Localism, adapting to new market conditions, and thriving (Part 2)

Hi Nick! No, I am not tooting my husband's horn, heheeh. Those who know me well will testify that if my motivation is not intrinsic, it's not going to get done. I am actually very excited about Localism! Hubby flew out last night for business, I hopped onto ActiveRain to write a post on my neighborhood dog park, one thing led to another, and I pretty much composed much of this post in respone to Bill Leider's recently featured blog.

There is a lot of skepticism out in the world. There should be. Many ventures claim to do this or that, and never deliver. Look at ActiveRain. If you enter my name in a google search, my ActiveRain page pops up at the head of the list. How many web sites and groups have I been a part in, and my name would have delivered no results ?

Just this morning, I recieved a client inquiry into help for moving out to this area. Mind you, I have not been the most profficient of bloggers, yet with just a few blogs, consumers start to notice? Localism will go far further than that. Just how far, we as the individual agent get to decide, based on how much we choose to participate.

If you read Part 3, of my blog post above, it will make sense why I am so excited about Localism. Jon had told me about it before, but it had never clicked. Now I am unstoppable. I carry my camera out with me, constantly watching out for something blog-worthy. I read the community newspapers, and pay attention more than ever to local goverment, school development, etc. I am certain that my effort will be worth more than what I put in... my rewards will e greater than my effort. Knowledge is exponential. The more I know, the more I am sought out, the better I serve my clients, and after a while, that wealth of knowledge becomes a force to be reckoned with. Many realtors know this already. Localism allows realtors to display this wealth while strengthening their market position in their community.  

Maggie, you're too kind! :)

I visited Springfield, MO as a child and fell madly in love with it. For a good handful of years, I tried to persuade my parents moving to Missouri would be advantageous. It never did happen, but it has stayed a fond place in my heart.  What a lovely place to sell. 

Change is hard, very hard, in fact. Resisting change is a healthy part of humanity, maybe part of our "self-preservation" instincts. The relationship between resistance and adaptation is very interesting to me. We resist change until we realize we might starve, and then we embrace change emphatically in a struggle for survival. (I mean this metaphorically). I don' think there's any judgment in it, any "right" or "wrong", but a life process..

That said, I've read a lot about reactive/proactive thinking (Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline is one of my favorite books on this) and a slim book that put me in a state of shock when I first read it titled, Who Moved my Cheese? I have faith that realtors will adapt and thrive. I don't think non-adaptive realtors will starve, but with time their business stream will slow down, so that of their own will they will reach out and embrace new methods to compliment their business strategy and to maintain their quality of life. (Market pressures as motivator.) I'm inclined to think the change will happen slowly(although it's already begun, perhaps 5 years ago), as opposed to the overnight flip of the switch suffered by the travel industry. I also suspect it will happen generationally, meaning more and more of the younger buyers as they enter the market will be employing modern methods in their househunting. (I'm not a guru or specialist on this, there are just my inclinations..)

Early adapters are often positioned to benefit the most, however. One of their benefits, by getting in early, is they learn ahead of the later, broader group of adapters what works and what doesn't.   Strategies can be tweaked mintuely to better capitalize on that market. Early adapters often aren't so intimidated by their own skepticism, which can hold a person back.  Skepticism is natural; it's just that early adapters listen to their skepticism less.

Realtors need a voice, in the new emerging markets. I've disliked how often realtors get exploited. With so many fronts encroaching on the realtor's line of business, it is getting harder and harder for them to survive.  Localism is the antithesis to that. It seeks to help the realtor by offering both a sustainable method for success and by offering a tangible method of adapting to the new mediums. (Often, I think the realtor has been watching things change, but has seen no viable way to adapt at all, instead, feeling undercut. I feel strongly that whatever changes occur in the next 20 years, the realtor will be an integral part).

:) 

The above post is mine, for some funny reason, my name is not appearing on the screen next to it. 

I wanted to mention that I think Localism is relevant to all segments of the RE industry, that not just realtors stand to benefit from posting on it. (I referred primarily to realtors in my blog).  

Hi Joan!

To post on Localism is quite simple, so simple that I was stunned myself when I realized it.

When you blog on ActiveRain, your blog post will automatically show up on Localism.com if you've done two things:

1) Select "consumer" as the content of your blog, and

2) Select the State, and then the city of your blog market. You must select both the state and city. Without the city, your blog will not appear, as the city helps Localism to know how to file your blog.

To insert pictures without blogging, go to "Localism.com". Login in (button on the top right). Your Login and Password are the same as your ActiveRain Login and Password.

Click on your state from the map or the list. Then, select the county on the left, then the city. (These will automatically pop up as you complete the step before it.)

Click on "[your city] Photos" from the list on your top left. Click on "Upload  photo for [your city]". 

Click "browse" and select the photo from your computer. Then click "open" and it will transfer it to your location box. Click "upload photo" and you're done!

:) 

Joan, let me know if you have any glitches! Since it's so new, there's a few glitches sometimes...

If you get an error after selecting "upload photo", try shrinking your photo definition. If the photo definition is too long, it gives an error.  

Brian, "The truth is more shocking than fiction"!

Thanks everyone for sharing your thougts about Localism! This is a fascinating journey...

Sara Washburn :) 

Hi Elena,

Have you become compulsive like me? I have hundreds of thoughts brewing in my brain regarding content I want to right and pictures I'd like to showcase. My days are swamped right now! By the time I'm done with the stuff on my plate, night has fallen, and so has the sun!