About Me

 “Buckhead Atlanta” Endorsed by Sam Massell and Buckhead Coalition – 

“Buckhead Mayor” Sam Massell endorsed the term in December 2011 during a Bisnow commercial real estate conference, and the Buckhead Coalition has labeled Buckhead that way, as of their new website last June (2020). Since December 2019, I have been writing on BuckheadAtlanta.co and switched it to BuckheadAtlanta.us in June 2020.

Origins of Social Media Marketing – You See What Others Don’t See

1968 – Heart of the GenX Generation

     Those born in 1968 (“68ers”) and now in 2020 have a deep connection – being born in the year when one generation of the United States way of life passed away and another one began, along with an extraordinary vision for the future and respect and understanding of the past. For the 68ers, seeing possibilities of technology remains a core of our collective DNA. We grew up with the old technologies, including writing papers on typewriters, and imagination and vision of how much easier the work would be on something more than a 640K one, along with the other technologies once they reached the consumer market.

     My 68ers vision plus a unique history enabled me to see that Buckhead would become Buckhead Atlanta, leading to a Buckhead Coalition executive asking me if I had a degree in IT, back in October 2016, as I could easily be found on the internet for the neighborhood. He was surprised to learn that my undergrad degree was in Political Science and Master’s was in history. I was educated and raised on how to look for information that others could find. That education and upbringing provided the foundation for my applying the lessons to my vision to enabling others to find that information, specifically Buckhead Atlanta.

“See What Others Don’t See”

    In the mid-80s, at a New York City metropolitan mega department star, my dad gave me an exercise – stand in the middle of the crowd and observe what others don’t see. He was providing a foundational and formative lesson, based on his own training.

     By the late ‘80s, 1988-1989, the foundations of the internet, operating as institutions intranets with the knowledge that the former was coming, I gained more knowledge and first applied it in the Spring of 1990, and now most wholeheartedly in the past eight (8) years. 1988 Memorial Day weekend provided a formative conversation - as a close-friend and colleague of my paternal grandfather talked about how my “Bogat” helped a foreign police department, and saw how he could help himself. Collecting information was not the only way he gathered it. At a diplomatic event, while in his ‘50s, he climbed the rafters to see what some adversaries were doing.- - - Now, skip to the present starting in 2011 as I relied 1988 lessons from that conversation as it relates to Buckhead Atlanta. I learned this term would replace Buckhead as the top search platform; Buckhead “Mayor” Sam Massell endorsed it in December during a large Bisnow commercial real estate conference I attended. (I am a regular at the Bisnow ones.)

     In the Fall of 1989, a University of Vermont professor told me I had drive from Burlington down to Middlebury to get some documents for a term paper. In the Spring of 1990, not wanting to make the trip, I looked up UVM’s intranet. Guess what? I found them. Even funnier, these were the same ones my professor used for his dissertation. That search enabled him to provide more to his always excellent service. 

68ers in the 1990s – Using New Technologies for Real Estate

     When I started my real estate career, like other 68ers, somewhere in the 90s, we saw the limitations of the old technologies, respected the skills of the industry leaders, I knew more could be done when the technology had become more user-friendly. Here in Atlanta, we literally had the thick residential and commercial estate books and emerging computer databases. Both were needed to serve our clients as the online platforms emerged, and were starting to be used, in a limited capacity.

Getting My “Head Screwed on Straight” and Internet Visibility for Real Estate and Buckhead Atlanta

     10 screws in my neck, August 10th 2010, stands apart as the most important professional part of my professional development, because it combined my academic training as a writer and researcher with the vision of using the internet. That August, I barely escaped paralysis from a degenerative neck, compressed spinal cord bent in the wrong direction with multiple bone spurs. In order to stay credible during my recovery, I had to stay visible. I did, and thus emerged as a top influencer on LinkedIn and Twitter for commercial estate.

Internet Visibility – Unexpected Lesson in Small Market

     Surprisingly – in Montgomery, Alabama -  I learned that such internet visibility was necessary for old, established and actively producing companies to retain their prestige. A “good ole boy” commercial real estate asked for my help because their firm had lost some of its prestige to a young company, because they used the internet well.

Conclusion - Handwritten Notes + New Technologies = Buckhead Atlanta

By the late 2000s and very beginning of 2010s, such limitations had been removed. I saw and used it for my old-school practice of sending handwritten notes to my contacts. From 2006 to 2012, the ease of finding the business address for them improved dramatically. Using the same search terms in 2012, the information popped up immediately, while in 2006, one was lucky to find it. Both handwritten notes and new technologies remain essential.

In the core of 2006 – 2012 developments, Buckhead Atlanta emerged as the top search phrase for our neighborhood. 2011 was that pivotal year, and June of 2020 confirmed it when Oliver MacMillan, took over the Streets of Buckhead redevelopment and called it “Buckhead Atlanta” and Sam Massell that December endorsed the term for Buckhead at a Bisnow conference, one of many I regularly attend. In June 2020, the Buckhead Coalition launched its new website, a different name, but labels it “Buckhead Atlanta.” Since late 2019 I started writing on BuckheadAtlanta.co, and switched to BuckheadAlanta.us, other active but not touched, for obvious reasons.

Providing Health Insurance while being Top 101 Influencers on LinkedIn for Commercial Real Estate

Top 101 Influencers on LinkedIn for Commercial Real Estate

Having a big sale, on-site celebrity, or other event? Be sure to announce it so everybody knows and gets excited about it.

Most challenging race, physically and emotionally, as I had to learn how to run again.

2001 Marine Corps Marathon was my most pesronally rewarding one. 

Running a holiday sale or weekly special? Definitely promote it here to get customers excited about getting a sweet deal.

Have you opened a new location, redesigned your shop, or added a new product or service? Don't keep it to yourself, let folks know.

Customers have questions, you have answers. Display the most frequently asked questions, so everybody benefits.