From a Realtor.org article, we get this quote: "Laura Ellis, general sales manager for Baird & Warner's residential sales division, says when the company looked at its annual expenses, it discovered that the cost per desk of providing space for every associate is somewhere between $15,000 and $25,000, so cutting back provides a big savings."

Whether you agree with this cost estimate, even if yours is half this amount, it's a lot of money. In the new world of real estate brokerage, this is right next to marketing as a major portion of brokerage operation expenses. A couple of suggestions in this article bear examination, but sharing a "hot desk" could be far inferior to using an intranet to make your agents more mobile and able to serve clients wherever they are. Then, the only thing they need a desk at the office for is to meet clients who would rather travel in than be served in the location of their choice.

If carrying around a printer isn't something the agent wants to do, then try PrinterShare.com. Once a printer is set up online, if you are granted access, you can print to it over the Internet just like it is connected with a cable to your computer. So, agents can print to their home computer, or one at an office or branch office, from anywhere they are. Then, it's just a matter of picking up the document later.

Actually, I'm just about to go out dancing, so maybe I'm dancing away my sorrows. But, I don't think I'm that different from many in my experience of a significant drop in income in the last year. The question is, what are we really doing about it? And I don't mean drinking or dancing.

It would be a great help to others if you would share how you are coping with the down real estate market. And, if you have to brag because you're doing well, I guess that's OK too. But, I've put up a short article about cutting back during down markets, and there's a response module for your input as to how you're coping and what you're doing to cut costs, improve marketing, or any other changes you've made in this tough market.

Do the rest of us a favor and give us your tips here.

After spending the last few days blogging about keeping your Twitter and social network accounts more real estate related if they're for business, I'm swinging the other way today.

It's a whole new marketing world on the Web, so why do so many want to keep doing things the old way? I won't link, because this site is just one of many teaching this, but there was a long blog post today about getting your listings into your social network accounts. It went into great detail about multiple photos and good text. The whole article was teaching the Realtor how to place their listings on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

It's an American thing, like "biggie fries." The more the better, right? Getting a listing promoted everywhere possible is doing the best job for your client. Your client may think so, and it may help you to lock up a listing, but promoting every new listing on your business Twitter account, and where you hope to gain business on Facebook and LinkedIn just isn't a good thing to do.

I go into more detail about setting your business on fire here, but the gist is that you can get a huge amount of exposure for a listing by calling the media to a building-burning with a listing billboard out front. You get a huge media response, and lots of attention. How many of those news people and fire watching passersby do you think are in the market to buy a home like the one you have on the billboard? You know the answer.

It isn't a good thing for future clients to damage your business for the current listing. Pushing every new listing on your blog and social networks is throwing it at an audience of dubious current value, while you WILL cause some of your visitors to stop visiting by doing so.

When I think of real estate content for my blogs and social sites, I'm thinking of content that promotes myself, my business, and my expertise and credibility. There's plenty of that type of content in the form of market commentary and statistics. You'll never see one of my listings pushed that way. I create separate complete blog sites for each listing, then syndicate.

I'm on a roll with this social networking content discussion, so I'll keep going a while longer. I think, and I could be proved wrong, that the word "social" is taken a bit too literally on Twitter if you are using it for business.

Realtors, ever since they've been around, have been networkers, hand shakers, joiners and socializers to build their business. And, it does work quite well...when you're standing in front of the person. Presenting a good appearance, having an engaging personality, and being friendly definitely builds relationships, which build business.

A problem I see on Twitter is that I can't see you when you're being engaging (cute?). Even if you have a good image on your Twitter page, it can't provide the body language and verbal inflection that helps me to relate to what you're saying. And, when you're saying it in less than 140 characters, it better be good and get the point across. If I've never met you, as will be the case with most of your tweet readers, I have no idea of your personality. You can say something one way, and I'll read it in quite a different way.

If you build a Twitter presence just for socializing, have fun! But, if the reason it's there is to help you to build your real estate business, then a high noise ratio of "what I'm doing right now" tweets are just going to drive away people who might have become customers. Twitter accounts are free, so have a separate one for those who want to know your thoughts on Madonna's latest adoption.