By Nobu Hata Preconceived notions I had of an NAR committee aside, this would be my third Midyear and my first year serving on any committee, and I was bound and determined to make the best of it. I was appointed to the Equal Opportunity/Diversity Committee, and my knee-jerk reaction was essentially a surprise-surprise-throw-the-asiandude-on-the-most-predictable-committee-possible one. Even better: There were a …
The YPN Experience at Midyear Meetings
By Nobu Hata What a week! The energy and will YPN has been showing the last few months was on full display at Midyear. Between committee meetings, Association Executive strategy, and Diversity outreach plan, the buzz was all about YPN this Midyear. Were your ears ringing? The one thing I’ll take away from 2010 NAR Midyear is NAR’s embracement of …
Attention YPNers: Midyear is Here!
By Nobu Hata I know, I know, you’ve heard about all the goings on at MidYear Meetings. It’s “boring,” “there’s no point to it,” or “what do they do in D.C., anyways?” Fact of the matter is, it’s at these meetings that policy — present and future — gets discussed among the members of the National Association of REALTORS®. And …
The Practitioner Value Proposition: Data Analysis
By Nobu Hata Trulia. Zillow. Cyberhomes. The mere mention of those words, and their use in such sentences such as “But, insert service here says my house is worth insert marketing-dollar-sucking price here!” strikes fear into the hearts of many a real estate practitioner. We’ve all had the conversation, and for the most part, the majority of us are still …
Don’t be Avril Lavigne
By Nobu Hata I got stuck watching the Olympic Closing Ceremony and the highlight – for me – was watching how uncomfortable Avril Lavigne looked singing her hit opus “Girlfriend.” It was painful watching the once married, now divorced, 26-year-old post-tweenage pop punk princess singing an ode to adolescent high school girlfriend jealousy, while looking – literally – like she …
The Future of Google, Real Estate: Collaboration
By Nobu Hata Has anyone else started having the “Google” question pop up during their listing presentations? Not your website, nor your blog, or your Facebook page inquiry – the “can you make our home show up in Google?” question. It may be just that my clients tend to be a little more tech-savvy than your average buyer or seller, …
For the Members, By the Members.
By Nobu Hata Much has been made the last couple of weeks about two online “conversations” that permeated the real estate socialwebs. One, an “Open Letter to NAR President Vicki Cox Golder” regarding the disconnect between us REALTORS® and NAR Leadership. The other, the need for professional standards within our industry — the conversation raged among a handful of practitioners …
Real-Time Real Estate
By Nobu Hata I was just getting used to the concept of sharing my Facebook status with folks other than my family and friends when Twitter came along a couple years back. Then came 2009; the year of the citizen journalist; the year near-instantaneous sharing of events, pictures, and Web-links with your friends/family/clients/anyone in general became the new norm. It …
An Open Letter to a Facebook SPAMer
By Nobu Hata It’s amazing how far one SPAMer or MLMer can get just by friending a couple people on Facebook. We Facebook users glance at friend invites blindly accepting those with one or two commonalities, notably a common friend. There was someone on my friends list who I will call “Kevin.” Dear Kevin, We’re “friends” right? – And for …
Is Instruction Part of Your 2010 Business Plan?
By Nobu Hata Let’s face it, when it comes to sharing our expertise on forums such as the YPN Lounge, Twitter, even Facebook, we sure spend a lot of time preaching to the choir. Social Media how-to’s, blogging tips, Twitter in your marketing plan… The fact is, the majority of us have already figured out how to implement new media …