There’s always something to howl about.

To Catch a Theme: The NAR can’t evolve, but that shouldn’t stop you

I’ve had reason to be contemplative for the past few weeks and it’s given some small inklings an opportunity to germinate and link together into bigger ideas. Given the nature of BloodhoundBlog, I’m hoping a couple of bigger brains who read and write here, will help me get a better grasp on what is still a bit foggy in my mind- help me fill in the gaps.

My brain has made a leap of sorts, into the future of the business, and I think we are getting it wrong. That is, what we think about, if we think about the future of the real estate business at all, may not be quite right.

First, the real estate industry is a bit behind, no offense, but I’m thinking that we bluster and bellow about stuff that really isn’t relevant, or, by the time we grasp the idea, another idea has pushed that idea into the past. What am I talking about? I’m talking about information and how it’s driving us to change the way we do business. Here’s what I’m thinking: We are not in control of information, I believe information is in control of us. That is, we are becoming conduits for information- I don’t know how else to describe what I see happening, but maybe a few examples.

Remember transparency? Transparency has nothing to do with pulling down your boxers. It’s simply about information. But not information about you. See, it’s not about you. And it’s not personal, so don’t panic, and it doesn’t matter if you like it, don’t like it, wanna share, don’t wanna share. Nope, none of that matters, because what is happening is that with or without you, information about how we do business, everything about how we do business, is about to be shared. Again- it’s not about you, it’s just information, but it’s all about information, and we are not in control of information. We are conduits, pathways, carriers of informational memes. That’s all, and it’s not about you personally.

Except. It is about how valuable you are at sharing information. How expert you are at giving away information. How transparent you are at sharing everything you know. That’s the only thing that’s going to make you valuable in the future, because what is happening, indeed what has happened and we don’t realize it, is that our value will only lie in how quickly and openly we can disclose valuable information to those who are looking for it, and when they are looking for it.

Does that make sense? I’m never sure if everyone gets this stuff before I do, or if I’m the crazy person hollering about stuff that no one else sees. In this case, I know a few people see this, have seen it for quite awhile, but do you really see it?

Do you see why blogs, social networks, twitter, are so vital? So important? But here’s the thing: It’s not connecting with people that make it so important, contrary to popular belief, it’s because of the ability to share information rapidly- the back and forth, the conversations, the 140 characters, that makes networking so valuable. It’s not about social, in the way we have traditionally thought about social, because, remember, it’s not personal, and it’s not about us, it’s only about how vital we are at sharing information, spreading memes. You think you get this, but I’m not sure you grasp the enormity of this.

Everything we, as people, are beginning to hold valuable, is only for the purpose of sharing information. Don’t believe me? What’s the greatest thing about rebc? Meeting people? Yeah. So we think it’s the physical hug? Nope. It’s that we can blast a whole lotta info back and forth much more quickly in real life. We can share ideas, information, themes, memes in a heart beat, and that is so fulfilling to us, isn’t it? It’s like great sex. Wow. Information satisfaction. I looked that person in the eyes, and we talked. I saw their facial expressions and watched them laugh and frown, but all the while we were giving valuable information back and forth in rapid fire pace, and that’s where the satisfaction comes from.

But that’s great, and you can say, “See Teri? It is about IRL.” Not quite. You still have to connect. We want information satisfaction, don’t we? Have you ever met someone IRL, that you’ve known online, and there still is no connection? Why? Why no connection? Because you are not sharing information that either of you cares about. Your memes are not connecting. You are in each other’s twitter stream. You’re BfbFF (think about it) but you don’t really talk, do you? Your memes, your themes, your value as informational conduits are not meaningful to each other. Now you see where I’m going?

So take the NAR, please (ba dum ching). Tom sat down with some of the people who we might consider the best and brightest informational conduits at the NAR. He made a connection. They shared their memes. And now we know that the NAR has meme issues- “messues” we might call them- on a large scale. Why? Because people do not gain value from the NAR, and it’s not a perception issue. That is, it’s not that the NAR is perceived to be something it isn’t, it’s that we understand the NAR, and they are not truly open to transparency. It doesn’t share well with others. And it is going to die, because, by protecting information in the name of benefiting members only, much of its most vital information is locked away behind a veil. Here’s where it gets interesting: We, as conduits of information, as consumers of information, find this idea repellent. We, even as protected members, do not want to conduct our lives this way- it’s anathema to us as theme/meme messengers. We can’t get no informational satisfaction. A consumer friendly NAR site? We might consider that an informational tease.

Have I got this figured out? Almost? Kinda?

What if the real estate industry didn’t control the real estate market? Let’s stop with this “if” nonsense, because your value as an agent will be in your ability to share information- give consumers good informational satisfaction not “if”, but “when” the industry doesn’t control real estate. And it’s not personal, and it’s not about you, or blog, or your social media prowess, except in your ability to connect with memes. Tom understands that evolution is happening- but the NAR cannot participate is this evolution revolution. You, on the other hand, can evolve as quickly as the rest of the world, and that’s exciting.

Okay. That’s all I got. Am I on the right track?