The following is part of our series on different ways Facebook is used across the world. Read the next blog post in this series here. If you have a story you'd like to share with us, please submit it here.


The ability to share information with those around you can create amazing opportunities. Every day, millions of people update their status on Facebook. Whether going to a movie, visiting a friend or cleaning their apartment, many people use their status as an invitation for friends to join them in whatever they're doing. Of course, this can mean that some statuses lead to unexpected results. We recently heard the story of one Realtor who successfully sold a house through one of his Facebook status updates.

On a Tuesday in August, Brad Smith of Vanguard Properties in San Francisco was on his way out the door to show one of his listings on a broker tour. Before leaving, he updated his Facebook status to read, "Bradley is going to do a broker tour. I will be showing a cute one bedroom at $359k. Do you know anyone who's interested?"

Right after posting his status, Brad received a Chat message from a Facebook friend who said he was currently looking for a two-bedroom home. As it turned out, his friend didn't have a real estate agent yet. Brad took him out three days later and showed him a two-bedroom home that was perfect. A week after Brad's status update, they closed the deal.


Austin, an Analyst in User Operations, is hoping to find his next apartment on Facebook.