"You Talkin' to Me?"

Big Company Internet Surveillance

I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but whenever I post something on this blog about a major company, invariably one of the first hits is from . . . someone at that company (or a law firm representing the company).

As I've previously discussed -- and disclosed -- this blog has a site meter that shows each visitor's IP address and Internet Service Provider ("ISP"). So, no, I don't who you are (and don't want to), but if your company has its own ISP, I will see that in the site meter's "visit detail."

I first noticed that with a post way back when about Realogy, Coldwell Banker Burnet's parent company.

It happened again after posts discussing Angie's List, the Loop Calhoun, and Westin Hotels.

And it happened again earlier today after my post about Toll Brothers.

The conclusion?

Obviously, part of public relations in the age of Twitter, Blogs, instant messaging, etc. is to monitor what people are saying about you . . .

P.S.: Hey guys, if you really want some exposure on this blog . . . would it kill you to buy an ad??

Realogy Bankruptcy Filing Imminent?

Who's Searching for Realogy Info -- and Why?

Judging by all the hits on this blog for anything Realogy-related the last few days, you'd guess that something is up.

For those who don't know, Realogy is the heavily-leveraged parent company of several national real estate companies, including Coldwell Banker Burnet.

In August, I posted an article titled "Coldwell Banker Burnet Troubles." That's the post that has proved especially popular this week (thanks to blog tracking software, it's possible to see where traffic is coming from, and where it's going within the blog).

The $64,000 question is, "who's looking for information about Realogy -- and why?" Unfortunately (fortunately?), that's not something that tracking software can answer (at least not yet).

P.S.: If you didn't know, you should: Google, Double-Click, and countless other companies now have the ability to track Web traffic, mouseclick by mouseclick. That's what drives advertising revenues.

Coldwell Banker Burnet Troubles

Tale of Two Parent Companies

[Note: see, "Realogy Bankruptcy Filing Imminent?" (2/12/09) for an update to this post]

One of the most popular quotes making the rounds these days is Warren Buffett's observation about risk: "You don't know who's swimming naked until the tide goes out."

Latest addition to the list of naked swmmers? Realogy, Coldwell Banker Burnet's parent company (and Edina Realty's biggest rival in the Twin Cities market; Buffett is chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Edina Realty's corporate parent).

According to the new Barron's (Sept. 1, 2008), one of the most troubled private equity deals in the last few years is Apollo's late 2006 purchase of Realogy for $7 billion ("Look out Below! More disasters could hit debt-laden companies owned by private equity shops Apollo, Blackstone, & KKR").

The Barron's article notes that Realogy's bonds are trading for 50 cents on the dollar. For those who don't know finance, that qualifies as somewhere between intensive care and life support.

By contrast, Berkshire Hathaway, Edina Realty's parent company (via MidAmerican Energy), is flush with cash and in acquisition mode. In just the last six months, Berkshire financed Mars' acquisition of Wrigley, launched a new municipal bond insurance company, and expanded its transportation sector investments. Oh, yes, and it's stock price is holding up well at $117,000 a share.

So how will the prospect of Realogy going bankrupt affect Coldwell Banker Burnet? To tweak that old line about chicken soup,"can't help, might hurt."