Can the newspaper business really change?

So many of you have spoken with me in the offices about the newspaper industry and the changes of the last few years. From my discussions with you, as well as with a few publishing people I know, I was convinced that the industry was on its last legs.

But then I learned about the Ben Franklin Project

Right here in our backyard, Journal Register Company and their new CEO John Paton are taking a fresh look at every detail of the publishing industry. They are calling their effort the "Ben Franklin Project" after the famous inventor who never was content with doing things the "old way". I offer you a link to their detailed description but I would like to cite one paragraph from the explanation of the idea.

"All of this will start with the assigning process. To truly engage our readership we must know they are interested in reading, watching and consuming what is reported. The legacy measurements of circulation, sales and even the modern metrics of unique visitors and page views only measure reader interest after the fact. By providing a platform where users can suggest stories, vote for story assignments and/or opening contribute (information, sources, data, etc.), the Ben Franklin Project will create an open-sourced assignment desk. And, the process will continue as readers track story developments online. Stories that not judged worthy by the audience could be dismissed while those that may have been dismissed under a legacy model could find new life."

So why am I taking time on Memorial Day to talk to you about all this? Why is it important to you? Because it may...may...be the change the newspaper business has been looking for. Turning journalism on it's ear; putting the end user in the beginning of the news gathering cycle instead of just at the end.

But, it may also be interesting for us as real estate professionals in JRC's back yard. By learning about the project, by understanding the concepts and the tools, we may just be able to become the local experts in an ever-expanding medium. If you've ever introduced yourself at a cocktail party, then you already know that everyone likes to talk about real estate; if the news gathering mechanism changes so that readers are determining assignments then perhaps real estate news bleeds deeper into traditional news. We'll see.

Graduation Day!

Many of you know that in addition to my other work I serve as the President of the Bloomsburg University Alumni Association. It's a great job, and one of the highlights is that I get to participate in commencement each spring. Actually it is where I am now - blogging on my phone as diplomas are handed to the grads.

If you want a reminder of how tough the economic outlook is right now talk to students at graduation. On either side of me are two highly-involved, super-smart students. Talking with both I find that neither are sure just what the future holds.

Why should you care? Well, college grads may hold the answer for you like never before. Thanks to new provisions of the health insurance reform law college grads can stay on their parents insurance, lessening the need that they take any job available just to get benefits. They need professional experience, and they need a few dollars in their pocket. You need their technology and social media skill, their understanding of Generation Y consumers and maybe even their friends and contacts.

Who knows? Perhaps you could even trade them their experience for real-estate school tuition and add them to your "team" after that - we all know our profession could benefit from an infusion of youth.

Gotta run! My turn to speak...

An App a day?

So I probably shouldn't admit this but I have been slacking lately. If you read my prior post you know I went to Disney World with the family for a few days, and then returned home for a few hours of me time and a golf trip with the 'fellas.

While there is no need to rehash those trips (especially the second) I did learn something pretty significant while away that I wanted to share with you - smart phone apps are going to run our lives...and soon.

For those of you who don't know, a mobile phone "app" is a software program that runs on your phone that allows you to do something you would normally do on your computer. One simple example of a mobile phone app is YouTube, which created a tool for users on their phones to search for, watch, and share video right from their handheld device. Not important??? Try (or remember) keeping a 3 year old entertained for two hours after clearing TSA security and finding out your flight is delayed :)


During the course of my Disney trip I utilized a mobile app that helped me navigate the Magic Kingdom (complete with a GPS pointer to show me where I was at all times) and also managed wait times and appearance schedules and (most importantly) had all the bathrooms listed. C'mon...you can't tell me that's not cool! How many times have we all wandered around an amusement park, map in hand trying to figure out where the roller coasters are? I know this one was so worth the $0.99 investment.

But apps aren't just for playtime. Check out this free app I downloaded that works as a mortgage calculator. While certainly no replacement for the world's best Mortgage Mobility team, this little zinger can give you a quick "on the road" review of what a house will really cost.

Of course there are plenty of apps to help with real estate search. One of my favorites (ignoring bias for a second) is the Coldwell Banker app, available for both the iPhone and the Google Android. What I like is that it pulls in your GPS location (remember like I said in the Magic Kingdom) and helps you find homes that are near where you are - allowing you to find the info on a particular property nearby even without having to know the name of the town (which is great here where post office and municipality don't always match).

There was also another app that kept all my golf scores, but I am too embarrassed to even post the screen shot - know that it kept the leaderboard for our event (8 guys in two different foursomes always knew who was in the lead even with handicaps figured in) and also gave us course data to help us line things up. Made the four days of golf even more awesome.

With more than 1.5 Billion (yes B) app downloads so far and more than 300,000 apps already built I know you can find ones that do just about everything if you look. The key is that you 1) know what they are 2) think about buying a phone to use them and 3) start investigating which ones are available for you.