I am not the audience, and what I plan to do about it
November 12, 2008 |
I had a great time this past week attending BloodhoundBlog Unchained and NAR 2008. I was able to catch up with a lot of friends, meet some people who I knew only as avatars, and make some new friends. All in all, it was a very rewarding experience.
One thing occurred to me, however, as I was attending the panel discussions and presentations. It is something that I think I have been feeling for a while now, but it never really hit me until this past week– I am not the audience anymore.
Allow me to explain. For every single one of the panels that I attended that had anything to do with social media, I already knew the panelists. Most of the time, I not only knew them, but knew them very well. I read their blogs, or have had meaningful discussions with them about all things technology and real estate. In that way, I almost knew what they were going to say before they said it. This is only because either I had heard them say it before, or I had said similar things myself.
In a way, I could have looked at this as a let down. I could have said, “well, gee, NAR 2008 and BHB Unchained were a complete waste of time. I didn’t learn anything.” It would have been easy to say that. But it wouldn’t have been the truth.
I did, in fact, learned two very important things:
1) I learned that their is a much larger audience for this information than I ever expected. Two of the NAR panels I attended about social media had at least 150 people in attendance, probably more. That is more agents and brokers than I expected, quite honestly.
2) I learned that the “RE.net” is made up of people who are eager to share their knowledge and experiences with an audience, any audience.
The fact is, much of the discussion that has been happening around the RE.net has been occurring amongst basically the same folks for about a year or so. That’s fine.
What has been happening most recently, however, is that other folks are starting to listen-in. Other folks are starting to get curious and ask questions. It used to be that everyone was too busy working multiple offers and running buyer assembly lines to pay any attention to talk of things like social media.
Now, things are a bit different. People have more time to consider what they are doing, where they are spending their effort, and how the market will look in the future. As they make these considerations, they are beginning to look at the things that the RE.net has been talking about for years, and say, “hey, that sounds interesting, tell me more.”
That’s were I come in (and so do you).
I might not be the intended audience for many of the topics that were presented at NAR 2008 and BloodhoundBlog Unchained. That does not, however, mean that the audience does not exist. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I believe that we will see that audience grow exponentially over the next 12-18 months.
The growth of the audience means that I have a responsibility (and so do you) to share what I can with them; a responsibility to seek out those who are searching for knowledge, and give what I can.
The “RE.net” can continue to have its own conversations, but the really important thing is to expand those conversations to include those who can benefit most from the knowledge, those we have yet to friend on Facebook, those we have yet to follow on Twitter, those we have yet to meet in person, for they matter most. If our industry is to truly be changed forever, it is those who must be reached.
I might not be the audience, you might not be the audience, but believe me, the audience is out there. They are willing to listen, they just need someone willing to share.
Are you that person?
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12 Responses to “I am not the audience, and what I plan to do about it”
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Disclaimer
My name is Daniel Rothamel. I am a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a member of the National Association of REALTORS. As such, I adhere to a strict code of ethics and all laws with regard to equal housing, which is reflected in the content of this blog. My broker is Strong Team REALTORS, 86 Joshua Lane, Palmyra, VA 22963; (434) 589-5800. My VA Real Estate License number is 0225 077325. All of the opinions in this blog are mine, unless otherwise noted.
Hi Daniel,
It was so nice to see you again! I’m not the audience anymore either and I do spread the word. Up here in NH I teach the stuff and love spreading the word. Sadly very few agents will actually put into motion what I teach them. Guess it’s old …You can lead a horse to water but can’t force it to drink.
I’ll keep at it though because I know it can make such a huge difference.
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Daniel
Au contraire! That you acknowledge this particular element of the RE Net, suggests that you as an audience member did come away with something you didn’t recognize before.
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[...] Further notice: Brian Brady at Active Rain: NAR Orlando: All Work and No Play Makes Brian A…, Daniel Rothamel at The Real Estate Zebra: I am not the audience, and what I plan to do about it. [...]
Hi Daniel,
I saw you from afar a couple of times this past week, but never got the chance to meet face-to-face. I am DEFINITELY the audience. New to social networking and blogging since January with so much more to learn.
Hopefully, you’ll find new things to learn that we don’t even know about yet, and you’ll pass it along.
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This is my thinking. There are three million people we’re interested in working with. So far, we’ve managed to get in front of at most 30,000, through the weblog, and never more than 100 for an extended live appearance. We may be at the end of the beginning of the adoption of this technology in real estate. But, if so, then the real job is just starting.
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Greg,
You are on the money. It is a sentiment that is not expressed nearly enough. I fear that not enough consideration is being given to the situation, and the risk is sputtering before we ever really get moving. Kinda like being a surfer and missing that perfect wave because you were busy staring at the girls on the beach.
Gretchen,
You can be sure that I’ll pass along anything I find. Next time you see me from afar, make sure you yell out a big “hello!”
Larry,
Point well taken. Another thing that I learned, but didn’t mention in the post, is that message delivery matters just as much as the message itself.
Monika,
It was so good to see you again! I know that New England is in good hands, as long as you are doing your thing.
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So good to see you again Daniel. I’ve had a few of those same thoughts. I’ve been speaking around Michigan and getting a great response. I know we are nowhere near critical mass as far as Realtors go but they are hungary to find out more.
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RE.net = Early Adopters
We’re the kids who pre-order PS3’s. They’re just now hitting the shelves. (and just in time for the Christmas rush) In a few years, they will be reduced to compete on price. Finally, they will show up at used goods stores for reselling.
We’ve got a long way to go!
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No matter how much I learn or how much success I may enjoy in the future, my hope is that the time never comes where I feel like I am not the audience.
Not having the “AH HA!” moment when hearing something for the first time or from a different angle ever again would be dearly missed.
I think the responsibility that you and others have of sharing what you already know with the majority of us also includes making sure you continue to challenge yourself to find new doors to open and share so that those who want to, can still find a seat in the audience.
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Daniel,
Great post as always. You are correct, we all need to share what we know (or just learned) with any who will listen. We can’t make them implement but we can share.
Doing so helps us solidify the “why” we are doing something and I know for me, as I share I always think of new things.
I try to always remember, what I learned today, I can teach to someone else tomorrow.
Thanks!
Dale
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I don’t want people to mistake what I am saying here. I AM NOT saying that I have nothing more to learn. Quite the contrary. I know I have much more to learn.
What I AM saying, is that time needs to be more judiciously learning and teaching, as opposed to merely showing up and socializing.
I see the same people coming to a lot of the presentations, which is great, because they do it in order to give support to their fellow Realtors. Support is fine, but the best support we can give each other is by changing the culture of the industry as a whole. We can’t do this if we are all sitting in the same room all the time.
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Steve Mattison reply on November 14th, 2008 1:29 pm:
You make sense, appreciate your candor and would like to be fed cyberly by you and your sources, how?
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