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Detroit Free Press Goes Part Time.

Yes, The Detroit Free Press is cutting back. Way Back. They will no longer have a daily home delivery. Instead they will only be delivering three days a week, on those days that traditionally carry the most advertising.

In the words of Robert Zimmerman, "The Times They Are A Changin'".

And not only the Times. The Tribune and the Free Press are changing too. The printed word has had a great run. Johannes Gutenberg had a great idea way back in 1440. The Gutenberg printing press was developed from the technology of the screw-type wine presses of the Rhine Valley.

It was there in 1440 that Johannes Gutenberg created his printing press, a hand press, in which ink was rolled over the raised surfaces of moveable hand-set block letters held within a wooden form and the form was then pressed against a sheet of paper. Many tears later newspapers were mass produced using technologies that evolved from Gutenberg's rather crude press.

For many years, the newspapers were a wonderful medium for advertising items for sale, including real estate. As real estate agents we promised our clients lots of newspaper advertising. We sold the newspaper as a wonderful and effective way to sell homes. We knew it to be true and we made sure everyone else knew it. And then it happened. The world as we knew it began to change. Al Gore invented the internet and we were off and running with a brand new way to sell homes. The only problem is that we did such a good job of selling the newspaper as a great home selling medium that our clients still expect a lot of newspaper advertising, especially those that are past the age of acne.

In just two short years our own Grand Rapids Press has gone from two rather robust news paper sections to a rather anemic and thin single section, even though there are as many or more homes on the market now as there were then. Admittedly, some of this is due to the economy of tough times but mostly it is because most of us realize that the web is where the buyers are and we must go to them. For some, the internet and everything associated with it can be overwhelming. It can seem that there is so much to learn and so much to do if we are to take advantage of its power. For those, and me, we need to look at it like eating an elephant.

All at once, eating an elephant is daunting but one steak at a time is not so bad. We can all improve our skills, each at our own speed. The key is to simply take that first step. Just do it. One step (steak) at a time.

And, for those of you who were wondering. Robert Zimmerman is the real name of Bob Dylan.