Weekly Radar #284- Removing the Easy Button, “Greenhushing”, John Deere Partnerships, AI Revolution...
Here's what we're covering in this week's edition of the GEM Crystal:
- New FCC regulation went into effect this week, looking to curb rampant robotexting. Real estate practitioners should expect lead volume to go way down but lead quality to improve drastically.
- Companies are going silent on green goals, as they face challenges in balancing the reputational benefits of discussing their sustainability strategies with the risks of increased regulation and scrutiny.
- John Deere announced a partnership with Starlink to bring connectivity to farm equipment in the most rural areas, a partnership that is sure to have ripple effects into the construction industry.
- We dissect NFX's Pete Flint's recent essay on the impact of AI.
- A dance club in Rotterdam, Netherlands is gaining unique attention for its adaptable hydraulic dance floor.
- An update on the Proptech Index and GEM Diamond Member News
As always, paid GEM Crystal Subscribers have access to all the commentary on the storylines above.
Geek Estate Blog Recap:
Jenna Louie
Transmission Recap:
Last week, Drew Meyers discussed leveraging custom GPTs trained with sector-specific information to provide real-time knowledgable software evaluations. Before that, see the current membership makeup of GEM, as well as 2023 business reflections and 2024 resolutions.
REAL ESTATE
Removing the "Easy Button" for Buyer/Seller Leads
By: Drew Meyers
There are new FCC rules going into effect that put significant restrictions on how leads can be bought and sold. It's meant to curb rampant robotexting abuses and close the "leadgenerator" loophole by requiring specific consumer intent per seller. That means no more generating a lead and selling it off to multiple unnamed companies.
The ramifications across mortgage and real estate was discussed on a HousingWire podcast, with guest (and expert) Matthew Marx. In addition, Greg Robertson and Robert Hahn dove in on Industry Relations. Listen to that here or watch below:
As a consumer product guy at my core, this all sounds great. I mean, who wouldn't want to remove the growing array of robotextes and calls from disrupting their everyday lives? evocalize is right, lead volume will go way down but lead quality will improve drastically. Those who belong to franchises will be particularly disrupted, as the parent company will no longer be able to seamlessly flow leads down to its individual franchises; consumer will now have to individually opt-in to being contacted by each "business" entity. The importance of your own lead generation strategies goes way up in this future world (which is only six to nine months out, I've heard). In the short term, agents/brokers should be putting dollars and effort into their own lead generation capabilities immediately...grow that database as large as possible now, and then make sure the engagement systems are in place to convert that database over time. And, yes, there are going to be many lawsuits related to this.
CLIMATE
The Shifting “Greenhushing” Arena
By: Logan Nagel
According to a recent survey by carbon consultancy South Pole, most businesses think communicating about their net zero approaches is good for their bottom line–yet most are decreasing their climate communications. According to the research, this inconsistency is due to regulation, investor attention, and industry reporting requirements: companies can find their climate claims heavily scrutinized and sometimes wind up paying fees if deemed misleading.
