Why I Don't Like the Use of Buzzwords like "High Tech, High Touch" in Real Estate Agent Marketing

Google the search string "high tech high touch real estate" and you'll get hundreds and hundreds of results pointing to real estate agent and company websites which sell themselves using these buzzwords.

The phrase "high tech, high touch" was coined back in 1982 by John Naisbitt, the author of "Megatrends".  At the time, everything Naisbitt wrote was considered part of a futuristic gold standard.  His book made the New York Times bestseller list and he became considered a guru of sorts.

Supposedly, the original meaning of the phrase "high tech, high touch" was "the quality of embracing technology that recognizes us as human beings and rejecting technology that tends to dehumanize us".

Somewhere along the line, the phrase became one of the most overused (and misused) marketing terms in real estate agent marketing.

A considerable number of agents use the term to say "I have great technology skills, but I'm not a geek" or "I know how to use technology, but I still know how to relate to people.  I'm warm and fuzzy".  The phrase has become a disclaimer, a defensive statement, as if anyone who has technology skills must defend themselves against the argument that technology makes you unfeeling or cold or detached from human qualities.

Why some agents feel they need to apologize for having tech skills is beyond me, but it seems to pop up fairly often.  Most bloggers know at least someone who has received a lecture about "don't rely on technology alone to help you succeed" and "don't forget the value of public contact".  In reality, I have met very few real estate agents who have become androids simply because they possess technology skills. 

So perhaps agents feel that they have to go on the defensive, reassuring the public that they're really just plain folks like everyone else. They pretend technology is a necessary evil, something that we're forced to do because the public demands information and we're just trying to give them what they want.

There's no need to apologize for your technology skills.  The quote, "no one can make you feel inferior without your consent" applies here.  If someone resents your skills, it's likely that individual is envious of those skills.