I was recently reading an article on TremendousNews.com that highlighted the 5 Signs You’re Part of an Internet Fad and thought back on the talks and training sessions I’ve lead recently and realized many people in real estate worry which Internet sites are here to stay before investing time into them.
Some of the suggestions from the article are helpful in figuring what may be a fad and what has real relevance. Quite possibly the most powerful point is that in the long run, pretty much every thing is a fad. Many of the formerly “hot” sites of yesterday are obsolete today. However, the knowledge that something better will eventually come along doesn’t mean you should ignore all the cool stuff that happens along the way. Here are my thoughts on the ways to spot a fad and which sites I’m spending my time on today.
(The following signs are taken from the aforementioned Tremendous News article.)
Sign #1 – People Are Way Too Into It – This is referencing the group of super-early adopters that eat, sleep and breath the technology, make shirts to announce how much they love it, and tell everyone else how uncool they are for not using it. This gives the early adopters their 15 minutes of fame and a reason for people to come ask their opinion.
Realtors Beware! When someone tells you that you absolutely must have something and that they are the only one that can tell you how to use (for the low, low price of all your money) or that “everyone’s doing it” but no one you know is doing it — it might be a fad. Waiting to see if the larger population begins to adopt this particular piece of technology won’t mean you’re too far behind to every catch up. Adopting things early has it’s benefits, but also a price, which is usually a lot of time spent on trial and error.
Sign #2 – People Are Scared When Something Else Comes Out – “When Google Buzz came out and people called it the “Twitter Killer”, thousands of people on Twitter grew frightened. If Buzz actually killed Twitter, all of those days they spent getting super hot spambot followers would be wasted. Tons of people on Twitter secretly hope Google Buzz will fail. And the rest are buying Buzz T Shirts and taking pictures of themselves for their avatars.” – TremendousNews
Realtors Beware! If it is that easy to “kill” a new product then it’s probably going to fail anyway. Facebook crushed MySpace and a lot of the competition, Google has managed to make it to the top of the search engine world and beyond – have some faith in permanence of certain products and don’t be afraid to move to something new if what you’ve got isn’t working for you anymore.
Sign #3 – It Becomes Corporate – When most social media sites and “hot Internet companies” came into the world, they were started by regular people. Probably by some geeky guys at a Starbucks on the peninsula that most people would never look twice at. And that’s what made it cool, and accessible. When corporations fully take over (not just participate, but fully take over) it starts to feel hollow. Social media experts hired on by big brands need heed this advice as well, don’t hide behind a logo – you are your best asset.
Realtors Beware! Don’t be part of the problem – be genuine, individual and personable – not a logo, brand or otherwise faceless company that sends out canned messaging to your FRIENDS. Sending all your listings out on Facebook or Twitter is perceived no differently than Honda sending car ads or Pepsi begging you to drink their cola. Keep it real people!
Social media is a great way for people to stay connected and share information. Whether that information is about your personal life or an article about the latest home prices in your area, it says something about you. And because it’s personal, it’s trusted. According to 
