In 2007, in the US alone, over 40,000 people died as a result of a road accident. Last month Oprah Winfrey launched a campaign against distracted driving resulting in two members of the Georgia House of Representatives introducing bills that attempt to ban texting will driving.
I have a different perspective on driving habits having been a “bobby” for several years. Unfortunately I attended countless road traffic accidents where, too often, I had to pick up dead bodies or body parts. As a result I get a little angrier than most when I see idiots driving while using their phone, putting on makeup or, as was the case recently, reading a book. I hope video blogging is soon added to the list of “really dumb things people are not allowed to do while driving”.
Over the last few weeks I’ve highlighted several videos of Realtors video blogging from their cars, a practice I will never understand.
In the following video, “Zillow.com is not enough!”, Tony Nguyen of www.tonyoc.com talks about why buyers and sellers need more than Zillow.com to get useful and correct property data.
While I don’t understand the location Tony does get ‘one thumb up’ for being stationary – not everyone is that clever. Let me introduce Century 21 agent Grant Wiebe who doesn’t even have the camera in front of him – he has to look backwards to maintain eye contact with his audience! Obviously real estate commentary is more important than road safety in Kelowna, BC.
And so to a possible source of the ‘idea’. Here is Kristin Lavanway who credit’s our earlier star Ian Watt with “the idea of the century”.
She explains “I think it’s probably one of the places where I get my best ideas, is in the car.” I get my best ideas while showering or on the toilet (it’s my only alone time) but that doesn’t mean I should film the event and share it for public consumption. But hey, perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps I should create a weekly “Video Blog While I Log!” and upload it to YouTube. Let me know your thoughts on that one.
But it gets worse. There’s even videos on how to perpetuate the stupidity. Let me introduce Grant Schultz of Real Estate Tech Talk. He actually ‘educates’ Realtors on how:
“You can get started in video blogging quickly, inexpensively and effectively”
I would add one more word: “Dangerously”.
And so to what I hope is the final video on this subject. I present Frankly News with Inman and his “Wheel Estate Cam”. I’ve highlighted Frank Borges LLosa of FranklyRealty before but this particular video highlights all the reasons for not simultaneously driving and blogging.
I’m not sure what order to put my thoughts in so I’ll just list them:
1. Everyone thinks they have above average driving skills. Do the math – that’s impossible.
2. ‘Virtual office’ isn’t supposed to mean a car.
3. The spinning video image makes me feel sick and stops me listening.
4. Instead of repositioning the camera on your steering wheel put it on your desk and focus on your driving!
5. I want to hear your opinion but only if you can give it to me without risking your life and the life of others around you.
6. When you look at the camera you aren’t looking at the road.
7. Do you know there are times when you have both hands off the wheel?
8. It looks like you started driving without even using your mirrors or looking behind you. Please tell me I’m wrong on this one.
9. Has it crossed your mind that if you ever have an accident these videos could be used in court as examples of how routinely distracted you are?
I don’t expect everyone to agree with me but I’m hoping it won’t take the death or injury of you, or a member of your family, to change the collective opinion. If you are a Realtor that wants to blog and drive (and therefore risk your life) please do it where you can’t hurt others. I find myself thinking “If Frank has an accident while recording a “Frankly News with Inman” video how culpable are Inman?” Brad, are you listening?
I kind of get it if you are driving around describing neighborhoods and imparting your knowledge if you were in the passenger seat.
But talking about instant messaging while driving – you got to be kidding me! That’s just a dangerous gimmick 🙁
Peter: I think you’ll find this interesting:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/25/texting-while-driving-psa_n_268482.html
OK… there’s a good reason why there are only a few select people who can make a career out of acting. Why? Because being effective in front of a camera is TOUGH!!! And I have yet to see a Realtor (with the exception of Ian Watt) who can do this effectively. In fact, I think many agents who are currently vlogging run the risk of destroying years of hard-earned RE experience in a single, poorly executed video.
There’s an agent in my area who touts fantastic numbers, and decades of experience — that’s great. But in his first attempt at video blogging, he looked like a deer in the headlights…eyes shifting as he read his TOTALLY SCRIPTED speech, robotic voice. I’m sure he’s a phenomenal agent – but you would have never known it from the video. Is this what happens when he’s in a tough negotiation? Of course not. But watching this poor guy struggle on video actually made me feel uncomfortable for him.
Honestly, none of the videos I saw above (and I watched them all) raised the stakes of any of those agents in my eyes. The background car noise, the “um’s” and “uh’s” and the general unpolished nature are borderline annoying. And the dude with the camera on the steering wheel? He lost me about the second time he rubbed his eyes. Hung over???
Point is this… First impressions are crucial. If done well, video can be a very effective tool at creating a strong first impression. But it’s double-edge sword that I think carries far more risk than reward. Stick to podcasting — you can do re-takes and edit it so that it actually keeps readers interested.
Just my $0.02…
Hi Chuck
I *really* appreciate you providing such a detailed response.
I agree that if done correctly video blogging is an excellent marketing option but it can do more harm than good. The content in some of the videos (esp from Ian Watt) is valuable and engaging but that holds true outside of a car.
I’d love to see more ‘vlogging’ or ‘blogio’ commentary from Realtors but it should be from the warm comfort of an office or a house or someplace safe.
Steve
“Video Blog While I Log!” – Now I am cleaning the coffee off my monitor. =)
😉
Stephen,
This has been one of my secret pet peeves when it comes to real estate video agitated all the more by the dramatic increase in agents using this “video blogging while driving” method.
I think what a lot of agents miss when going online with their marketing is the control factor. They’re in such a rush to adopt the latest trend in real estate marketing that they throw careful execution to the wayside.
Erion Shehaj at Signature Houston and Ines Hegedus-Garcia at Miamism are two standouts IMO because they do a great job with their videos (oh, and they’re not driving!)
I feel a blog post coming on! 🙂
Make sure you don’t turn on your radio or talk to your passenger while driving too.
😉
Frank,
What kind of car do you have? I like the color of the seats!
He looks like he just woke up in his car! Is his car his virtual home too??
Even in New Zealand, the in-car video would seem to be catching on.
http://3.ly/7hPz
Cheers
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Amazing cars..