Skyline Views

Colliers Kicks off Americas Meeting in Atlanta, and Coy Davidson is Ready to Rock

By Tony Wilbert, The Wilbert Group

ATLANTA (Sept. 25, 2013) - Colliers International kicks off its Americas Conference today in downtown Atlanta, and social media star Coy Davidson is ready to talk a lot about how fellow brokers can leverage social media channels to increase their business.

In the past five years, Davidson fortified his personal brand using social media to augment his natural networking skills and real estate knowledge. He has no official speaking role at the Americas Conference but already is being bombarded with questions about how and why CRE pros should use social channels.

The Colliers conference takes place at the Marriott Marquis today through Friday. Formerly known as the Colliers National Meeting, "is the cornerstone of our collaborative culture. This three-day event is where Colliers professionals meet to share knowledge, plan new initiatives, and shape the future of commercial real estate," according to event website.

Davidson, a Colliers broker in Houston, arrived in Atlanta Tuesday and he anticipated being mobbed by fellow brokers who want to know how he became one of the most plugged-in and connected brokers in the country. Coy has more than 17,000 followers on Twitter and has emerged as a sought-after speaker.

I joined Coy, Cushman & Wakefield broker Ken Ashley, a pioneer in CRE blogging, and Patrick Braswell, former Colliers broker and co-founder of Ten-Eight, for dinner last night at The Optimist to talk CRE and social media. I'd share what we discussed, but Urvaksh might be reading this popst at some point.

Next stop: CRE Tech Intersect next month in New York.

 

Realtors Should Use Twitter & Blog to Build Brand

ATLANTA (July 22, 2011) - The Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors hosted a half-day seminar tis week on how brokers can use social media to boost their businesses. The seminar concluded with a panel whose members discussed how Twitter and blogs can help Realtors build their brand.

Panelists also talked about how social media have prompted mainstream media to post their content online ASAP instead of holding it for their print editions.

Here's what I had to say about why and how Realtors, brokers and other business people should use Twitter to build their businesses. (Turn up the volume.)

Status: Facebook Hiring for New Atlanta Office

ATLANTA (July 5, 2011) - News that Facebook is opening a new Atlanta office created big buzz over the holiday weekend. Several media outlets, including The Associated Press, Atlanta Business Chronicle and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weighed in with stories, and Twitter users helped spread the word.

So, Skyline Views figured it was worth a trip to see the new office space being built out at the Midtown West (aka Brickworks) development at Marietta and Howell Mill streets. We took our iPhone with us (as always) and snapped shots of the building exterior and of what we could see inside. The photo at left shows the exterior, which can be described as corrugated-cool-loft-office-chic.

As the photo below shows, work is underway at the address listed on the city of Atlanta building permit (1000 Marietta St., Suite 134), though the name of another company remains at the entry. The permit names Facebook and says the work to be completed includes "Offices Renovation Suite 134" and "Tenant Finish to Suite 134."

Facebook itself says it's expanding in Atlanta: "Everything is just peachy here in Hot-Lanta, where we are one of the fastest growing offices in the East Region and look forward to continue growing this fantastic region for Facebook."

In a statement delivered to the AJC, Facebook says the company has "a growing sales presence in Atlanta and is expanding its offices in order to work more closely with advertisers in the region."

And Facebook is advertising sales jobs in Atlanta that presumably will be housed in the new office. Here's Facebook's ad for one available job, a "Client Partner."

This story will continue to unfold. Hope we're invited to the opening party.

Facebook Building Out Midtown Atlanta Office, Patch reports

ATLANTA (July 2, 2011) - Most Atlantans consider the West Midtown area to be a high-tech hotbed. News breaking this evening that Facebook, which dubs itself "the largest social networking site on the planet," is building out an office at Brickworks in West Midtown will solidy the area as King of Office Cool. This, according to a Patch.com story from contributor Caleb Spivak.

Last week, the day before the AJC hosted Mashable's Social Media Day Atlanta at Five Seasons in the Brickworks development, Facebook filed plans with the city of Atlanta for "office renovations" and tenant improvements. Facebook is building out Suite 134 at 1000 Marietta St., Spivak reports. Skyline Views confirmed this information on the city of Atlanta's website, which includes the building permit (shown above).

Richard Martin and George Rohrig attempted to position West Midtown as Atlanta's tech center in 1999, as the dot-com bubble filled with air. More than 10 years later, it's back.

It won't be Facebook's first Atlanta office, but it should create some buzz and leave no doubt West Midtown is the place for social networking/social media companies.