The WIBNI's: How We Got Where We Are Today

It is 2:00 in the morning and the Wibni’s are keeping me awake.  I have been pondering the effects of all the new technologies being embraced by the real estate industry and wondering how far we have really come.  With so much technology to choose from, it leaves one to wonder what is really needed and how much is enough.  It used to be so simple.  You would come into the office, make a few phone calls, take care of some paperwork and spend a few minutes on the computer printing the showings for the day.  Nothing fancy.  Just information on houses.  There was no mouse to use.  No left clicks, right clicks or scroll bars.  Getting a “virus” still meant you had a cold.  Just text displayed on a screen.  You could listen to the printer crank out long streams of paper and when all was quiet again, you knew the job was finished.

The world so seemed simple back then.  And then came the “wibni’s” :  the “Wouldn’t  I t Be Nice  I f” ‘s.  It is the “wibni’s that have contributed to the evolution of real estate technology as we know it today. 

Wouldn’t it be nice…

• If we could just see a picture of the house
• If we could see more pictures of the interior and exterior of the house
• If these pictures were in color
• If we could print these pictures on regular paper instead of dot matrix
• If we could print them on letter or legal sized paper
• If we could choose which printer we wanted to print them on
• If we move through the house as if we were right there
• If we could zoom in on certain features of the house
• If I could add my own pictures of the house to the program
• If I could scan this picture to the computer and clean it up a little
• If I didn’t even have to go through the scanning process and the camera would just send the picture straight to the computer
• If we could just zap all this information to our clients If we could make it all faster
• If we didn’t have to wait to dial in all the time – and just stay connected
• If we didn’t have to retype the same information on worksheets, flyers and CMA’s.
• If we could pull up a map of the house
• If my customers could find me at anytime in case they needed me
• If there were portable phones so I could call about a listing from my car
• If I could tell who was calling before I answered the phone
• If I could call and not be charged for a long distance call
• IF I could have a way to access MLS from my car
• If there were some little gadget that I could store my phone numbers in and just zap it to my computer
• If buyers could see some of the same properties we were looking at without have to print everything
• If we had a copier at the office
• If we didn’t even have to use a copier but could just send the information to the customer without them having to come by the office and pick everything up
• If I had unlimited use of MLS and did not have to pay by the minute If we didn’t have to carry around these MLS books all the time
• If we had the MLS books back!
• If I could have MLS at home and not have to keep running to the office to do my searches
• If I could connect my computer to my assistant’s
• If we could have access to information from all over the world and not have to use the World Book Encyclopedias for everything

If  - if – if – if.  The if’s are finally here.  And to think, it all probably started with wanting to see a picture of a house!

The question still remains, how far have the “wibni” ‘s brought us.  Is our world better because of them?   Today we have addressed most of those “wouldn’t it be nice “ issues.  Color printers, scanner, faxes, cell phones, PDA’s with MLS displays, the internet, e-mail are all answers to the “wibni”’s.  Is our industry more productive?  The answer has to be “yes”.  It is “yes” because the consumers are more satisfied.  It is “yes” because we are all becoming more educated and the standards of service are being raised.  New technology and skills bring more information and hopefully a more effective means of communicating with one another and our customers.  The public has a right to the information that is being given them.  A home is the largest financial investment a consumer will make.  We have to continue believing that knowledge is power and a benefit to the industry, not a threat.

I feel it is no coincidence that Windows was named “windows” – a portal to a new way of viewing and dealing with our personal and professional lives.  Eyes that are closed to looking through the “windows” of technology, can only be reflecting on the past and not looking to new horizons of accomplishments.

In conclusion, I love the “wibni”’s.  I embrace the “wibni”’s.  It is now 3:00 A.M. and now my only “wibni” is: Wouldn’t it be nice if I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow?