RIS Media included an advertising supplement along with their latest edition of Real Estate magazine dealing with major technology trends that will impact the real estate industry this year. While I've already written on this subject, I thought this list was worth referencing, even though it is an advertising piece (featuring IMPREV, the company powering the new Real Estate magazine site).

The trends listed include:

1. Online home valuation - apps like Zillow, Homegain, and others
2. Lead generation/aggregation
3. Use of Pay-Per-Click search engine marketing
4. Video
5. Email marketing
6. Blogs
7. Consumer-centric Web sites - those that update information in real-time
8. Online listing placement
9. Virtual tours
10. Social networking - one of my personal favorites

While I'm not sure I agree with everything that's included, I would concur that most of these will have significant impact, or could anyway, especially those that involve participation by the consumer.

Case-in-point, at a recent real estate convention where my company was an exhibitor, a broker and I were discussing how the Internet has changed in recent years. His take was that it was a place where consumers gather information, almost like a library. I countered by saying that nothing could be further from the truth!

The Internet is now a place where people interact, share ideas and information, and collectively collaborate and participate. As such, any type of real estate technology that takes advantage of this new real-time, participatory web should be well received.

Let me mention that the section on blogging does feature quotes from one of Blogging Systems' clients, David Crockett, though it doesn't mention us specifically (darn it!).

I was particularly excited about the mention of social networking as a burgeoning trend. Sites like Homethinking.com are shaking up the industry, according to the report.

Thanks to the Internet, agents and brokers are faced with a more educated group of consumers. If they're not careful, agents and brokers alike will find themselves behind the curve and need to become more educated as well. I continue to be amazed at how little many Realtors know about such sites as those covered in the report. But, that's a post for another day.

To conclude, I hope you didn't merely toss the supplement in the trash when you opened the package. It's well worth reading.