After reading last weeks post, Regarding Today's Inman News Article, I was reminded of the parable of the Otter and the Scorpion. You may have heard many versions of this, but here is how I remember it:
A Scorpion was caught off-guard by the rising waters due to heavy rainfall, and scrambled onto the nearest rock.
Surrounded by rising waters, the Scorpion could only watch as the rains descended and the water continued to rise.
An Otter swam by, frolicking freely in the water.
"Help me, Help me!" screamed the Scorpion.
The Otter, ever curious, swam to the rock to see who was in trouble.
Scorpion said, "Otter, if you carry me to higher ground, I will be forever in your debt. Please help me."
Otter replied, "Oh no. You would sting me and I would drown."
Scorpion said, "I promise not to sting you. If I did, I would sink with you and drown also."
Otter nodded, and said, "Of course. That makes sense. And I suppose having a scorpion indebted to me could be useful. Climb on. I will take you where you need to go."
Scorpion climbed on to Otter's back, and Otter swam to the banks, taking Scorpion to safety.
As Scorpion was climbing off, safe on higher ground, Otter felt a sharp pain in his neck.
Scopion had stung him.
Otter looked up at Scorpion with a horrified expression on his face. "Why? You promised..."
Scorpion replied, "Because I am a Scorpion. It's my nature."
ActiveRain has been stung by the proverbial Scorpion. Move.com, in response to ActiveRain's lawsuit against them appears to be saying much the same as Scorpion: "You should not have trusted us, therefore you are at fault, not us." I say that the people in charge at Move.com should be ashamed of themselves. Yes, business is business, but they have to learn that the Real Estate Business is a People Business, not some ledger-book- balance-sheet-accounting exercise. What Active Rain did when they created their platform was to recognize that people buy into people long before they buy into a product or service. Move's corporate bad behavior will do nothing to endear them to either their users, nor the consumers that they ultimately serve.
My advice to Active Rain: Keep doing what you do best. Frolic in the Rain. Ignore the pleas of those that envy your ability to go where they cannot. You will live longer, and be much happier.
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