From the October issue: To tweet or not to tweet — for New York City real estate professionals, that is the question.

When using social media for business, some worry about exposing their personal lives, or putting their foot in their (digital) mouths.

But a select group of agents and executives have overcome this dilemma and emerged as the industry’s top tweeters, racking up thousands of followers at a time when the average New York City real estate broker has only around 100.

Halstead Property agent Renée Fishman (who won REBNY’s Rookie of the Year Award in 2009), for example, first logged on to Twitter in March 2009 and now has 1,349 followers. She also helps Halstead’s director of web marketing, Matthew Leone, instruct fellow agents on how to market themselves through social media. [more]

From left: Stribling’s Lori Huler Glick and Cindy Kurtin won REBNY’s Residential Deal of the Year Award for the sale of the Bailey Mansion

This year’s REBNY Residential Deal of the Year Awards event was enlivened by tales of biting fleas, wild dogs and cremated remains, with Stribling’s Lori Huler Glick and Cindy Kurtin winning first place for selling the Bailey Mansion in Harlem. The Real Estate Board of New York presented its top awards at the annual event, held this year at 230 Fifth Penthouse Lounge. Gala committee members regaled a (not particularly quiet, as usual) crowd of 500 with details of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles this year’s winners overcame to make deals. [more]