Technology and Time

Technology has evolved to the point of perfection. We can now complete a real estate transaction, start to finish, without the use of a single piece of paper, a pen, or a stamp. It wasn’t long ago we stood awestruck in the presence of an electric typewriter and a piece of carbon paper. The speed! We were so dumbfounded we dropped our hammers, chisels, and stone tablets. Carbon copies never looked right, though; all blue and fuzzy. At least with the hammers and chisels every copy had the same quality as the original.

The fax machine was a wonder unto itself.

“It’s a what?” somebody asked, “It looks like a typewriter.”

“It’s a fax machine, a typewriter-telephone,” said somebody else. “Just don’t answer it when it rings.”

But often as not, somebody answered it. “Yeow!” they’d say, pulling the receiver away from their head, “what’s that awful screech?”

“Somebody’s trying to fax.”

“Well they better knock it off!”

When a fax document arrived, the machine chattered, rattled, and whined. The document would appear haltingly, little by little, letter by letter, word by word, line by line. The sender of the fax would show up at the office.

“Hey,” said the receiver of the fax, “I’m just receiving your fax.”

“I know,” said the sender, “but I was only ten miles away. I thought it would be faster if I brought you the original.”

“Yeah. Can’t beat that technology, though, right?”

These days, there’s no need to fax, copy or mail. No paper! Everything is electronic; just send, send, send.

The technology of social media is unparalleled. We can keep clients informed instantly with all aspects of the real estate market, at all times. Just the other day I heard two Realtors discussing the wonders of social media.

“Hey, you know the Johnsons over on Camilla Street?” said one. “They’re my Facebook friend, they follow my tweets, they subscribe to my blog, and they get my e-newsletter every month. So how come they listed their house with you?”

“I knocked on their door,” said the other.

“You mean, in p-p-p-p-p?”

“Yeah, in person. Can’t beat that technology, though, right?”