I’m writing this post from the WordPress iPhone app. I wanted to give it a shot, and I thought this might be a good way to do it. I figure that having an iPhone app for posting stuff here let’s me wrote about things briefly, as I’m thinking about them. So, on with my post. . .
I was reading some things on various blogs talking about web 2.0, and it’s impact (or not) on the real estate industry. This seems to be a perpetual debate on the web, which in and of itself, seems ironic, since many folks make arguments against web 2.0 using the very tools they claim don’t work; but I digress. . .
My issue here is that I can’t understand why there is this conflict between 2.0 and 1.0, “old school” and “new school.” There are those from each camp who point to the other and profess their imminent demise. It’s dumb, really.
Technological innovation doesn’t work that way, usually. When the television appeared, the radio didn’t cease to exist. When the typewriter appeared, we didn’t throw all our pens into the fire.
Let me make this as clear as I possibly can: 2.0 tools will NEVER replace the face-to-face human interaction, relationship creation, and fundamental interpersonal skills required to be successful in real estate. Ever.
But they were never meant to do that, either. The tools that we have today are just that, tools. They are here for us to use to make our lives and businesses better, if we want to use them. They are here for us to integrate into our business practices when we can, not as a means of replacing what is making us successful.
I can’t figure out people insist that it must be one or the other.
What the heck are we so afraid of? Why is this so hard to understand?
