I Don’t Ask For Much

Last week The Real Deal held its annual forum at Avery Fisher Hall. I found myself in the surprising position of debating Lockhart Steele, the founder of curbed.com, on the topic of whether social media is good or bad for real estate. In theory, I was debating on the “bad” side, which, considering that I am both a blogger (quod erat demonstrandum) and a big Facebook fan, seems ironic. Nonetheless, there are a number of things about the media in 2011 which frustrate me, and I made those the focus of my debating points.

Here, in somewhat random order, they are:

1. I really hate the anonymous comments. Lockhart argues that the comments are an integral part of blog sites, and that they both expand and enrich the discussion. I get that, but why do they have to be anonymous? In my experience, not needing to identify yourself leads to egregious breaches of even the most basic politeness or relevance. A business story turns into a trashfest; respectworthy individuals have irrelevant and off color sexual innuendo thrown at them, all because the writer doesn’t need to sign his/her name. My feeling is, have the courage to identify yourself or don’t participate!

2. The Internet has enlarged, facilitated, and diminished reporting, all at the same time.

* Enlarged, in that the vast database resources of the world are available at a keystroke, so creating connectivity between regions, ideas, and people is easier than ever.

* Facilitated because the sort of shoe leather reporting which was still the norm early in my career has mostly become obsolete. It’s easy to get the information you need.

* Diminished, for exactly the same reason: it is TOO easy to get the information you need.  During the early years of my career, the reporters who covered real estate knew the business cold. They had done lots of research, cultivated sources, done analysis in order to draw conclusions based on facts. I see less and less of that today. With few exceptions, reporters DON’T tend to know the business cold any more, and they somehow mistake data representation for reporting.

* I was struck recently by the similarity between a good reporter’s work and that of a skilled agent. The Internet provides both (and both their audiences as well) with access to information. What separates excellence from mediocrity is the ability to make distinctions, draw conclusions, bring the data to life in a way which illuminates and contextualizes that information for the benefit of the user. Analysis, a balanced perspective giving both sides of the equation: these old fashioned virtues are increasingly hard to come by.

3. I spoke at the forum about the “Kardashianization” of residential real estate reporting. Residential real estate is the biggest asset many Americans own. Why then is it increasingly covered like “soft” news? Why is it more about bold faced names, decorating, and amenities  than about the significant business trends on which the markets rise and fall? I suppose I am as interested as the next person in where Snooki’s hideaway is (on second thought, maybe not) or the distress caused by bedbugs, but can anyone imagine commercial real estate being covered this way!?

I don’t ask for much. I want blog commenters to have the courage to identify themselves. I want to deal with reporters who know my industry and actually analyze data to arrive at conclusions. And I want to read more about the complex trends which drive our market and less about Gaga’s new loft. OK?