Indianapolis Metropolitan Board of REALTORS®, (MIBOR) Rules Google is a “Scraper Site”
From *deep* in the WTF?!? files comes this insanity…
Paula Henry reports on Agent Genius that her local board has issued a “cease and desist” letter for her website because — get this — things like property listing addresses are indexed on her site by Google.
You can’t make up things this arcane and ignorant.
Paula’s broker commented on the piece saying, “The NAR has supported this ruling”.
As another commenter says — The 1970’s called. They want their MLS rules back.
Realtor.com of course, appears to be exempt from this ruling, which does nothing but hurt the agents and their clients. Of course, the NAR doesn’t “have control” over Realtor.com, this despite the verbiage strewn across the banner of the site that loudly proclaims Realtor.com is the “Official Site of the National Association of REALTORS®”.
Whatever.
I just love that our trade organization, whose stated Mission & Vision is “to help its members become more profitable and successful”, supports such an asinine ruling.
Todd Carpenter named NAR Social Media Manager
Great choice, now let’s see where it goes.
I like Todd. I like all the NAR folks I met in Chicago last month. Todd definitely has the skills, and the NAR leadership team has the desire.
I say this based only on an all day meeting I attended with them last month and some correspondence I’ve had with a few members of the NAR team. I know there are others out there who feel otherwise. They weren’t in the meeting I was in, so it’s pretty stunning to me that they know what the NAR is thinking.
But all that’s neither here nor there.
I’ve asked Todd to do a little “interview” here on NARWisdom. Hopefully he can fit it into his schedule.
Congrats Todd. Now get your ass to work!
NAR Announces Social Media Manager has been Selected
But they aren’t saying yet who it is…
Tony Arko over on Real/diaBlog tells us that Dale Stinton, NAR CEO, told members of the Dulles Area Association of REALTORS that the position has been filled. Tony said that a “formal announcement is forthcoming”.
Drew Myers over at GeekEstateBlog has a hunch Todd Carpenter is the man.
I happen to agree. I’ve been saying for awhile that I thought Todd was the choice. And if it is Todd, then the NAR has already taken a huge first step in getting this thing right.
But right now it doesn’t really matter who it is, as we’ll find out soon enough.
I was fortunate to attend a meeting at NAR headquarters in Chicago last month where several of us discussed social media and this position with Dale Stinton and several other members of the NAR Leadership team. I was pleased (and yes, surprised) to see how much they “got it”.
Personally, I think Dale made a mistake in announcing this position had been filled but not saying by whom. That sort of smacks transparency in the face — and transparency is a cornerstone of social media. But I also personally know that Dale is excited that this position is coming to NAR, and I’m completely confident that he and his team support it.
And that alone is more than enough reason to be optimistic.
I’ll also, right here on this blog that has not exactly been gentle on the NAR, pledge my full support to whoever has been selected. I think it’s critical that the vocal minority (and I include myself in that category) understand that the SMM is not the Messiah. They won’t affect a lot of change in an organization like the NAR in the coming days. Or even months. This is going to be a long, slow process.
I only have one request of the new Social Media Manager. . .
Make sure they don’t sponsor another float. 
More Rose Parade Madness. And Money.
First we get the news that the NAR is sponsoring a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1.
And despite dozens and dozens of views of that post from people in the NAR corporate offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C., there’s been nary a peep on what the cost of that thing is.
And now we get the third video in the “Tournament of Roses Parade Float Webisodes”.
In episode #3, we find out that a special theme song has been written and recorded for the occasion.
As you watch the video, note the awards shown for the composer and lyricists. Here’s a little summary for you:
Composer Charles Fox has been nominated for two Oscars, two Golden Globes, a Grammy, and five Emmy’s (winning two Emmy’s).
Lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman have collected 16 Academy Award nominations (and won 3 times), 8 Grammy nominations with 1 win, and have won 3 Emmys.
Recording artist Steve Tyrell has been involved in winning 2 Grammys and is under contract with Columbia Records.
Do you think that Academy Award / Grammy / Emmy winning artists work for free?
Of course I can’t say for sure, but my guess is. . . probably not.
I’d still like to know how much the float cost. I’d also like to know who is flying to Pasadena to view the spectacle, and what that costs.
And now I’d like to know what the cost is to have a special theme song composed, written, and recorded by award winning artists.
Come on NAR. In the name of full disclosure and fiscal responsibility to your membership (you know, the members that write you checks every year) why don’t you tell us the total cost associated with this parade float?
NAR Sponsors Float in Tournament of Roses Parade
The NAR is sponsoring a float in the January 1 Tournament of Roses Parade.
One of America’s greatest New Year’s Day traditions, the Tournament of Roses Parade is seen by one out of every four U.S. households, and in more than 150 international territories. This coming year, viewers will enjoy a float sponsored by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, wrapping up the association’s Centennial year of celebrations in style and reinforcing positive messages about REALTORS® and housing.
The inspiration for the NAR float is the Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss. As the story goes, the family is shipwrecked on a deserted island. Rather than give up, they pull together to build a unique home among the trees. The home becomes their strength and solace.
The NAR float will use this concept to highlight the true value of homeownership and how important the “home” is to families today. The design is a creative representation of the Swiss Family Robinson’s home among the trees.
It’s probably just me, but I’m struggling with exactly how the Swiss Family Robinson’s tree house highlights the true value of home ownership and reinforces positive messages about Realtors and housing…
In Part 1 of a video series about the float, NAR President-Elect Vicki Cox Golder says, “Our members are going to be joyful to see that we are representing them in such a historic moment in our time as the National Association of Realtors, but also making the public aware of how proud we are of our members”.
Can’t really say I’m “joyful”.
I have just one question that I can’t find the answer to anywhere on Realtor.org.
How much does this thing cost?
The closest I can come to an answer is in the 2009 Rose Parade Float Application:
WHAT DOES A FLOAT COST?
Float design and construction costs vary and generally begin at approximately $200,000. Costs can be higher or lower depending on sophistication of design, degree of animation, and varieties of floral materials. The Tournament considers floats with both smaller and larger budgets. The mutually agreed-upon cost for a float is an arrangement between the participating organization and a Tournament of Roses approved builder; the Tournament does not receive any of the funds allocated to the building of a float.
ARE THERE ADDITIONAL FEES?
A float participation fee ($6,250 for commercial entries, $3,700 for non-commercial entries) is not included in the builder costs and is paid to the Tournament of Roses after a group is invited to enter a float in the Rose Parade.
Watch Part 2 of the video series (sorry, NAR doesn’t allow embedding of their videos…) and you’ll see this is a pretty sophisticated float, with animation, so I suspect the “beginning price” of $200,000 may have escalated just a wee bit.
We Realtor types believe in full disclosure. I know folks at the NAR read this blog, so how about disclosing the full price for this float? Be sure to include travel and lodging for any NAR execs flying to Pasadena to witness the spectacle. Don’t the members deserve to know where their money is being spent?
Is this money well spent?
Granted, a lot of people watch the Rose Parade on TV. So if they happen to be in front of the tube when the NAR’s float passes by for what, 45 seconds(?), then maybe the $200+ thousand dollars is worth it. I’m sure some of those viewers will say, “Ooh, what a pretty float, we should buy a house!” Or maybe they’ll think, “Look at the nice tree house. We should have more respect for Realtors.”
If nothing else, surely all those that see the float will say to themselves, “That NAR, they sure are proud of their members.”
Sarasota Association of Realtors: Where does one start?
Search the Sarasota MLS.
I’m sure anyone who reads this tiny slice of the real estate blogiverse is already well aware of the situation with the Sarasota Association of Realtors taking away control of a domain name from one of their own members, Marc Rasmussen.
The purpose of this post isn’t to tell the story all over again, that’s been done dozens of times. (If you want the details, the post I wrote on the Sarasota Association of Realtors has links to 44 other posts on the subject). The story has been told, and in my opinion, what the SAR is doing is deplorable. Despicable. A travesty.
The actual purpose of this post is simple. It’s to throw a little link love to Marc’s site. One tiny step to help him rebuild his web presence that the Sarasota Association of Realtors is trying to rip right out from under him.
And, well, let’s be honest. I also want yet another post to rank on Google for the search “Sarasota Association of Realtors“. At this moment in time, if you google that term, 7 of the first 10 results and 13 of the top 20 results are about this railroading.
There’s room for one more… You see SAR, the words in the domain name are but a tiny piece of the puzzle as to what makes a site rank where it does. Search your very associations name, and watch what happens. While you are searching, you may want to search “reputation management” and do a little reading on that subject.
Fight the fight Marc. I know it’s expensive (you can donate to Marc’s legal defense fund here). That you are standing up for what is right and not letting someone stomp all over your for their own selfish gain speaks volumes to your character. I would think anyone looking for real estate in Sarasota would be well served by Marc Rasmussen.
No Relocation for the NAR Social Media Manager?
What you see above is from the job posting on LinkedIn for the NAR Social Media Manager position (my emphasis).
I’ve already mentioned in posts and comments scattered about the Internet that I thought the NAR was severely limiting their ability to hire the right person by forcing this position to be based in Chicago.
That was said under the assumption that the NAR would be relocating the candidate if necessary.
Well, you know what that say when you ass-u-me something. . .
Now it appears that the NAR is only accepting local (to Chicago) candidates, or (assuming again) someone willing to pack up and move at their own expense to ChiTown.
Wow.
According to the NAR’s own Chief Economist, we are in a recession. To expect someone to relo for an important position on their own dime at a time like this is asking a lot. A whole lot.
Fortunately, there are about 3 million people in Chicago, so maybe one will be the ideal candidate. Unfortunately the other 302 million folks elsewhere in the country are pretty much excluded from contention.
hat tip to Ari Herzog for the LinkedIn posting.
Why I am “Unfollowing” @NARSocialMedia
OK, here’s the deal.
The NAR announces they are on a search for a Social Media Manager.
Shortly after that, someone creates a Twitter ID called “NARSocialMedia”.
For about 5 minutes, I thought it was funny.
Now, not-so-much.
Let’s be real. I haven’t exactly been the poster boy for the NAR. Heck, I created this blog didn’t I? (Which, contrary to popular belief, is not all just about NAR bashing. But I digress).
The problem I have with @NARSocialMedia is three-fold.
One, it’s not remotely close to being “endorsed” by the NAR. Yet they have a profile and send Tweets (at times) like they are. This is misleading, deceptive, and if I dare say so, stupid. You can see by responses to their Tweets that some people think this person is actually part of the NAR. I don’t think that’s good for anyone.
Two, I can see a situation developing where someone in the NAR tower is sitting back and saying “See? I told you this social media thing was crap. All we did was announce a position and look what happened.”
Three, I have a problem with anonymity on the internet. Whoever is behind this actually has some good things to say. Believe it or not, the NAR would listen to them but I don’t blame them for not — given no one knows who they really are.
Maybe that is this persons intent — to undermine the hiring of a social media director. Maybe it’s just to be “funny”. Maybe it’s for attention. Maybe it’s just because. I don’t know their intent. And no, I don’t know who it is. There’s a high probability that I know, and have met, the person hiding behind the Twitter ID. If that’s the case, I probably like them and consider them a friend. If so, you’re still my friend, I just don’t see the point in what you are trying to do here.
So I’m unfollowing them. You, oh avid reader, of course are free to do as you see fit.
More on the NAR Social Media Manager Position
The more I ponder this new position at the NAR, the more excited about it I become. If the right person is hired, and is given a chance by NAR leadership and the real estate community, then great things could come of it. As I learn more, I’ll post here, and I’m working on a post detailing more of my thoughts as well (maybe that’ll cure this weird writer’s block think I have working right now).
I shamelessly lifted this comment from Daniel Rothamel’s post on the NAR Social Media Manager position. It comes from Pamela Kabati - the NAR VP of Publications and Web Publishing:
Hi Daniel!
Since the new social media manager at NAR will “live” in my department (I’m NAR’s VP of Publications and Web Publishing), I wanted to jump in here and say that I believe this development is, indeed, a very good thing for NAR and its members. OK, so I’m a little bit biased (smile), but here goes:This new position was approved by NAR’s current elected and staff leadership with great enthusiasm. The goal of the position, to speak to Derek’s comment, is to be proactive in the social media community, though I suspect it will also need to be reactive sometimes, because that’s just the nature of things. (I was proactively checking out what I consider to be the best of the real estate blogs today, and now here I am reacting to something I read on one of them.)
As you can tell from the job posting on monster, this position makes it someone’s actual job at NAR to talk with NAR members when and where they choose to congregate in the digital space, adding value to those conversations in whatever ways this person — and by extension, NAR — can. For example, NAR has a lot of information at its Web sites and in its databases that can really help its members with their day-to-day business if it reaches them in a moment when it’s particularly relevant to them.
Another big part of this person’s job will be to listen (underscore) to the conversations happening out there among NAR members, and help NAR as an organization be more aware of that collective intelligence and the role in can play in helping the organization spot trends and shape its policies and positions.
This person will also evangelize to other NAR staff and leadership the value of engaging in the digital space, and it will help educate other staff and leadership about the rules of the road in that space.
Will NAR and the person in this new job get it all right all the time from day one? Probably not (though the eternal optimist in me thinks the answer could be “yes, of course!”)Still, I think this is a big and important step for NAR and its members. So my hope is that you, Daniel, and other avid real estate bloggers out there will do two things. One, that you’ll help us figure this out as we go and keep us honest along the way; and, two, that you’ll be patient with us and any missteps that may occur as NAR becomes more engaged in the digital conversation.
Finally, but ceratinly not least, if you know of anyone out there who you think would be terrific in this role, please do let us know. I’ve already logged and appreciate the suggestions of Ben Martin and Jay T!
Best,
Pamela Kabati
NAR is Looking for a Social Media Manager
Well this is interesting….
The National Association of REALTORS®, “The Voice for Real Estate” and America’s largest trade association, involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries, representing 1.3 million REALTORS®, is seeking a Manager of Social Media, based in our Chicago headquarters.
MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (NOT ALL-INCLUSIVE):
The Manager of Social Media will ensure that NAR has the knowledge and skills to guide NAR staff and members in creating, facilitating, and participating effectively in key conversations about our organization, our issues, and our members that are conducted on blogs and other online social media channels.
This position requires a high-energy, self-directed, deadline-oriented individual who has exceptional communication skills and is able to:
* Monitor real estate industry and related social media
* Facilitate NAR’s participation in external blogs and social media
* Maintain, evolve, and enforce NAR’s social media policies and guidelines
* Train NAR staff and elected leaders about how to write for blogs and other forms of social media
* Monitor existing NAR blogs and create new ones as needed to foster conversations about relevant topics or issues.
* Measure the effectiveness of NAR’s social media efforts.
Hmmmm…. far as I’m aware, the thought was first voiced here back in February.
Pick the right person NAR. It’s really important.
If you haven’t already, vote in the poll at the top of the middle sidebar. It’s been up awhile.
Love to hear some thoughts out there…
Hat tip to @JimDuncan, Twitter friend via CRT Blog
Others Opine:
Daniel Rothamel at the Real Estate Zebra
Kevin Boer at 3Oceans Real Estate
Drew Meyers at Geek Estate Blog
Tony Sena on Active Rain
Matthew Rathbun on The Agent Trainer