Stephan Swanepeol was one of the featured speakers at the NAR Leadership Summit this week. He offered these recent statistics...
• Twitter grows with 1,382% from Feb. 08 to Feb. 09
• Facebook surpasses 250 million users.
• LinkedIn is adding a member at the rate of about one per second.
• 28 million Americans update their Blog every month
• 54% of Fortune 100 companies are active on Twitter.
• 14 million photos updated to Facebook every day.
• Wikipedia has more than 13 million articles in 260 languages.
• YouTube will serve over 75 billion video streams to 375 million unique visitors during this year.
• 60% of Fortune 100 companies use Twitter.
• Over 375 million Hotmail email accounts worldwide.
• If Facebook were a country, it would be the 4th most populated place in the world.
• Formed in 2004, Flickr now hosts more than 3.6 billion user images.
Check out Stephan's blog.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Are You a Game Changer?
The "New and Improved" NAR keeps coming up with bigger and better ideas.
Yesterday at the 2009 Leadership Summit they announced the "Game Changers Challenge".
In 1906 professional football was on the edge of extinction. Nine player had died the previous season, and audiences were dwindling to nothing. League owners got together and decided they needed a game changer to guarantee their survival. They invented the forward pass.
In 1956 professional basketball was so boring that no one would go. Games were often decided by scores of 20-17...or less. The owners got together and decided they needed a game changer. They created the 24 second shot clock.
NAR CEO Dale Stinton described NAR as "the organization that is redefining real estate in America. That same organization is now asking its members to help us identify our game changers. With more than 1.2 mil members nationwide, we've got lots of ideas. Until now, we just didn't have the resources to move them along.
REALTOR® associations staff and REALTORS® are invited to submit big, bold ideas that will change the course of how REALTOR® associations work.
We are being asked for a radical -- but implementable -- idea for evaluation by our panel of experts introduced at the Leadership Summit before the competition closes Oct. 1.
The best idea(s) will be completely funded by NAR for development.
Those selected will be announced at the Leadership Luncheon in San Diego. The game changing results of these innovative development(s) will be revealed at NAR's Midyear Meetings in May 2010. This is an extraordinary opportunity for uniquely innovative models of association management to be developed. President-Elect Paulson has challenged the ACAR Board and Staff to come up with a game changer for submission. I invite you to send any ideas you might have...or...would you like to sit down and brainstorm some wild blue sky ideas with us?
What do you say? Are you a game changer?
Yesterday at the 2009 Leadership Summit they announced the "Game Changers Challenge".
In 1906 professional football was on the edge of extinction. Nine player had died the previous season, and audiences were dwindling to nothing. League owners got together and decided they needed a game changer to guarantee their survival. They invented the forward pass.
In 1956 professional basketball was so boring that no one would go. Games were often decided by scores of 20-17...or less. The owners got together and decided they needed a game changer. They created the 24 second shot clock.
NAR CEO Dale Stinton described NAR as "the organization that is redefining real estate in America. That same organization is now asking its members to help us identify our game changers. With more than 1.2 mil members nationwide, we've got lots of ideas. Until now, we just didn't have the resources to move them along.
REALTOR® associations staff and REALTORS® are invited to submit big, bold ideas that will change the course of how REALTOR® associations work.
We are being asked for a radical -- but implementable -- idea for evaluation by our panel of experts introduced at the Leadership Summit before the competition closes Oct. 1.
The best idea(s) will be completely funded by NAR for development.
Those selected will be announced at the Leadership Luncheon in San Diego. The game changing results of these innovative development(s) will be revealed at NAR's Midyear Meetings in May 2010. This is an extraordinary opportunity for uniquely innovative models of association management to be developed. President-Elect Paulson has challenged the ACAR Board and Staff to come up with a game changer for submission. I invite you to send any ideas you might have...or...would you like to sit down and brainstorm some wild blue sky ideas with us?
What do you say? Are you a game changer?
Friday, August 21, 2009
Your Realtors Community Foundation
In case you haven't heard, your Realtors Community Foundation is off to a fantastic start with our new funding model. Thanks to so many of you who attended Agent2Agent yesterday, we raised an additional $1200 at the meeting! You all are helping us push forward to our annual goal of raising $100,000 a year for local housing focused charities.
If you're not familiar with your Foundation, please visit the ACAR website Foundation page at http://tinyurl.com/kwyc99 to learn more about our charities. Our Foundation has raised over $1.5 Million dollars since it's creation which makes us the largest non-corporate donor in our Valley! We want to encourage home ownership, housing and a make a positive impact in our community. Some of the charities we're proud to support this year include: Habitat for Humanity, City Lights, Meals on Wheels, Neighborhood Housing Services and so many more.
We need your help though to continue our giving. Many of our new Foundation supporters have generously agreed to donate anywhere from $5 to $50 a month, and you can too! We would like to see 500 of our members sign up to support the Foundation this year, and we'll keep you posted on our progress. Visit the website or email ACAR : jmclaughlin@adacounty-realtors.com for your sign up form and help us make a difference in our community!
Thank you again to everyone for your support!
Kit Fitzgerald
President
Realtors Community Foundation Board
Red Barn Real Estate
871-5288 (please call me if you have any questions)
If you're not familiar with your Foundation, please visit the ACAR website Foundation page at http://tinyurl.com/kwyc99 to learn more about our charities. Our Foundation has raised over $1.5 Million dollars since it's creation which makes us the largest non-corporate donor in our Valley! We want to encourage home ownership, housing and a make a positive impact in our community. Some of the charities we're proud to support this year include: Habitat for Humanity, City Lights, Meals on Wheels, Neighborhood Housing Services and so many more.
We need your help though to continue our giving. Many of our new Foundation supporters have generously agreed to donate anywhere from $5 to $50 a month, and you can too! We would like to see 500 of our members sign up to support the Foundation this year, and we'll keep you posted on our progress. Visit the website or email ACAR : jmclaughlin@adacounty-realtors.com for your sign up form and help us make a difference in our community!
Thank you again to everyone for your support!
Kit Fitzgerald
President
Realtors Community Foundation Board
Red Barn Real Estate
871-5288 (please call me if you have any questions)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Mountain Top Leadership
Lessons on leadership are a dime a dozen in this age of business enlightenment.
So, as I was finishing this year's installment of the Mt Borah climb, I couldn't help but find numerous messages on leadership resident in the rocky crags that make up the climb.
Lesson #1 - Have a good guide.
While we were climbing, there was a massive rescue operation for a missing hiker; gone for 3 days. We learned he'd asked a stranger if it was "OK to go that way?" Turns out it wasn't and he was lost. A good guide knows the way. A good guide shows compassion for the less experienced. A good guide doesn't show off how much he knows.
Lesson #2 - Know your team.
We each bring different strengths to the team. We also each need different supports. We met half of our climbing team the night before we started. Around the campfire we talked about our goals for the climb; what scared us the most; what we thought we could each bring to the effort. Knowing that little bit about someone who had been a stranger, connected us when we needed to exert the most effort.
Lesson #3 - Learn the terrain.
At the end of the climb I met a man who was going up solo the next day. He showed me a route map he'd retrieved from the web. He said: "So is that where I start?"...pointing at the wrong mountain. I said there are two or three places where there are choices to be made. Good choices will reward you. Bad choices can ruin the whole day. "Ask my guide. He knows the way."
Lesson #4 - Have the right tools/resources to do the job.
I loaned out a jacket and one of my climbing poles. It hurt me a little, but without them the others would have hurt much more. Understand what you're getting into before you jump.
Lesson #5 - Pacing is everything.
Go out too fast, and you're not going to make it. Go too slow, and you'll lose touch with the group. One of guys (its always a guy) charged out hard first thing. By the top of the first pitch, he was 30 minutes ahead of the group. He didn't finish.
Lesson #6 - The team will be stronger than the sum of its members.
I really didn't think one of our team would make the summit. He was making noises about turning around. No one discounted how he felt. No one said "Suck it up you can do it." The team just started climbing closer to him. Our guide never left his side. No one got louder cheers for summitting.
Lesson #7 - Things will get hard and scary. Someone may get hurt.
Life is not a video game. Things happen. Three of us were slightly bloodied. One sprained an ankle. One of my favorite quotes is: "Its not an adventure until something goes wrong." Understand the risks going in and the team will be able to adapt to what comes along.
Lesson #8 - When you reach the summit, celebrate!
The next challenge will come soon enough. Sing, pray, laugh, clap...just do something.
Lesson #9 - Coming back done requires diligence.
Reaching the summit is just half the job. Its not the finish. You don't finish until everyone is home safe. The toughest tasks are those that come when your energy is at its lowest.
Lesson #10 - One victory leads to another.
Many say that climbing Mt Borah is a spiritual moment. Many of us look to challenge to validate our lives. I remember the first time I summitted. I'd been through a tough string of personal events. I remember thinking: "I've just done the hardest thing I've ever tried." Carry that feeling forward. Now whenever I feel too tired; or too scared to climb the really tall ladder (a'la Paint the Town) I think to myself: "Heck its not like Chicken Out Ridge, and I did that."
Don't get me wrong. You don't have to climb a mountain to be a great leader. Choose something you're passionate about and I bet you'll find that these 10 simple lessons will enable you to do it better.
Here's a link to a video of this year's climb. Enjoy.
So, as I was finishing this year's installment of the Mt Borah climb, I couldn't help but find numerous messages on leadership resident in the rocky crags that make up the climb.
Lesson #1 - Have a good guide.
While we were climbing, there was a massive rescue operation for a missing hiker; gone for 3 days. We learned he'd asked a stranger if it was "OK to go that way?" Turns out it wasn't and he was lost. A good guide knows the way. A good guide shows compassion for the less experienced. A good guide doesn't show off how much he knows.
Lesson #2 - Know your team.
We each bring different strengths to the team. We also each need different supports. We met half of our climbing team the night before we started. Around the campfire we talked about our goals for the climb; what scared us the most; what we thought we could each bring to the effort. Knowing that little bit about someone who had been a stranger, connected us when we needed to exert the most effort.
Lesson #3 - Learn the terrain.
At the end of the climb I met a man who was going up solo the next day. He showed me a route map he'd retrieved from the web. He said: "So is that where I start?"...pointing at the wrong mountain. I said there are two or three places where there are choices to be made. Good choices will reward you. Bad choices can ruin the whole day. "Ask my guide. He knows the way."
Lesson #4 - Have the right tools/resources to do the job.
I loaned out a jacket and one of my climbing poles. It hurt me a little, but without them the others would have hurt much more. Understand what you're getting into before you jump.
Lesson #5 - Pacing is everything.
Go out too fast, and you're not going to make it. Go too slow, and you'll lose touch with the group. One of guys (its always a guy) charged out hard first thing. By the top of the first pitch, he was 30 minutes ahead of the group. He didn't finish.
Lesson #6 - The team will be stronger than the sum of its members.
I really didn't think one of our team would make the summit. He was making noises about turning around. No one discounted how he felt. No one said "Suck it up you can do it." The team just started climbing closer to him. Our guide never left his side. No one got louder cheers for summitting.
Lesson #7 - Things will get hard and scary. Someone may get hurt.
Life is not a video game. Things happen. Three of us were slightly bloodied. One sprained an ankle. One of my favorite quotes is: "Its not an adventure until something goes wrong." Understand the risks going in and the team will be able to adapt to what comes along.
Lesson #8 - When you reach the summit, celebrate!
The next challenge will come soon enough. Sing, pray, laugh, clap...just do something.
Lesson #9 - Coming back done requires diligence.
Reaching the summit is just half the job. Its not the finish. You don't finish until everyone is home safe. The toughest tasks are those that come when your energy is at its lowest.
Lesson #10 - One victory leads to another.
Many say that climbing Mt Borah is a spiritual moment. Many of us look to challenge to validate our lives. I remember the first time I summitted. I'd been through a tough string of personal events. I remember thinking: "I've just done the hardest thing I've ever tried." Carry that feeling forward. Now whenever I feel too tired; or too scared to climb the really tall ladder (a'la Paint the Town) I think to myself: "Heck its not like Chicken Out Ridge, and I did that."
Don't get me wrong. You don't have to climb a mountain to be a great leader. Choose something you're passionate about and I bet you'll find that these 10 simple lessons will enable you to do it better.
Here's a link to a video of this year's climb. Enjoy.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Is the Era of the "McMansion" Coming to an End?
For the first time in almost 15 years, the size of new homes built in the United States is shrinking.
New homes are now 7% smaller -- or the size of one average-sized room. To be precise, the median square footage of newly built homes fell to 2,065 square feet in the first three months of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
This caps off 2008, when home size fell every quarter, marking first year of declines since 1994. That could indicate that the romance between Americans and morbidly obese McMansions has finally cooled.
"A new ethic is arising right now that will become commonplace -- as commonplace as is recycling today, when just a few decades ago it was rarely, if ever, done," said Sarah Susanka, author of the book, "The Not So Big House."
"As more and more people build or remodel homes that satisfy in quality rather than quantity, there will be a huge shift in what we perceive as desirable." Read More>>
Free Stuff From NAR
The 'Right Tools, Right Now' initiative offers a wide range of tools. Here are just three of the many resources you can now download for FREE through NAR's 'Right Tools, Right Now' initiative.
Getting It Sold:
Relocation Reports:
2009 Member Profile:
Getting It Sold: Get the staging conversation going with your seller and help them sell faster.
Relocation Reports: Win relocation clients before they ever visit your area.
2009 Member Profile: Find out what members like you are doing in this changing market.
Visit 'Right Tools, Right Now' homepage to see all FREE and AT-COST products and resources that are part of NAR's 'Right Tools, Right Now' initiative.
Listings are updated monthly, so check back often! These special product prices are exclusively available to REALTORS®. To access these and the hundreds of other downloadable products for FREE, member login is required at the REALTOR.org website.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Changes are coming to the ACAR Website!
You've been telling us... and we listened! Our website is undergoing an overhaul!
ACAR is redesigning its website to be more user friendly and more modern! We still have some placeholder text and are working behind the scenes to fill in content, but here is a sneak peak of what is coming!
ACAR is redesigning its website to be more user friendly and more modern! We still have some placeholder text and are working behind the scenes to fill in content, but here is a sneak peak of what is coming!
We'll have a new URL that is easier to remember (and type!). We'll have menus with options that actually make sense! We'll have a live calendar and the latest news stories so that you'll know in a glance what is happening at ACAR.
Our expected launch date is quite soon. It was delayed a little when Alexander Daniel Kestler decided to make his entry into this world a little earlier than expected! (Congrats to Sarah Kestler, our Director of Communications!!).
Stay tuned for updates and information!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
