As a social media strategist, I am fascinated by the power of this medium to generate all kinds of new and unexpected results.

Take the BP oil spill, for example. In the past, a company like BP completely screwed up, ruined the environment, and then covered up the whole thing through expensive advertising campaigns and propaganda. Not so this time. Enter a twitter page that tells us the truth and BAMB! BP is thrown in the trash, forced to admit its mistakes, and essentially (and rightly) vilified in almost every kind of media.

BP is a great example of how the Internet and the rapid spread of information are changing the way business is done. In my ever-optimistic brain, I hope that one day the use of social media will take all businesses to a higher level where “what’s in it for us” becomes “what’s in it for everyone.” But I’m a dreamer 🙂

I decided that I would offer my own social media experiment. While I spend most of my time providing value to others and preaching that providing value to the public is the cornerstone of a well-run social media campaign, I have to admit that this experiment was born out of a more selfish motive. that is, once again, owning my own home.

With that being said, I think by setting this up as an authentic and transparent experiment, I can bring a lot of value to other people who want to use social media to grow their business or help their nonprofit. The successes and mistakes made in the coming months will be well documented and should serve as a guide on what to do or what not to do to gain exposure. (I hope it’s the ‘what to do’ 🙂

Let’s start.

This is the back story: When I had my 2 daughters, 9 and 12 years ago, I was a housewife. She had a small photography business but, for all intents and purposes, she didn’t really work. When my marriage ended 3 years ago, I was lucky enough to get a great job as a recruiter for a video game company. Unfortunately, the Korean company we owned went out of business and I was left with virtually nothing in the worst economic crisis of my adult life.

We had to sell our house in June 2009. 6 months before or after we would have made about $50,000 more, but we had to sell it then and we took a big hit. My equity, after the debts were paid, was $19,000. I bought an $11,000 Volvo and used the rest to pay first and last and a pet deposit on a rental house for myself and my kids.

This story is not unique. far from there In the recent economy, both in the US and Canada, there are millions upon thousands of people with exactly the same story. I don’t even think it’s a sad story, it’s just the way things are for a lot of us and there are so many worse stories out there.

Adding to the circumstances that bring most of us to this point (not a bad point, just a point) is the fact that it’s very hard to get back into real estate on your own, especially with a couple of kids.

Spending choices become a major focus. Do you put your life on hold, no vacations, no movies, no skiing, etc., to save for a down payment on a house that costs more than 3/4 million dollars? That seems a bit crazy. And it’s not fair to children.

Most families, at least in Vancouver, have so many financial obligations that it would make your head spin, and if owning a house is a priority, it means you will have to sacrifice those things that make everyday life fun, like computers. sports. and summer road trips.

So what is the answer? Is it time for the top 10% to start finding ways to support the bottom 90% of society? I really do not know.

So I’m running this experiment to find out if there’s a way to take some of the pressure off this middle class who want to give their kids a head start, but don’t want to financially devastate their own futures in the process. .

I will be collecting and posting ideas that people come up with. One idea I had was a group of investors working with the “client” (which would be someone like me) who chooses a house and then comes to a rent-to-own agreement. In this way, instead of just paying the rent, the client has the satisfaction of working towards his own objectives.

What is your idea?