…or more to the point, what will it be?
I have suggested that Web 1.0 could be described in one word….Availability…meaning that in the beginning (sounds so long ago) websites were simply “Online Brochures”, they supplied visitors with information about what you do, where you do it, and how to find you.
Web 2.0 could be described with…Transparency…meaning the walls between you and your potential client were beginning to become transparent, they were able to see and understand so much more about you form your chat, your Tweets, your Facebook ect…They were also able to communicate with you through these same new technologies.
Now we begin to look at what Web 3.0 will look like. Why? Simple, if you are not ahead of the technology curve, you are behind and I mean WAY BEHIND! It was almost 3 years ago, when I suggested to some friends of mine in Real Estate to begin to look into Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Social Networking as a whole as well as some very cool tech tools like MLBroadcast, Trulia, Postlets, and many more. Now those things are either “mainstream” , “passe”, or have morphed into something even cooler 
In any event, if you are just now getting into these cool technologies, you are BEHIND! the best and brightest amongst us have already mastered them and have left you in the dust!
I like to think ahead, and thinking ahead right now means asking that question…What is Web 3.0 going to look like? I believe that the one word definition of Web 3.0 will be…Predictability…meaning that web presence’s will be riddled with predictability! They will know the answer before it is asked, they will provide information that the client didn’t even know they wanted, but they did! They will bring the client directly to the answer based on the actual need of the client, even if they didn’t even know it!
What does this look like in a practical sense? Follow along this scenario with me, I will use something very “common”, not really associated with Real Estate, so everyone can say “AH HA!” “I get what he means”
Our cars, our phones, and other electronic devices are equipped with GPS. This is a cool little feature that allows us to use our Navigation devices, set up map details, keep from getting lost, find cool lil stores, ect…but they are also leaving (creating) digital footprints of everything we do, everywhere we go. Our cell phone accounts have our ss# associated with them, so they can draw a clear picture of who we are from the information available via that ss#. Our income, our neighborhood, our education…starting to get it? The Internet now knows what I can afford, what I like to buy, what I drive, where I live, and with the GPS, now knows everywhere I go, and everything I do, via digital footprint. So if I am prone to buy Lexus automobiles, and I have an income of over $80,000 a year, and I drive down a particular street each day to get to work, and I buy new cars every 2.3 years, and I stop in at the Starbucks on the corner of 1st and Vine every weekday (See it, see it? Wait for it!) The local Lexus dealer will be placing advertising on the street I drive and in the Starbucks I visit 2.3 years after I bought my last car!
I can hear the skeptics amongst you right now, just as I heard the skeptics 3 years ago saying that Twitter, and Facebook were stupid kids stuff! The advertisements will be virtual in nature and specific to each driver, not just me. They will come in the form of holygrams..they will appear on navigation screens, and PDA’s they will come on my Starbucks receipt and the Guy or Gal behind me will get an ad for Irish Spring soap, because it has been 4.1 months since the last time he bought it at the Supermarket! SEE IT?
Now go back again and listen to Kevin Kelly’s YouTube video, and start to believe that WEB 3.0 = Predictabilty and start thinking about how you can use this to capture Market Share! There are some great ways to do it and we will be looking at them over the next 18 months to help you get started.
For now…Think! Use the Noodle! Have an open mind, and get ahead of the curve. Have any thoughts? leave a comment, love to hear them
Thanks for Listening…
The Coach
I am not a real estate agent, as most commenters here appear to be. I’m just a soon to be homeowner interested in real estate in San Diego.
But I do find this post not only childish, but insulting.
“Everyone ends up with a bad taste, longing for a barf bag and mouthwash.”
You’re right. That describes me to a T after reading this drivel.
I am considering using Redfin as my agency, but I wouldn’t ever consider using Ms. Hian as my agent.
“Biting back” at Ms. Berg is one thing, but you bit back at everyone that contributed to that food drive. How is that appropriate?”
Every comment was of the same ilk, except one, from Glenn Kelman President & CEO of Redfin, he wrote…
Glenn Kelman said:
This post makes me physically ill. It is not consistent with how those of us at Redfin who have met Kris Berg feel about her or her charitable activity. Kris is a wonderful human being and a credit to our profession.
We have a clear policy that the contractors who contribute local posts about the real estate market should focus only on the real estate market, not on competitors. We are clear with everyone with whom we work that Redfin works as a partner with other real estate brokers, not as an antagonist.
Had we known that Ms. Hian felt this way about Realtors, we would not have commissioned her to write for Redfin at all.
As much as we would like to, we cannot take the post down because it would be sneaky to do so. But we will take steps to ensure something like this never happens again.
I apologize on behalf of Redfin for this post, both to Kris Berg and to the real estate profession.
Regards, Glenn”
Kudos to Glenn, not only for his quick response in defense of Kris & Steve, but also for his eloquently stated apology. I am now a Glenn Kelman fan!
Be careful with this medium Bloggers, we should all be proud of what we do, not embarrassed by it.
The Coach