RE.net cool kids

By: Todd Carpenter
Film critic Pauline Kael is infamous in her reaction to Nixon’s 49 State 1972 landslide re-election. "I live in a rather special world. I only know one person who voted for Nixon. Where they are I don’t know. They’re outside my ken. But sometimes when I’m in a theater I can feel them."

Pauline Kael’s view of that election is a wonderful analogy for the group think that is infesting RE.net. Are we Sharing a Brain? IMO, this is Teresa’s single best post on blogging. Unfortunately, I don’t think many have taken it to heart.

Questioning the validity of Saul Klein’s You Tube video, pondering who will subscribe, or unsubscribe, or racing to connect to the same 30 or so people on the latest social network are all worthy endeavors, and I’m guilty of all of them. But in doing so, I can’t help thinking about Ms Kael.

I don’t think it’s productive to live in the "rather special world" called RE.net. By "live" I mean to let the ambition to be a RE.net cool kid consume you into thinking the way millions of other professionals earn a living is wrong because of the comparatively small success of a few hundred.

When it comes to Web 2.0, I agree with Teresa that it’s a good idea to look at Web 2.0 perspectives from outside of the real estate vertical. I also think it’s good to look at real estate perspectives from outside the Web 2.0 vertical. I don’t think RE.net does enough of either. Lately it seams we do less and less.