Li Read

I'm having fun hosting the Monday Morning live radio show, on our new community radio station.

It goes out "live", and the volunteers who do the shows have to "do it all". Lucky for me that the owner of Bocados Bistro seaside restaurant has film background, so he's knowledgable about the equipment side of things, and so Mark is my "producer". I am so non-tech saavy!

This coming Monday will be the third show, from 7 to 9 a.m., at 107.9 on the fm dial, or, streaming audio off the station's website (www.cfsi-fm.com).

So far, there's only one tower, and with so many mountains on Salt Spring, blanketing valleys and areas, even on the Island, a lot of local listeners have to use the web. A very "Salt Spring" kind of thing!

The first show, Mark turned on his mic/not mine, and for the first hour you could barely hear me (it was like I was on a bad long distance connection), but Mark could be heard muttering under his breath, as he slotted in the music selections (yes, vinyl and cd versions). Finally, someone burst into the studio to let us know the "glitch". Second hour was at least "heard".

Can't have call-in segment, yet, as the equipment for this won't be up and running until November. Second show I invited the emergency preparedness head in to talk about being ready for disasters, of whatever nature, and also the on island representative of Raffi, the well known children's entertainer, to speak about Raffi's Centre for Child Honouring, which is now his mission in life. (For more info on that, check out: www.raffinews.com).

I get to choose the music, and since I seem to be locked into a 70s time tunnel, there's a lot of Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and Elvin Bishop. Early Stones, too.

i welcome ideas for the show. Yes, i could talk about real estate, after 20 years in the biz, but I wanted to try to share all the interesting stories out there, with the very dynamic and creative people who have landed on Salt Spring, seemingly by accident.

There are no accidents, though, right?

Hope you'll tune in, and Mark and I continue to evolve our style, while the station itself "grows". Third program coming up this Monday, 7 to 9 in the morning!

September 25, 2009.

Live music tonight, at Treehouse in Ganges Village: Dominique Fraissard (urban folk singer from Vancouver). Tomorrow, Saturday, catch Planet Music (original urban jazz), and Sunday offers Billie Woods (Samba, Bossa Nova, and More). As long as the weather holds, let's keep pretending it's still summer. Enjoy!

Catch the superb photography exhibition currently at ArtSpring's Gallery. Called Photosynthesis, it showcases 24 photographers in one venue. Runs till October 4th, daily, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Don't forget to drop into the latest art gallery on Salt Spring...at 135 McPhillips Avenue, this co-op is already creating a buzz. Check it out!

Catch Valdy's Radio Hour on the new local community radio station (107.9 FM, or: www.cfsi-fm.com). Wednesdays, at 20:00.

If you're up and listening, between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., on Mondays, catch "Potpourri with Li". A mix of musings and music, that I offer, along with my producer (Mark Voyce, who is the co-owner of Bocados Bistro). It's "live", so glitches show...fun, though!

Catch the Marc Atkinson Trio at ArtSpring, on October 1st., at 8 p.m. Call the ticket centre for more info/ticket info -- 250-537-2102.

Mark your calendars and be at the book launch, held at Lions Hall, on Sunday, Sept. 27, between 2 and 4 p.m. The author will be there to sign books. It's the story of Salt Spring's black pioneers. Titled: Every Goodbye Ain't Gone: A Photo Narrative of Black Heritage on Salt Spring Island, by Evelyn C. White, with photos by Joanne Bealy.

Tomorrow, catch Six Mixed (tripod Dance Collective), at ArtSpring, at 8 p.m. Enjoy this innovative dance group.

Salt Spring Zen Circle is offering its nonresidential fall retreat at The Gatehouse, Oct. 2 to 4. It starts Friday, at 7 p.m. and ends on Sunday at 3 p.m. Participants may attend for shorter periods, if they cannot be there for the entire retreat. To register, and for further information, call Rowan at: 250-537-2831.

Tonight, don't miss the 9 writers, reading their early childhood experiences, at Lions Hall, at 7 p.m. This is in aid of Raffi's Child Honouring Centre, which is being created on Salt Spring, and Raffi will be present, too. An evening to enjoy.

Have you checked out the evening classes? Something there to interest you?

Are you tuning in to the local radio station, to see what's going on in our community?

Are you exercising your peripheral vision, so that your creative spirit can flex its wings?

Enjoy this September rhythm, with its whispers of summer to delight our days....

Very interesting statistics coming in, now, re the impact of the internet on the real estate industry.

In one recent survey, done by the National Association of Realtors and Baylor University School of Business, in the U.S., it charted where buyers found the home they purchased:

* 34% from Real Estate Agent.

* 32% Internet.

* 15% yard signs.

* 7% Friend, relative or neighbour.

* Less than 1% from Home Books and Magazines.

In the same survey, when buyers and sellers were queried as to how they chose their Realtor, only 4% were chosen because of their company affiliation.

I find the above statistics to be very interesting, indeed, and to support what I first noted a good three years ago. Affiliation with a name brand franchise model no longer delivers on the referral option that was once an essential part of that "big box" name.

With the internet, the buyer doesn't pop by a franchise office in Toronto, say, and ask to be referred to a Salt Spring realtor. It's rare that this would happen, today, and yet 10 to 15 years ago that was a vital part of such a franchise option.

With the internet, the buyer is searching out areas / realtors/ inventory on Google or some other search engine, and they do this for a substantial time before deciding "where" to look more indepth, and "who" to call to do so. The contact comes directly from the internet, and the contact for this buyer might simply be the realtor who has the last listing that caught the buyer's eye. Company affiliation, then, has become unimportant. Even realtor "name" becomes less important. It's about the listing information that captured the attention. Brand loyalty, to either a company or a well-known realtor, is evaporating.

In a city environment, yard signs might play a role in being discovered. Not so useful in a secondary home/discretionary marketplace, though, unless the sign is "up" during the "season". July/August/September could be seen as Salt Spring & the Southern Gulf Islands "season", where signage might attract a potential buyer's interest, while they're "on Island". Otherwise, the sign sits for a lengthy time, and only the "locals" are driving by it.

With only 1% of buyers coming off Home Books and Magazines, where does that leave the Driftwood supplement, our main print publication? It might catch a few "looks" in the "season" -- someone popping off a boat, at the marina, and picking up the real estate supplement, or catching the ferry to a Gulf Island, and viewing property options en route, but in the "off season", no one would see this publication, except the "locals". It doesnt' "bring" a buyer, then, for most of the calendar year.

The car industry, the stock market side of investing, the book business...the internet changed all of these businesses, severely, at an earlier point in time. It's now the turn of the real estate industry.

Even the mls system is not as valid a medium of information as one would hope for. The data input sheet used for all areas are too uniform. If there's one thing the internet is teaching us all, it's the ability to be "niched". In one Board, recently, they stuck a private island listing in an area that was a good 3 hours away, geographically, just because they didn't want to create a "slot" for this one-off Island. Was that good service for a seller, a buyer, a listing agent, a buyer's agent? I don't think so! Surely, in today's digital world, it would only have been a couple of mouse clicks, to "get it right"????

So, if we're in the middle of a serious shift, in how real estate is "being done", for the benefit of the two parties to any transaction (that's the seller and the buyer), what is the way for a realtor to significantly "market" a property? And how can that be made to work for a secondary home/discretionary marketplace, where the buyer isn't "local"?

Big questions! Needing answers....

Your thoughts are always welcome!

liread33@gmail.com

September 22, 2009.

OK...it's official. It's now really Fall, and the calendar says so.

Remember to enjoy the Annual Apple Festival, on October 4th. This is a great event, and the historic apple trees (varieties we can't get anymore!) are spilling forth their fruit. Enjoy the events, and the tours of the orchards.

The new radio station is up and running...can't do call in programs, yet, and that might take until November, but it's worth tuning in to this great community feature. If you can't get it on the fm dial (107.9), then catch it live, via streaming audio, on www.cfsi-fm.com (yes, I'm still doing the Monday morning show, with Mark, the owner of Bocados Bistro, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Your suggestions for the show are welcome!).

I do advertise my listings on the new station, as am always looking for a way to get the information on great properties "off the island". The Monday morning show, though, is separate from my real estate life.

Our buyer profile for real estate, as you know, is not "local". The Driftwood print supplement is only seen when the buyer is on the Island; it doesn't "bring them".

I do feature my website on the Driftwood's online version, and the supplement is picked up that way, too. However, I don't know that this "old style" of print listings presentation is the way to attract today's buyer.

It's constantly being reported that 98% of buyers say they begin their search on the internet. Realtors are no longer needed in their old capacity of "we know everything/call us for info" mode.

The buyers are searching/seeking, long before they make a decision as to "where" they will focus their search and long before they decide on the "when" of arrival time, physically, to view options.

For a realtor, it's extraordinarily expensive to constantly be in the print media, and it's very random as to whether a buyer will view. I've been tracking this for some substantial time period...years, not months....and I can see that it is valid to be "there", locally, when boaters are in our waters/tourists might be sauntering through, falling in love with the Island en route. That means, July/August/September.

Before that, and after that, the local print media options do not deliver a buyer. Sellers need to understand that their realtor would be better advised to be spending their marketing budget where it brings forth a buyer. Otherwise, it's just entertainment for those who already live here.

I do plan to change my marketing strategy. I value listings. However, for me, it doesn't stop with getting the listing...I also actively seek the buyer. Otherwise, the ball of the transaction can't roll... It requires both a willing seller and a willing buyer to create a successful outcome.

Stay tuned, as I evolve a new marketing paradigm, that truly reflects what has occurred in the real estate industry. The internet has totally changed everything, and the real estate industry was late to the table of change. Just check out the car industry, the stock market side of investing, etc. Not the same as five years ago! It's our turn, as a real estate industry.

No one is exempt. It's not biz as usual, for anyone, and that includes realtors and sellers.

More info? Give me a call! Your thoughts are always welcome!

liread33@gmail.com

Mmmm....so Google is letting us have one contact phone number, which can stay with us "for life", and connect with various of our phone options, and it's a free service, at the moment....is this the beginning of our entire digital lives shrinking to our phones?

Desktop computers (are they still around?), laptops, netbooks, all going to the recycling depots, and what we hold in our hand, put in our pocket, will hold our entire lives?

The world collapsed into a chip?

Think about this...

Certainly means it's not biz as usual, whether "real biz" or personal biz. Communication can happen "always", it's always "now", and the expectation of an instant response is a fact of life.

I texted or spoke or emailed, and I expect an answer asap, in real time....

These are the outcomes of the internet revolution...the erasure of time, geography, gender, race...it's intellect to intellect...and this binary world demands us to be on...off...on...off...act...react...act...react...nothing in between. No "no man's land", no space to be thoughtful...it's about an immediate response.

And no pause function, that's for sure! It's not a VCR or a DVD player. The station is always on, the players are always playing....it will be massaging us into being different people.

Marshall McLuhan was right...the medium is the message.

Hope your editing function is in good order!

Data is data, not information, until we bring ourselves to it. We have to do it in an instant timeframe, though. A reactive response is something different than what we've been used to.

Are you on the page?