Shiny objects are good for us

Real estate agents who disregard new tools will end up killing their own progress 

I spent last week in New York City at the Inman Connect conference, a place where technology and real estate collide. A week long event that thrives on introducing new technology to the real estate industry. But this year there seemed to be an overwhelming backlash against ‘shiny objects’ and I love it! (And hate it)

Over the past few years, real estate agents have focused on trying to find the magical combination of new apps and software that would catapult them into the real estate hall of fame, without doing any real work. I love that we are taking a step back to reevaluate our e-tools. It is a chance to streamline our systems, learn more, and harness new technology to improve the client experience.

However, I also see this “re-evaluation” as a detriment to progress. I see our experienced agents using it as a crutch. A way to justify their apathy towards learning something new. They will disregard tools that may actually be useful because they are “re-evaluating.” It will become a clever disguise for less popular answer like “I am too old” or “I am just not tech savvy,” or the slightly more narcissistic answer “I sold houses before the internet, why do I need it now?” It is a short sighted view that may further illuminate the aging population of real estate agents.

The problem is that we are used to shitty software. We have accepted it. It is no longer good enough for the mobile experience to be the afterthought. And it is irresponsible for developers to crunch and cram their desktop programs onto a small screen.

Developing a mobile based platform is hard. It requires tough decisions. You have to strip away meaningless functions. You have to build something so intuitive it can function seamlessly in an increasingly mobile world.

There will be plenty of shiny objects out there. Listen to the people who love to evaluate and pick them apart. But do not place all technology into the same category. Doing so will certainly be a detriment to….oooh pretty.

(a similar version of this story was originally posted on www.goconnectapp.com)