This is a summary of Trend #1 from the 2008 Swanepoel Trends Report. I have included a link below to the summary of the other 9 top trends below. I recommend purchasing the book and getting the full boatload of information Swanepoel provides. I left out a lot… To purchase the report for yourself, go to www.retrends.com.
Trend #1 Two Worlds; One IndustryThe Evolution of Online Communities & Networks
The first phase of the Internet was surfing or browsing where you just aimlessly wondered until you stumbled onto something of interest. Then, powerful search engines like Google and Yahoo let us sort through the Internet with ease. Now, we are at a third stage where we use the Internet for sharing both personal and business information. We share on blogs and social networks where users interact with the help of technology.
Social networking is not a new concept – the term was coined in 1954. It first hit the web in 1995 with classmates.com and other sites. Later, MySpace and Facebook came along and social networks soared. As of September 2007, 1 in 20 visits to the Internet went to one of the top 20 social networks. Americans spend about 12% of their Internet time on social networking sites. Investors are betting that number will grow dramatically as the value of social sites soars. Microsoft paid $240 million last year for about a 2% stake in Facebook.
The report lists 5 examples of on-line communities that are worth looking at:
- www.linkedin.com – a business oriented social networking site
- www.ning.com – allows users to build their own custom social networks.
- www.squidoo.com – this is a network of experts who are sharing their knowledge
- www.digg.com – users add stories and if other users like the content, they “digg” the story or rate it.
- www.secondlife.com – this is a virtual world in which you can live and even do business.
Blogs are great places to share and gain knowledge. The report list several blogs, but I would suggest the following as must reads for REALTORS® in Charlottesville:
- www.varbuzz.com – the official Blog of the State Association of REALTORS®
- www.inman.com/blog – great news content
- www.RealTown.com – the blog from the Internet Crusade – a very REALTOR® friendly group.
- www.narwisdom.com – the unofficial (and often anti) NAR site where you can take part in a frank discussion of the REALTOR® organization.
- www.bloodhoundblog.com – Internet marketing and irreverent REALTOR® chatter
- www.caarblog.com – this is a self-serving plug for CAAR’s own blog that delivers local Charlottesville market knowledge
Gen Y will be dragging baby boomers kicking and screaming into this new phase of the Internet. As Sawnepoel puts it, “some of us will adapt, while the others will just watch the events unfold on YouTube.
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