Last week, I twittered looking for a real estate agent to help us sell our home here in Austin:

What I wanted: referrals from real people like us. What I got: replies from agents, all saying pretty much the same thing.

So I am starting from scratch and trying again, talking directly to you agents this time! Here goes...

My husband and I are empty nesters who are ready to sell our family home and run away to where the sun shines every day! Our house is offically located in the Southern Oaks neighborhood. Our quiet cul-de-sac doesn't connect to other Southern Oaks streets, so it feels more like Western Oaks. Easy accessibility means it's a short drive to downtown, shopping, and dining. Two-story, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2-car garage, 1700 square feet, huge yard with trees and plenty of room for gardening or play.

We've spent the last two years updating it so that we can get the most value from our sale. But we also wanted to respect the house: It was built in the mid-60s when quality construction was the norm. You won't find tongue-in-groove lumber like this on the roof decks of any new house!

What have we done? New roof, new soffits, new gutters, new insulated patio cover, new garage doors, new ceramic tile, refinished tubs and tile and kitchen counter tops, new bath countertops, new fixtures, new paint throughout (premium paint, of course), new carpet with upgraded padding, new designer outlets and switches, new gas range, new lighting through most of the house, and landscaping in the backyard.

So what are we looking for? An agent that understands South Austin and our neighborhood, comes prepared to describe how you will market our house, and is committed to helping us sell as quickly as possible. The more you can tell us about similar house you've sold, the better.

(Just for the record, here's what we don't want: An agent who starts by saying you will do a competitive market analysis and a list the property on MLS. We know everyone does that.)

In the title, I say that we're looking for a modern real estate agent. That means the most important part of what you can tell me is how you'll help us price the house right then create buzz and bring us lots of potential buyers.

So if this sounds interesting to you and you'd like to help us make a strong, quick sale, I'd love to hear from you! Our goal is to have a signed contract with an agent by Monday.

Update: I just got a contact from an agent that says he'd be "happy and honored to serve our needs" and asks when we're available to meet. That's not what I'm looking for, ya'll. When you contact me, tell me why it's worth our time to meet with you. If you don't, I'm not even going to reply... Sorry to sound harsh, but that's the way it is.

One of the things I like best about the social web is how one thing leads to another.

(Yes, I'm easily distracted. Open the dictionary to look up a word, and spend an hour discovering new words and unknown meanings.)

A few minutes ago, I got a notice from Twitter that Nathan McGill had subscripted to my WDWtips Twitter feed. I visited Nathan's Twitter page, where the latest entry was this:

It feels great to know the year spent married to one project is going to be totally worth it! Things look great! www.aninconvenienttax.com

Of course, being easily distracted and keenly interested in tax reform, I followed the link and found this:

Documentary: An Inconvenient Tax - Film Teaser from Life Is My Movie Entertainment on Vimeo.

I like people who ask the same questions I do. It looks like the film is still in post-production, but Nathan's Twitter comment gives me hope that it's going to be in theaters soon.

I'm not sure what brought Nathan to my WDWtips Twitter, but I'm very glad he came. I found a kindred spirit and now have shared that with you.

By the way, one thing leading to another is not always a good thing. Seems to me that's how the U.S. income tax system grew to its current, convoluted state. (Whew! So glad that I could weave that all together.)

I love Twitter. In fact, I have two personal twitter accounts ... anneeasterling and WDWtips ...  and I tweet for my job at internet_safety.

But Twitter takes some getting used to. What is Twitter exactly? Check out this video Twitter in Plain English from the really smart folks at Common Craft:

So how do you get started? Start by creating an account. Go to the Twitter sign up page. Then fill it out:

1. Enter your real name.
2. Pick a username ... it might be your real name or something that reflects your personality or interests. It's possible to change it later, but you'll lose all your followers, so pick wisely.
3. Pick a password. (Be sure to write down your username and password.)
4. Enter your real email address.
5. Prove that you're a real person by filling in the letters or numbers from the image.
6. And click "Create my account."

Next you'll see a page where you can find people you already know. Twitter can check your Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL or Hotmail accounts to see if any email addresses match existing Twitter accounts. If you let Twitter see your email contacts, you'll then have the option of following those who have Twitter accounts. If you prefer, just skip this step (look for the "Skip this step" link at the bottom of the page).

On the next page (it's the last one, I promise), you'll see a list of popular Twitterers. If you want to follow them, you don't need to do anything. If you don't uncheck the ones you want to skip. Then... click FINISH and you're officially "on Twitter."

Notice the page that you're on... create a bookmark so you can come return easily. Enter your first twitter update... Try to be more creative than just saying "Wow, I can't believe I'm really on Twitter."

The next time you login, enter your username and password. If you check "Remember me," you'll be automatically logged in the next time you go to Twitter. That makes it easier to follow people quickly when you click on a "follow me" link anywhere on the web.

There are many, many other things you could learn about Twitter. I'm stopping here to keep things simple for newbies. Got a specific question? Leave a comment, and I'll make that my next Twitter topic.

So what is it with the Baby Boomers and technology? I mean, I was among the first generation to use computers to compose stories and layout publications. Computers saved time and were so much easier to use than paper, typewriters, carbon paper and correction tape. Working on main frame workstations, then the first desktops that took 15 minutes to load the operating system and programs from diskettes was a bit tedious at times, but I never wanted to go back to clunky typewriters and hand-drawn layout sheets.

I figured that everyone in my generation embraced the new technology with the same eager excitement. Boy, was I wrong. Looking around today, I am amazed that many of my Baby Boomer family members and friends are still reluctant technology users. To use pop slang: #boomerfail.

I decided to do some research and find out if the phenomenon exists outside my little world. Guess what? It does. (It's probably something you already knew ... and that's why you're here.) So I decided to refocus my blog on making some of the new technology ... especially the Internet and web-based communication tools like social networks ... more easily understood by my generation.

What keeps nagging at me is this: Why are Boomers reluctant to dive into the technology world? The researchers at Deloitte, an international management consulting firm, might have one answer. Last fall, they published a paper titled Gen Y-ers, Baby Boomers & Technology: Worlds Apart?

It’s a common perception that older workers don’t understand new communication technologies such as e-mail, instant messaging and intranet. The conventional wisdom is that these workers simply are too rooted in traditional technologies to adopt something new.

However, research findings indicate it is geography more than age that influences an employee’s technological preferences. Older workers in emerging nations are quicker to embrace technology communications than their counterparts in industrialized nations.

Now wait a second! Maybe the older workers in emerging nations aren't rooted in traditional technologies as much as we Americans are. The report doesn't address that. (It does have some good tips on using the communication tools that worker prefer, but that's another topic.)

Searching more, I found a study done by TV Land called the Joy of Tech. The thesis is that Boomers want technology to simplify their lives, especially entertainment. Hmmm, seems like a lot of the new web-based technologies are anything but simple. Here's a typical social network: Create your account, verify your account, change the default password, set up your profile, find your friends, set up mobile devices, find groups, join groups.

So perhaps, the complexity of much of the new technology is the stumbling block.

Armed with this insight, a recent study by Forrester Research (summarized quite well by ReadWriteWeb) makes much more sense to me. Sarah Perez at ReadWriteWeb summarizes it this way:

A new report from Forrester Research revealed some surprising information: apparently Baby Boomers aren't exactly the technology Luddites that people think they are. In fact, more than 60 percent of those in this generational group actively consume socially created content like blogs, videos, podcasts, and forums. What's more, the percentage of those participating is on the rise. ...

The best bets for getting Boomers interested in your content is to create blogs or videos that relate to the life or work-style of Boomers, Forrester suggests. And if you're looking for feedback and contributions from the Boomers themselves - like comments or criticisms - make that process dead simple. Don't introduce overly complex sign up forms or processes. Instead, encourage low-effort contributions such as star ratings.

So that's when I had a clear vision of what The Tech World According to Anne could be... a place where Boomers can get simplified introductions, help and hand-holding on getting the most from the Web 2.0 world. You might not need or use everything here. That's okay. Our mission is to make all those buzz words bouncing around today ... like Twitter and Facebook and blogging and more ... easy and accessible.

I have lots of tweaking to do to make the site more aligned with my vision. Looks like my helping you is going to help me too!

Every morning, I spend some time reviewing the latest blog posts and news on "social media." While I've been involved in web site development for more than 10 years, I've mostly relied on my intuition and experience from traditional media. That's because finding good resources for hard data -- research-based data that stands the test of scholarly review -- has been more difficult. 

Not sure if that data is becoming more available or if I'm just now finding, but that is changing. Today I found two amazing pieces that help me feel that I just got a year's worth of experience in one swoop.

First up: danah boyd's presentation to Microsoft Research Tech Fest. She gave a talk titled "Social Media Is Here to Stay ... Now What?" in February and has kindly posted her notes for all to see. Reading the article was like taking a master's class. She's sharp and to the point. Take the introduction:

Social media is not new. Media has been leveraged for sociable purposes since the caveman's walls.

and:

Social media is the latest buzzword in a long line of buzzwords.

danah goes on to give an excellent review of the technical and (he he) social history of social networks in the United States.

So why am I giving you this much history? Many who build technology think that a technology's feature set is the key to its adoption and popularity. With social media, this is often not the case. There are triggers that drive early adopters to a site, but the single most important factor in determining whether or not a person will adopt one of these sites is whether or not it is the place where their friends hangout. In each of these cases, network effects played a significant role in the spread and adoption of the site.

So my take is that social networks aren't successful unless friends can easily gather and interact there. Rather than focusing on time on site and bounce rate, we should spend more effort evaluating what is happening within the site. Are members creating friends lists? Are they commenting on each other's posts and sharing more content? Are they truly connecting?

She also compares how teens and adults interact online. The condensed version: Teen use of social media focuses on reinforcing existing friendships. Adult use focuses on making new connections. (And yes, I know that I've ultra-simplified.) In either case, we web site managers and developers must remember that our members drive platform development. No matter how well-thought out our business model, everything is subject to change based on how our visitors and members are using our site.

The final section of her talk addresses how large, traditional businesses must adapt to the new social media world but the lessons apply to everyone. Go read it, even if you're a young start-up or small business. Stay ahead of the curve!

(Tomorrow, I'll talk about the other treasure I uncovered today.... Here's a sneak peak.)