We have known Jim & Donna Klinge for over a dozen years, having met them in Carlsbad where our children went to the same school. As long time North County residents, it was a no- brainer for us to have the Klinges be our eyes and ears for San Diego real estate in general and North County in particular. As my military career caused our family to move all over the country and overseas to Asia, Europe and the Pacific, we trusted Jim and Donna to help keep our house in Carlsbad rented with reliable and respectful tenants for over 10 years.
Naturally, when the time came to sell our beloved Carlsbad home to pursue a rural lifestyle in retirement out of California, we could think of no better team to represent us than Jim and Donna. They immediately went to work to update our house built in 2004 to current-day standards and trends — in 2 short months they transformed it into a literal modern-day masterpiece. We trusted their judgement implicitly and followed 100% of their recommended changes. When our house finally came on the market, there was a blizzard of serious interest, we had multiple offers by the third day and it sold in just 5 days after a frenzied bidding war for 20% above our asking price! The investment we made in upgrades recommended by Jim and Donna yielded a 4-fold return, in the process setting a new high water mark for a house sold in our community.
In our view, there are no better real estate professionals in all of San Diego than Jim and Donna Klinge. Buying or selling, you must run and beg Jim and Donna Klinge to represent you! Our family will never forget Jim, Donna, and their whole team at Compass — we are forever grateful to them.
From what I could glean, he was heckling the deep pocket dudes, and he made some good points, particularly how late these guys are arriving to the game. Where were they when Zillow was just gaining their sea legs? That was the time to get competitive, ruthless, and cocky. The reason Zillow exists is because Facebook and others were too busy to pay zillow upstarts much mind. Zillow was just an outlier, below the radar of Facebook’s, or whomever’s broader goals.
Strategically, the new boys should look to specifically service a small exclusive market, achieve success in that market, which gives them some social cache, then spread out a little at a time.
That’s how Facebook essentially closed down MySpace. They were exclusive to Harvard students. Then Harvard professors, then Harvard alumni, then guests invited by alumni, which is about the time I heard of it.
My initial reaction was “thank god. A professional environment sans the trailer trash riff raff, and general chaos inevitably generated by the idiot teeming masses. Soon, I can ignore MySpace altogether.” Then Facebook decided to become the AOL of the millennial generation. That’s all they are, about now.. AOL with superior algorithms, and is now the center-stage tragic social sh~tshow of our time. Just like AOL was in their time. AOL used to be considered invincible. Now they’re embarrassing, even though Facebook is roughly the same hot mess. Their time to be an embarrassment is probably coming, if not anti-monopoly legislation.
Facebook won’t be innovating much in social media, since there’s not a lot of great insights or judgements that can be made in that marketplace by a guy with aspergers. All they’ll be up in the future to is making specific apologies for aspergery choices.
If you service a tight, exclusive qualified market, with quality service, and succeed, like early Facebook, you can branch out to service those still stuck in the current morass, who are desperate for what you offer. If you scatter out from the get-go, or service anyone with a down payment and a pulse, you’ll get hosed.
Facebook virtually ignored MySpace, and played their own game to a specific membership while MySpace exhausted itself trying to please professionals, as well as Cousin Deeter stuck in a Mississippi trailer park with his animated gif collection.
Don’t be like MySpace.