Look, it is very clear that NAR and MIBOR are tilting at windmills here. And it appears NAR is unable to move at the speed necessary to keep up with the advancing technology and business models.

Sure, I would LIKE to be the only game in town. Fact is, however, that technology has moved WAY beyond the average REALTOR. The survivors will be those who learn, adapt, and change to fit what the CONSUMER wants and needs.

If we, as an association, cannot keep our policies and technology up to date… how can we instill confidence in our potential client-base? Blocking ANY indexing of listings is not only a head in the sand move, but it is also a detriment to OUR business models when competing with alternative business models.

If I am hamstrung by rules that handcuff me when it comes to utilizing ALL technologies that are available, then I will eventually lose out to those who can produce the technological results our clients will demand.

Depending on the technological savvy of a potential client, one of the first questions out of a seller’s mouth is “How many websites can you put my house listing on?” Even the most technologically backward client understands the impact of the internet in today’s home search processes.

I can sit and wax for days about the reasons a client SHOULD utilize a Realtor in the very beginning of the home search process. And it would be EXACTLY that… waxing. Reality is that our home buyers have masses of information available to them via the web. Our association needs to LEAD the way to provide that information, and to encourage our membership to adapt to the changing environment created by the very technology that so many seem to fear.

NAR has shown tremendous “old time” thinking when it comes to the advancing technologies. It seems the board is trying its hardest to put the genie back in the bottle and “return to the old days”. It’s not going to happen. NOW is the time for NAR to ADVANCE technology and ENCOURAGE new innovations in client service.

Realtor.com WAS the resource everyone turned to for information on the web. Sites like Trulia and Zillow simply exploited the weaknesses of NAR’s bureaucracy and the complacency of the website vendor in improving the site. Technologically, at this point, Realtor.com is desperately trying to keep up. And there is NO EXCUSE for this, given the resources that we have at our disposal.

Lee Iaccoca said “Lead, Follow, or Get out of the Way”. NAR must decide which of those three models they wish to adopt. HOPEFULLY, it will either be “Lead” or “Get out of the Way”, because the current course of “Follow” will eventually lead to NAR being part of the problem… and not part of the solution.

Long Term – All the MLSs in the US should be consolidated into one web-based MLS.

Short Term – All MLSs should just be populating Realtor.com with all kinds of listings not just home listings. We can then have links from Realtor.com to agent’s websites.

Therefore, I envision massive consolidation of MLSs and elimination of IDX.

Maybe NAR needs to take one lesson from the music industry. When we received contracts it always contained language referring to future marketing tools, delivery methods, etc. (ie, internet sales which didn’t exist when I signed my contract, internet radio which wasn’t even a reality, websites (barely any band had a website when I built our first one), my first record came out on cassette still, etc.). By allowing for “the future” in the language, cases like this could be avoided a little better. By the time NAR gets done shuttling this back and forth, there will be a new technology that brings up a whole other set of issues.

I still say that this is a case of no one (NAR or MIBOR) wanting to act first or step up and be the game changer. The interpretation is flawed and that’s clear as a bell to me in Cliff’s comment to Jay (which he allowed to be published on AgentGenius):

It should be understood that the focus of the rule in question has never been on blocking indexing by search engines. That potential effect was not contemplated when the rule was adopted by the NAR Board of Directors in 2005 and only came to light in the past few weeks. Simply put, the issue is whether – and how – indexing by search engines can be accommodated while at the same time clearly and objectively distinguishing that functionality from the scraping the IDX policy prohibits to protect MLS databases from misuse and misappropriation.