Yesterday, a pretty significant player in the real estate industry showed up at ActiveRain with a bang and hit the floor running with three posts. Spencer Rascoff, the CFO and Vice President of Marketing for Zillow.com joined our illustrious ranks. We believe that Spencer has a unique perspective on the real estate market based on his duties at Zillow. It looks like the Arms Race is on between him and Sara Bonert to see who will be the most visible Zillow voice.
Before joining Zillow, Spencer was vice president of lodging for Expedia. He was also a co-founder of Hotwire.com. We at ActiveRain wanted to take a minute to welcome Spencer to ActiveRain and let him know we look forward to his participation here.
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Thank you for delving into a little of Spencer's history. Sounds like we are going to be in for a real treat.
Thanks for giving us the Heads-Up about Spencer. Now everyone knows where to send the hate mail.
(just kidding!!!)
Spencer, Welcome to Zactive Zain!....
Bob,
This should add a nice touch to a already growing Site. I am thrilled, thanks for the info.
Tom Weiss
Bob,
Thanks for introducing Spencer. I'll go visit his blog. Apropos of Brian Brady's comment, see Todd Carpenter's blog today on Lenderama about Zillow getting into the lending business.
Mike in Tucson
Thanks Bob. Yes, I've (finally!) joined the AR party. The response so far has been pretty overwhelming -- I have no idea how I'll keep up with the stream of comments. The good news is that I have a lot to say, so I'm glad that now I have a place to say it.
My wife, for one, will be pleased that now I have an outlet (other than her) for my random real estate musings.
Let's keep this simple; Complaints go to Spencer. Compliments come to me. OK ? :-D
Welcome to A/R Spencer!
It will be interesting to read Spencer's posts, thanks for the heads up. I see David has his strategy in place early on.
Jennifer - no new role for me. I've been CFO & VP Marketing @ Zillow for 2 1/2 years -- I was employee #4 or something like that. (We have about 165 now.)
I'm just new to blogging on AR. But i've been lurking for a long time...
Bob- I see how it is.. pitting me against Spencer... good way to get more out of both of us! :) Guess I am going to share my limelight now. Haha. Spencer's voice will be an awesome addition to the AR community!
Brian- We most surely are a media media site and this article that just came out this week we released more information about our ability for advertisers to target like never before! http://www.zillowblog.com/available-today-zillow-home-direct-ads/2007/10/
Mike- No, we are not trying to become a Lender. However, we are working on an interesting opportunity for Lenders to get exposure on the site. More to come.... http://www.zillowblog.com/a-new-opportunity-for-mortgage-professionals/2007/06/
Alright, thanks to this comment I am now 25 more points ahead......
Bob,
I must say you're doing a great job!! You seem to be everywhere - making changes, listening to feedback, and even recruiting new talent. Keep up the good work and welcome to Spencer.
Bob, it would be great if we all had a good understanding of what everyone does or doesn't do. That way we know who to contact about what. Not sure what Spencer will be doing but I welcome him just the same.
Spencer,
So glad to have you here. Now we can complain directly to you about your Zestimates and you can continue to tell us about your unzillowable algorithms.
Somebody better tell Rudy and Joe you are here, they will probably want to super-poke you. Oops, that's DeFaceBook, isn't it?
So, is Zillow lining up to buy Active Rain?
Hell I figured everybody wanted to know but didn't want to ask. I'm not shy. So, are you?
Yeah, Welcome to Active Rain, lol..........
Welcome aboard Spencer! Expedia, hotwire, now Zillow wow!
Gena,
I'm not sure what to take from your comment? I was just welcoming Spencer to ActiveRain as a participant because I think his role at Zillow will provide a unique perspective. If you were referencing what everyone does or doesn't do at ActiveRain..............you can direct all questions to me :)
Laurie,
Glad to see you back. I'm going to call you today........I've missed you around for the last couple of days. No, Zillow is not lining up to buy ActiveRain.
Everyone Else,
Thank you for welcoming Spencer to AR. I'm sure you will all have some great feedback and questions for him in the days, weeks and months ahead..............I would imagine he looks forward to engaging you.
David and Spencer.............I MeMe'd you guys...................(I didn't know what it meant the first time I heard it, let me know if you need some direction :) ) Our members would love to get a little of the scoop on you.
Sara, you obviously saw it already.........looking forward to yours as well. :)
Welcome,
why is my house priced so low?
Welcome Spencer.
So is Spencer just a participant, or an employee of AR? If employee, what is his job descrription?
Georgina,
Spencer is just a participant. He has a pretty substantial role at Zillow right now that I'm pretty sure keeps his days full :)
Bob,
Been travelling across the country all day, just got in, try me tomorrow.
L
**** Zwelcome Spencer! ****
...Couldn't help it! : ) Nice to have you here on AR.
David G.
You definitely needed a "person to take the heat". You are the Quintessential PR Guy!!! Keep smiling :)
Hi Bob, I "passed" on this post when you first put it up, but I came back for the comments. Very interesting. I've read Spencer's first two posts. I was hoping for something from him more on topic. Oh well, we'll see what comes. I think I will also subscribe to Sara's blog for comparison and balance.
Bill Roberts
I was, at first, disappointed in what zillow.com offered. Bear in mind, Utah is a non-disclosure state, meaning we don't record our sales prices with any government offices. So when people looked up their homes on zillow.com the estimated valuse were off by several hundred thousand or more.
Then I realized how much my clients began to value my local real estate knowledge, market trends, and pricing strategies. In a nutshell, zillow.com adds to my value, rather than taketh away.
Thank you everyone for your kind and thoughtful comments.
- Spencer