Carly White

Why the Great ILS Debate?

Exhibit A: A graph from www.Quantcast.com showing a comparison of “the top” multifamily Internet Listing Sites.

Fact: A steady decline in traffic for the ILS’s since August 09. About a 50% reduction.

CW’s Opinion: It’s not just print that has been dying over the last few months.

Exhibit B: Another graph that compares three ILS’s monthly traffic with Craigslist.

Fact: Craigslist is KILLING IT. The traffic nearly doubles each year.

CW’s Opinion: The ILS’s loss in traffic is because people are hanging with Craig.

SF Found! @TonyHawk #THTH

Last week Tony Hawk (Twitter bio: professional skateboarder, dad, videogame character, husband, ceo, kid chauffeur) hosted a week long scavenger hunt on Twitter. The official #THTH (Tony Hawk Twitter Hunt) packages were hidden across the country and even in the UK. If you are one of his 1.7 million followers - you couldn’t have missed the frenzy. I actually wasn’t a follower until I saw my boyfriend @sacca tweet the following:

So I started following @TonyHawk. As a marketer and lover of the world wide webs, I was curious to understand the rules and clues that he was using to manage this Twitter first. I was also amused by how easily he authentically engaged and harnessed the positive energy. For example, everyone cheered and re-tweeted when a scavenger spoofed a find in NYC:

I hadn’t considered being a #THTH scavenger until I saw this tweet:

I immediately knew the location - I go there almost everyday. Fort Point is at the southern base of the Golden Gate Bridge and primarily frequented by runners, strollers, tourists and dogs. There was even one occasion when someone I know rode their Capri Blue Vespa past the ‘Area Closed’ sign to check the surf late at night. They were greeted by Troopers and advised not to pass that sign in the future…

Five minutes later after seeing the tweet I was out the door. On my way there, I went over the rules to scavenger hunting:

1. The clues are never literal. Flip, interpret, expand, question.
2. It helps to know what you are actually looking for. An elephant? An envelope? A person dressed like a clown?
3. Cover ground methodically, rather than like a wild animal.

I disregarded all of these tenants and covered 2.51 miles within a space of 300 feet. My Nike+ ipod sport kit confirmed this:

I got lucky with the Friday 9am clue drop. No one else was hunting. They were either in class, suited up downtown, across town, or in traffic. (@dpchmd1 traveled from Oakland and was the only other scavenger that showed up). I had no excuses for not finding the item. I broke apart the clues, wiped the fog from my eyes and pulled myself together. I first had a #THTH meltdown:

And then moments later behind a rock I found:

And then snapped this:

And then I had to figure out how to do this:

I’m keeping the board despite the pleas from my young nephew. As a marketer and a millennial, I can’t think of a better reminder (read: trophy) to symbolize infusing the value of play to create a diverse community to support a cause. I might even try to take it off some sweet jumps. Tony revealed the cause appropriately Friday afternoon and made contributing easy. Simply text RIDE to 90999 to donate to the building of a skate park in Watts. If you don’t do it for the Watts kids or for Tony, do it for me. I don’t mean to sound emo here, but for those of you who know me, the last few months have been ‘character building’. My personal ‘hunt’ has been challenging and my intuition has been kicked daily. But if I can unexpectedly find Tony Hawk’s skateboard, I might be able to find a few things that I know are out there for me.

Things I’ve learned lately

• When a lawyer sends you a letter, your lawyer gets to send one back. You get the bill.
• You can do everything right and have everything turn out seemingly wrong.
• 2T of coffee per 1 cup of water. Turn coffee pot on.
• Fake grass for an average backyard costs about $25,000.
• A Military Commissary sells food at cost + 5%. Don’t experience this if you do your shopping at Whole Foods or Ralphs with the civilians.
• If you think your job sucks, it probably does. Quit, move on.
• The RT’s are killing me. Please share an original thought for every RT.
• The golf champion Randy Ree loves me.
• Even a Lieutenant Colonel can’t escape Alzheimer’s.
• Doing couch time is the best sentence you can give yourself.