Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2008 - (Page 20)

BUSINESS STRATEGIES Build a Better Business on an Interactive, Virtual Landscape Blogs, forums, social networking, web 2.0 – what does it all mean, and how does it affect your business as a developer? By Chris Yoko Yes, you use the Internet for your business. You send emails, visit websites, perhaps even instant message or use online video conferencing and document sharing tools. But there is much more to this new digital world out there and it is loaded with potential that is worthy of your attention. expanding a community that was becoming far too cramped. A proactive-outreach approach will help. Be as open and forthcoming as possible with information and invite local bloggers to take part in a bloggers’ virtual round table. Total disclosure will prevent the image that you are hiding something. Discuss upcoming projects with them and get feedback from the public common purpose—community interaction. Forums give people a chance to discuss topics at hand by exchanging clips of text and occasionally pictures that anyone can read and add to the discussion. These forums have become increasing popular for car clubs, sports teams, events etc. Homeowner Associations (HOAs) Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and Franchisees often use message boards to keep members in touch. Communities frequently have message boards to discuss common problems and the challenges they face. Whereas most forms of new media are concerned with creating fast interactions, forums are designed around the “cork board”, community center model. The idea is to post important information to be shared with the entire community. Monitoring these message boards is very simple, and can help you nip potential problems before they arise. Should someone post questions or concerns about a future project, you can quickly reply, to address the concerns, thus nullifying the problem before it becomes an issue. The effectiveness of the information-sharing media was made evident recently in Flagstaff, Arizona. Local residents used a community message board as the foundation for a petition drive to overturn a rezoning ordinance that had been passed to allow a developer to move forward with a multi-unit residential project. While the residents did eventually withdraw the petition, had the developer monitored the message boards and maintained open lines of communication throughout the process to quickly address concerns, delays and setbacks created by the petition could have been avoided. Blogs While there have been many innovations made in how we present, share and distribute information, none have been quite as popular, or widely quoted, as the blog. It gives everyone a chance to have a voice and, like it or hate it, almost everyone wants to share their opinion with the world. You’ve likely seen news reports quoting a blog about the most recent celebrity scandal or underhanded business deal. The main concern from a business standpoint is not if your company or your project will be mentioned in blogs, but about how they are treated. Dealing with bloggers often creates a level of transparency that companies are not comfortable with. There have been several cases of bloggers angrily typing away about a new development that replaces a playground, field or woods. They might discuss the unfriendly business practices of some developers who may not be using very earth-friendly products or practices. Conversely, bloggers might praise developers for coming in and cleaning up a neighborhood that was falling apart, or 20 September 2008 Sustainable Land Development Today through these filters. You can build a very strong outreach program, while keeping an ear to the ground for potential problems ahead. The last thing you want to see is your company getting pushback from the public before you’ve broken ground. Forums Forums, message boards, discussion boards, go by many names but have a

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2008

Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2008 Contents Our Voice The Bottomline Editorial Board SLDT Resources Digging Deep Oases of Capital Build a Better Business on an Interactive, Virtual Landscape Regulation SLDI in Focus �� SLDI Sponsored Summit �� Workshops �� Bookstore Tee’d Up for Sustainability Retention Solutions Wastewater Redevelopment Industry News Marketplace Products/Services Showcase Advertiser Index The Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2008

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