Did you ever notice that people are very slow to change their behaviour, even when they know that behaviour change will be good for them? Examples of hard to change behaviour could include everything from stopping smoking to real estate agents only taking one picture of a home. However in these examples of behaviour change it is easy to understand that change will be a good thing.  

Imagine, trying to convince people to make a behaviour change when it is not apparent that the results of that behaviour change will be positive. This is exactly the challenge that many Web2.0 companies are faced with when they try and embrace the real estate community. Free available and repurposable data, Agent Ratings, public comments on listings; these are a few of the things that the industry resists. They resist it not only because it is a change in behaviour, but because they can not see the benefits. To see the benefits requires a “change of their state of mind” and from time to time a paradigm shift does occur. Do you know what happens when there is a paradigm shift? Everyone starts over, and they start over from the same point.

I guess what I am saying as that sometimes it is not always obvious what is good for the real estate industry. And, from time to time, something happens that resets the playing field and everyone starts from the same place.

If you haven’t read the post on “social reputation” I think you should. The reputation paradigm is shifting. Google yourself, Google your competition. The playing field is zeroed. How do you rank so far?

Even given overwhelming evidence people will be slow to change. Sometime they just have to believe.

Think Different.

This is an example of the “Mpemba effect”  Where hot water can freeze faster than cold water.  You have to stretch your mind to believe.