The National Association of Realtors has adopted several brand new Standards of Practice for the 2007 Code of Ethics that directly address "doing the right thing" when using the Internet in the practice of real estate.

Here is a quick summary in plain English:

1. Don't mislead the client when using the Internet to establish a contractual relationship.
2. Make sure the information you put on the Internet is current, and, if it is not, take immediate steps to correct it.
3. Clearly disclose the name of the firm and the state of licensure on all web pages.
4. If you intend to share or sell the consumer's information you must clearly disclose this fact.
5. Don't say misleading or negative things about another real estate firm. This includes retransmitting or repeating things said by others.
6. Don't try to pass of content developed by others as your own.
7. Don't use any device possible on the Internet (keywords, metatags, and so on) to mislead consumers.

The NAR's attention to these issues is evidence of power of the Internet. If I engage in "door knocking" as a form of marketing, who I am, what I look like, and how I present myself is pretty evident. Because anyone can make anything look like anything else via the Internet, we now have the strong possibility that unethical individuals will use the medium to mislead, hoodwink, or otherwise mistreat and mislead consumers.

It is sad that ethical behavior via the Internet had to be spelled out so clearly. For the record, my name is Kathy Vaughan. I have been a Realtor for fourteen years. I live and work in Fairfax County, Virginia. My market is the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. I am the broker/owner of a RE/MAX firm. I list and sell real estate in addition to managing a number of sales associates. I use the Internet to:

1. Market my services and those of my firm, CitySide Properties, Inc. (doing buseinss as RE/MAX CitySide)
2. Advertise listings
3. Provide an Intranet (including forms, faxes, and legal information) for my sales associates
4. Communicate by email with prospects, clients, family, and friends.
5. Get training and information
6. Recruit new agents
7. Write and respond to blogs on Active Rain
8. Other stuff as needed

I was once tempted to hide the fact that my real estate company was behind a particular marketing effort but decided against it because, I reasoned, the very fact that I was tempted was probably a pretty good reason not to do it.

The NAR had not adopted the new Standards of Practice yet, but I didn't need that to stop me. I've always believed that operating in the open was the best way to stay out of trouble. Again, it is sad that ethical behavior via the Internet had to be spelled out so clearly for Realtors. I only hope that the new standards encourage my fellow Realtors to behave the way they should have behaved before the standards were adopted.