason to clutter the discussions with personal business references.  Primarily the reason is that people that are not here to "self promote" but are actually looking for information are "turned off" by self-promotion, and will go elsewhere.  Zillow knows they need "viewers" to make the site work as it is driven by advertisement revenue.  Zillow also knows that if everyone can post 20 advertisements per page for "free", that they will not "pay" for the "paid advertisements".  Thus, if you want an advertisement on a page, pay for it.  Otherwise, provide a "service", and people will use your "profile link" to find out more about you, and maybe contact you or go to your website...

If someone was just looking for "references", Zillow already has the "directory", so again, "self promotion" is not only a "distraction", but is destructive to Zillow's goals.
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1 Yes

July 07
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MJCLEAN

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Too many people think they are qualified to answer questions they know nothing about... Myself being one of them. Spam is an eye sore, and it detracts from the question at hand.
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1 Yes

July 07
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sunnyview

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Some people even if they are licensed professionals are not qualified to answer questions on certain subjects. That fact doesn't necessarily stop them from answering as an authority on the subject though. Mixing this type of professional "credibility" with the ability to self promote leads to a mix of bravado, lack of useful information and sales pitches that would quickly dominate the board like it does on Trulia.

The best way to self promote on Zillow is by providing useful information along with helpful links that people can use. Even authorities know when to use a solid reference and Zillow is no exception to that rule. Posters come to Zillow for opinion and information. Allowing self promotion would blur the line between the two and result in a room full of chest thumping experts posting hotlinks to their website and a hard sales pitch instead of information for posters coming to Zillow.
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1 Yes

July 07
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Nancy Lee, "An OrderLee Home"

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Plus, she said having given this a lot of thought since posting her initial reply, zillow gives back more than it asks.  The people posting here frequently have unique, complex situations.  Researching an answer gives you knowledge.  Getting that little thumb's up because your answer made sense and helped someone is deeply satisfying. 

Almost everyone who chooses to visit here frequently to read more questions and answers than they answer themselves, is in the service business.  We, agents, contractors, lenders, stagers all make our money by helping people.  If someone cannot see the personal value (to themselves) in offering their service to people who are otherwise lost, then they need to look at their own customer service attitude. 

Gosh, I was never a cheerleader in high school!
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July 07
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Nancy Lee, "An OrderLee Home"

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I think specialists prove their worth best by showing, not by saying. 

Every day on zillow, many, many professionals in a lot of different fields prove their value and competence and gladly give their time, to help people who are confused or in trouble.  Who do you trust?  The person who says they are good?  Or the person who proves they are good?
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July 07
 

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