The real issue is this, in my opinion:

The IC works very hard, they spend a lot of money, and the city looks beautiful. We all appreciate that, no doubt about it.

IC makes a lot of money renting retail locations and apartments, all across town. But in addition, there are people who are permanent residents, who own homes, neighbors. We drive by each other at least once a month, we are all neighbors to each other, and neighbors with the IC.

He who owns the land cares for the land. Homeowners, or the IC, we may own this and that, but we are actually stewards.  This is the land that we pass to our children, this is the land we love.

It is not the trees that make Irvine safe. It is not the desks that make our students the best. It is the people. It is the understanding that neighbors will do anything to help and protect their neighbors. This is love.

We are not only an online community, we ARE a community.  The ONLY people who have a vested interest in protecting and improving this great land are those who live here, those who buy here, those whose children go to school here. 

When it comes right down to it, we are fortunate that Irvine has so many great things. It is not perfect, but I will tell you right now, I have traveled to many many places, and Irvine is the best hands down. Best place to live, learn, work, love, and just be with your family.

In conclusion, if you live in the nicest place ever and your neighbor likes to play with knives, well then I don’t give a damn how nice it is, or how clean the streets are. I don’t want to get into a chicken-egg discussion, but imho, the people make this city great. They are educated, nice, respectful, and all around good people.  Sure there are bad apples but we pray that they know we love them.

We as neighbors always look out for each other, even if nothing is ever said.

.

Has anyone else noticed all the Woodbury East banner ads that Google has been serving up on the main blog?

IR

That is really very cool.

Those ads link right to TIC. Your site is being used by them via Google Ads and what are you getting ?  A few cents a click ? Google is the big winner here. I bet TIC is spending some major bucks on Google Ads that link with anything related to the Key Words they selected.
Like “Irvine Housing”. This may be a legitimate effort by them to place higher than you
on the Google Search Engine as well. You never know. They could have hired a consultant
to focus some effort on you after all ????

Yup, it seems that TIC’s web marketing team is definitely spending some money for the #1 PPC spot for “Irvine Housing” and “Irvine Homes” keywords.

I do like how this is the first google image that comes up under Irvine Housing:

bltserv - 20 July 2009 11:27 PM

IR

That is really very cool.

Those ads link right to TIC. Your site is being used by them via Google Ads and what are you getting ?  A few cents a click ? Google is the big winner here. I bet TIC is spending some major bucks on Google Ads that link with anything related to the Key Words they selected.
Like “Irvine Housing”. This may be a legitimate effort by them to place higher than you
on the Google Search Engine as well. You never know. They could have hired a consultant
to focus some effort on you after all ????

I had to learn how to set up an Adwords Campaign when I wrote the book. For a time I paid for traffic to visit the book’s website to generate sales.

Adwords gives you both the ability to select keywords and target specific websites. I targeted Mish’s Blog and Calculated Risk because I had the highest click-through rates on those sites. Plus they were the demographic most likely to be interested in the subject.

I suspect they have intentionally targeted the IHB. Given how much traffic we get from potential Irvine buyers, it is a good place to target good traffic. I just wish Google let me set the price….

IrvineRenter - 18 July 2009 05:14 PM

irvine123 - 18 July 2009 04:32 PM

Let me try to wear Irvine Company’s hat: what is the upside for me to openly join the discussions?

Coming to the open will put them in the position of answering consumer questions, and defending themselves. Why do that?

I have been reading many books on marketing lately, and I have read two recently on social media marketing (Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers, Free Prize Inside: How to Make a Purple Cow). I have been putting in my research time.

The upside for the Irvine Company is (1) the ability to directly assess the needs and wants of its customers, (2) they can correct misinformation, (3) they can add to the conversation and tell us some of the really cool things about Irvine that we don’t even know, (4) they get powerful word-of-mouth marketing at no cost.

They would not be here to answer complaints to take service actions, they have their own website and phone numbers for that.

The biggest advantage to the Irvine Company is for their marketing. They can spend millions of dollars broadcasting their message to the world, and they can reach many people and influence their decisions. However, anyone interested in Irvine real estate is likely to do a Google Search for an Irvine related topic, and a thread from this forum or a post on the IHB is going to come up. Our SEO makes it so people find us here. Once they find us, they can cut through the advertising messages and get answers from real people living real lives in Irvine. A response from this board will carry 100 times the weight of the Irvine Company advertising message. That is why they need to be here.

IMO, the Irvine Company would get a tremendous return on its marketing time and effort by having people only communicating with us on this forum. They won’t be able to control the message here, but they can help shape it by telling a compelling story that represents the truth of living in Irvine. This forum is one of the most powerful marketing voices because it is so real. All of us here believe in Irvine and what has been created as we choose to live here and live the dream. When the stories of marketing match the realities of the people living it, you have something very powerful. Participating here will help the Irvine Company make the most of it.

BTW, Zovall and I do not see this as a money making thing. We are not looking to partner with TIC or work out any financial arrangement. We want to promote this free community for all who wish to participate and make it be an authentic source of good information. We all benefit from that.

Sounds good on paper but after having to deal with Master developers (Going to thier meetings you want to shoot youself) for over 18 years and their way of doing things which is their way or the highway i do not ever want to have to deal with them again let alone hear their Propaganda. Sorry just my opinion.

OCCOBRA - 21 July 2009 03:59 AM

IrvineRenter - 18 July 2009 05:14 PM

irvine123 - 18 July 2009 04:32 PM

Let me try to wear Irvine Company’s hat: what is the upside for me to openly join the discussions?

Coming to the open will put them in the position of answering consumer questions, and defending themselves. Why do that?

I have been reading many books on marketing lately, and I have read two recently on social media marketing (Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers, Free Prize Inside: How to Make a Purple Cow). I have been putting in my research time.

The upside for the Irvine Company is (1) the ability to directly assess the needs and wants of its customers, (2) they can correct misinformation, (3) they can add to the conversation and tell us some of the really cool things about Irvine that we don’t even know, (4) they get powerful word-of-mouth marketing at no cost.

They would not be here to answer complaints to take service actions, they have their own website and phone numbers for that.

The biggest advantage to the Irvine Company is for their marketing. They can spend millions of dollars broadcasting their message to the world, and they can reach many people and influence their decisions. However, anyone interested in Irvine real estate is likely to do a Google Search for an Irvine related topic, and a thread from this forum or a post on the IHB is going to come up. Our SEO makes it so people find us here. Once they find us, they can cut through the advertising messages and get answers from real people living real lives in Irvine. A response from this board will carry 100 times the weight of the Irvine Company advertising message. That is why they need to be here.

IMO, the Irvine Company would get a tremendous return on its marketing time and effort by having people only communicating with us on this forum. They won’t be able to control the message here, but they can help shape it by telling a compelling story that represents the truth of living in Irvine. This forum is one of the most powerful marketing voices because it is so real. All of us here believe in Irvine and what has been created as we choose to live here and live the dream. When the stories of marketing match the realities of the people living it, you have something very powerful. Participating here will help the Irvine Company make the most of it.

BTW, Zovall and I do not see this as a money making thing. We are not looking to partner with TIC or work out any financial arrangement. We want to promote this free community for all who wish to participate and make it be an authentic source of good information. We all benefit from that.

Sounds good on paper but after having to deal with Master developers (Going to thier meetings you want to shoot youself) for over 18 years and their way of doing things which is their way or the highway i do not ever want to have to deal with them again let alone hear their Propaganda. Sorry just my opinion.

It looks like we share some similar work/life experiences….

I hope the Irvine Company comes here to participate in our discussion, but I have no interest in selling out to their corporate apparatus, attending their meetings, or answering to them. A broadcast/interruption advertiser would kill these forums for lack of understanding of social networks. These forums do well because nobody controls the message.

I hope the Irvine Company comes here to participate in our discussion, but I have no interest in selling out to their corporate apparatus, attending their meetings, or answering to them. A broadcast/interruption advertiser would kill these forums for lack of understanding of social networks. These forums do well because nobody controls the message.

How Ironic. They have come to participate. And Advertise. All without any communication
to IHB. They have used the power they have to splash their advertising right next to your logo. They do know how to use the Internet better than we think.
Their controlling the top banner advertising on this website proves that point.

I worked for the Phone company in Senior Management for a number of years in the 80`s
and early 90`s. The controls that are on Corporate Advertising involve scores of people
and the legal department OK`s everything before it goes to press. So this is not just a
coincidence. They have spent significant dollars on their Google campaign.

IrvineRenter - 20 July 2009 11:15 PM

Has anyone else noticed all the Woodbury East banner ads that Google has been serving up on the main blog?

I’ve noticed them on Facebook as well.

Does anyone here visit/participate on the FlyerTalk forums?  It is a huge community of frequent flyers and there are dedicated boards for most airline and hotel loyalty programs. 

One of the boards is for Starwood.  Starwood is the company that owns the St. Regis, Westin, Sheraton, The W, etc brands.  The Starwood forum on Flyertalk is THE place for Starwood fanatics.  They have had a dedicated employee who has been posting there for years and it’s been a great resource.

Some of the other boards (Southwest, American Airlines) also regularly have employees posting there (although it seems like that is a personal choice, not necessarily a corporate initiative like it seems to be with Starwood). 

There is definitely plenty of discussion on these boards when there are price changes or devaluation to the miles/points programs.  But there is also all kinds of discussion on the hotels, planes, promos, airports, etc.  It is a community of frequent fliers and it is incredible what some of the users there know (eerily similar to bk).

Our community has plenty of Irvine and Housing fanatics.  Yeah, the pricing sucks right now but we discuss a lot more than just prices here.  Many of us know that Cortile is the same as Sage and others could point out the subtle differences between Decada and Mericort.  The Village or The Park?  The parking situation at The District versus The Marketplace.  The growth/expansion of The Spectrum.  Stonegate, Orchard Hills, Laguna Crossing..  What tenants are coming to the Diamond Jamboree retail center?  Stonetree and Stonetree Manor?  Woodbury versus Disneyland..  Some people may think we are crazy but this what we talk about here..

Buying ad space is one thing.  But having an actual presence in the community could go a long ways for the builders, IAC, TIC, etc.  What has worked for some of these companies/communities might not necessarily work here.  But something similar could be possible and is worth looking into.  I’ve seen the value added to the Flyertalk community by having a StarwoodLurker.  I imagine Starwood sees some value in it too given that they’ve had an offical rep on there for 10 years or so.

I think it’s possible that The Irvine Company wants to be seen as a mythical organization, holding the keys to the promised land.  Staying in the shadows a bit more than other companies may be part of their business plan.

zovall - 21 July 2009 04:57 PM

Buying ad space is one thing.  But having an actual presence in the community could go a long ways for the builders, IAC, TIC, etc.  What has worked for some of these companies/communities might not necessarily work here.  But something similar could be possible and is worth looking into.  I’ve seen the value added to the Flyertalk community by having a StarwoodLurker.  I imagine Starwood sees some value in it too given that they’ve had an offical rep on there for 10 years or so.

By contrast you could point to the theory of the former assistant to Niels Bohr; Dr. Heisenberg.

The Uncertainty Principle isn’t “merely” philosophy: it predicts real properties. Electrons have been shown to jump at random from one energy state to another state which they could never reach except that their energy is momentarily uncertain. This “tunneling” makes possible the nuclear reactions that power the sun and many other processes. Physicists have put some of these processes to practical use in microelectronics. For example, delicate superconducting instruments that use electron tunneling to detect tiny magnetic fields are enormously helpful for safely scanning the human brain.

The Observer Effect refers to the the impact that act of observation will make on the phenomenon being observed.  TIC can’t openly participate without changing the environment.  In this blog and forums set, there exists a near-ideal population to sample and observe, which retains its “randomness and uncertainty” as it stands.  Why risk changing that? How would it be in their interest?

If you wish to discount the connection between Irvine and physics, I suggest paying closer attention to the street names in town.

- IrvineRealtor (dispensing professional real estate assistance, movie quotes, and quantum mechanics references here since 2008.)

The Irvine Comapny is like any Mega Corporation and has a political system within.
Decisions regarding Advertising and any discussion about IHB would be done at a
Manager/VP level and then directed downward. Finding those key individuals and establishing
some contact would take a very sophiticated professional a good deal of work and time.
Posting the little happy face on the Blog is not what I had in mind either.

Zovall
I have been on Flyer Talk for years. Its a great board with an International Audience.
Another board in fact Owned by Internet Brands. Personally I think the Internet Brands
Business Model is the key for Sites like your own to move to the next level.
A company the size of Internet Brands would have the ability to go to TIC and get
them to sit down and have a fruitfull interchange. You could cut Google out as a middle man
in a heartbeat.

Check out Internet Brands. I even bought some of the stock last year. So far so good.
Seems like a well run Company.
http://www.internetbrands.com/ib

bltserv - 21 July 2009 06:14 PM

The Irvine Comapny is like any Mega Corporation and has a political system within.
Decisions regarding Advertising and any discussion about IHB would be done at a
Manager/VP level and then directed downward. Finding those key individuals and establishing
some contact would take a very sophiticated professional a good deal of work and time.
Posting the little happy face on the Blog is not what I had in mind either.

Zovall
I have been on Flyer Talk for years. Its a great board with an International Audience.
Another board in fact Owned by Internet Brands. Personally I think the Internet Brands
Business Model is the key for Sites like your own to move to the next level.
A company the size of Internet Brands would have the ability to go to TIC and get
them to sit down and have a fruitfull interchange. You could cut Google out as a middle man
in a heartbeat.

Check out Internet Brands. I even bought some of the stock last year. So far so good.
Seems like a well run Company.
http://www.internetbrands.com/ib

Knowledgeable advice from someone who a few days ago said:

“Irvine Renter.

I think your better off leaving a sleeping dog alone. He has very big teeth.”

and

“Panda

I am not trying to be mean. Just playing devils advocate. Cracking a relationship with TIC would be a big coup for IR. This was not the way to go about it.”

Awgee

And your point is ?

zovall - 21 July 2009 04:57 PM

Does anyone here visit/participate on the FlyerTalk forums?  It is a huge community of frequent flyers and there are dedicated boards for most airline and hotel loyalty programs. 

One of the boards is for Starwood.  Starwood is the company that owns the St. Regis, Westin, Sheraton, The W, etc brands.  The Starwood forum on Flyertalk is THE place for Starwood fanatics.  They have had a dedicated employee who has been posting there for years and it’s been a great resource.

Some of the other boards (Southwest, American Airlines) also regularly have employees posting there (although it seems like that is a personal choice, not necessarily a corporate initiative like it seems to be with Starwood).

I’ve been on the Flyertalk American Airlines forum for many years.  The employees on that forum—mostly flight attendants and a couple of pilots—all do so anonymously.  Sometimes they have posted internal memos about service changes or other things.  A couple appear to have even gotten their wrists slapped (or worse) when AA has figured out who they are.  There is no corporate-sanctioned presence at all, although it is common knowledge that AA follows the discussions quite closely.

Like AA, I see very little upside for TIC to get into longwinded discussions with anonymous people on a forum.

IrvineRealtor - 21 July 2009 06:07 PM

The Observer Effect refers to the the impact that act of observation will make on the phenomenon being observed.  TIC can’t openly participate without changing the environment.  In this blog and forums set, there exists a near-ideal population to sample and observe, which retains its “randomness and uncertainty” as it stands.  Why risk changing that? How would it be in their interest?

It depends on what they think is more important.. to observe this community and it’s interactions from afar or to actively participate in it.  And that decision may have a lot to do with the brand image they intend to preserve or project.  Do they want to be seen “as a mythical organization”, a benevolent dictatorship, or what? 

Another aspect is customer service and I think this applies more to the IAC arm of TIC.  I do think it would be in their best interests to have an ‘IACLurker’ participate on IHB (similar to the ‘Starwood Lurker’ on FT). 
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-preferred-guest/167261-announcing.html

I’d nominate Cuatro for this.

I also see value in having the sales people in the builder model homes participate here.  They could provide updated pricing and availability to us and we could interact and ask them questions without having to drive over to the sales office or call. 

bltserv - 21 July 2009 06:14 PM

Check out Internet Brands. I even bought some of the stock last year. So far so good.
Seems like a well run Company.
http://www.internetbrands.com/ib

Very cool!  I didn’t realize all of these sites were owned by a single company.  I’m sure some of them were independent when I first stumbled onto them back in the day.

jumpcut - 21 July 2009 06:53 PM

I’ve been on the Flyertalk American Airlines forum for many years.  The employees on that forum—mostly flight attendants and a couple of pilots—all do so anonymously.  Sometimes they have posted internal memos about service changes or other things.  A couple appear to have even gotten their wrists slapped (or worse) when AA has figured out who they are.  There is no corporate-sanctioned presence at all, although it is common knowledge that AA follows the discussions quite closely.

Like AA, I see very little upside for TIC to get into longwinded discussions with anonymous people on a forum.

I guess it depends on how TIC wants to approach it.  Do they want to be like AA?  Or do they want to be like Southwest or Starwood?

I just finished a phone call with a representative of the Irvine Company. We will be scheduling an open conference call next Monday evening with a Q&A. Details to follow….

IrvineRenter - 21 July 2009 10:34 PM

I just finished a phone call with a representative of the Irvine Company. We will be scheduling an open conference call next Monday evening with a Q&A. Details to follow….

Way to go Irvine Renter! TIC should be coming to you, not the other way around.

I don’t think it really matters to me if TIC posts here or not.

However, I can see some value in the New Homes Salespeople posting information here. They don’t have to engage in conversation per se, just let us know what’s available… if I worked there… it would be something I would do… grassroots marketing.

IR… on your conference call… ask them to build more 3CWGs!

irvine_home_owner - 21 July 2009 11:13 PM

IR… on your conference call… ask them to build more 3CWGs!

This will be an open call; you can ask…. Everyone has about 6 days to dream up questions for TIC.

.

.