I was all set to write about how you should NOT use the new Zillow sites because I happen to agree with Don Reedy that they are sleeping with the enemy…when sleeping with friends is ONLY an FTP and a little bit of money away…c’mon people. 😉 ( I was even going to title it “A Mess of Pottage” just to get people talking… )
But then I saw this on the Huffington Post. Check it out. SERIOUSLY. Check it out.
Now for those of my friends that are more liberal, RELAX. 😉 Just because I saw a Google alert for Real Estate Blog from HuffPo does NOT mean I am drinking your Kool-Aid. You should know me better than that. 😉
And for my conservative and libertarian friends, RELAX. 😉 I am not drinking THEIR Kool-Aid. 🙂 🙂 Boy this political season has me stressed. hehe. Oh yeah…conservative friends..go back and read the post, don’t skip it just because it is HuffPo…you aren’t gonna die or go blind…grin
My goal was to offend EVERYONE politically in two paragraphs…how did I do?
I guess my points (I have THREE) with the above article was that I was well and truly surprised to see HuffPo celebrating the creative destruction of one business and noting the rise of another as an entreprenurial journalist shifted from Journalism to profitable blogging and made good at it. (Or is in the process of it).
And a corollary to that point. Creative Destruction WORKS. Even in our beloved real estate industry, just because things are the way they are today does not mean that they will be there for long. I am headed out to Inman this year (after a long hiatus from Connecting and Conventioning and etc) to enjoy some further reflection on where this industry is going and how to profitably stay in front of it.
We need to embrace change. Enjoy it and thrive on it.
How essential are brokerages? How about Franchises? How about Offices? How fast will business models change? Third party lead generators – are they vital? Or just an interloper?(All good questions IMO)
Oh yeah…the other two points.
1) Brian Brady and I CALLED this melding of main stream journalism and blogging back in 2008. Don’t remember? Here it is. And here. And we were not the only ones by a long shot.
2) The final point is this. REGARDLESS of the circumstances that you find yourself in… (And yeah, sometimes it is tough.) There is always a way, over time, to get to the Creative side of the Destruction. It takes rugged individuals who dedicate themselves, but there is a way.
So if you are looking at your real estate career and saying W-T-Heck (or worse)? Whether you stay in the same industry or go to a game where the rules are more in your favor, know that the Creative side of the destruction is not far away. My hat is off to this guy. He used the gifts God gave him to give back and get paid for it. Good for him. I wish no less for anyone, anywhere.
Thoughts?
Don Reedy says:
Lots of smiley faces, Eric. I’m one of them.
Hey, you’ve brought a ray of what you, Brian and Greg have discussed not only a long time ago, but over and over again. Greg’s view of Web 2.0 sits alongside your post as proof that the creative side of destruction really isn’t far away.
I don’t know if this is part of your premise in this, but after I finished reading and thinking it occurred to me that I’ve been a woos when it comes to taking charge of my talents. Huffington may be telling this guy’s story, but I bet his story resonates with a lot of us.
Thanks for writing, sharing, being fun and fun loving, and most importantly, for trying to piss off a broad spectrum instead of a singularity. You are the Higgs Boson of SEO my friend.
July 20, 2012 — 8:23 pm
Sean Purcell says:
“Get to the Creative side of Destruction.”
Damn Eric, that’s a great line. I’m not only going to remember that, I’m going to use it… with a nod to you, of course.
The most interesting part of this to me, is the site itself that the journalist in the article created. It is very basic. I mean right out of the WP box basic. Yet he’s already earning a living… Reminds me of something Brian Brady used to say to me all the time: “Get it to 70% and get it out. If you have time later, come back and fix another 70% of what’s left.” He was right, of course. I spend way too much time perfecting the tool rather than just using it. This reporter is another friendly slap to the back of the head: Stop getting ready to go… and just GO.
July 20, 2012 — 10:40 pm
Sean Purcell says:
BTW Eric:
“How essential are brokerages? How about Franchises? How about Offices?”
Not at all. Even less. Semi…
🙂
And Don: “singularity”? “Higgs Boson”? You’re killin’ me in a space-time continuum kind of way.
July 20, 2012 — 10:44 pm
Scott Schang says:
Destruction is not always creative, in the case of real estate (mortgage specifically) it was economic darwinism – the flawed species became extinct. And destruction is AWLAYS the fuel for creativity!
This “experiment” has been performed hundreds, if not thousands of times over the past 4-5 years by real estate and mortgage folks, many with the same results.
I think the aspect of this story rings most true and is the exact reason why most will never succeed is the investment it took for him to “reinvent” the conduit for his talents.
Change is not easy and it doesn’t happen over night. The next wave of those that succeed with their online presence are the ones that didn’t give up trying 2 years ago when it didn’t go exactly as they had hoped.
We need another unchained – Embrace the chaos!
July 21, 2012 — 1:49 am
Eric Blackwell says:
@Sean – Agreed. Some of the BEST business generating sites I know are plain Jane models, but populated with solid information, and followed up on with diligence.
And you know that I quote you often as well. 😉 with attribution.
@Don – Kind of you, sir. Was good to get an email from you this week. I really needed a good excuse to write. Been super busy with search engine stuff and this was cathartic.
July 21, 2012 — 4:13 am
Eric Blackwell says:
Hey Scott – “The next wave of those that succeed with their online presence are the ones that didn’t give up trying 2 years ago when it didn’t go exactly as they had hoped.”
That is EXTREMELY well said. I could not agree more.
July 21, 2012 — 4:34 am
Dave Barnes says:
Flavor Aid, not Kool Aid.
Jonestown was Flavor Aid.
July 24, 2012 — 7:10 am
Greg Swann says:
“Ade” in both cases. MSG is flavor-aid — if your tongue is already dead.
July 24, 2012 — 11:35 am