The Internet has been a disruptive technology within our industry. In the past, the "MLS Book" was our gold mine of exclusive access and allowed our industry to be the professional reference to Realtor ® listed properties. Today, all listings are available in mere seconds to everyone on the globe. The Internet truly has been as disruptive as automobiles to horse drawn buggies, computer systems to printing or robotics to assembly lines.

Time is both our friend and our worst enemy, and can mask the true effects of change. If you drop a frog into hot water, it will immediately leap from the water. But if you place the same frog into cold water and heat the water slowly, the frog remains until it is cooked. In many cases, time is like the water temperature. When we are immersed in change due to disruptive technologies we often do not respond until it is too late. The disruption is a fact; our current global recession has only compressed the time.

A disruptive technology does not cause an industry to disappear; it causes methods, tools and processes to no longer provide the utility to the market that they once did. The Internet is extremely disruptive to our industry because it has changed the speed, the ease and the utility of information available to every individual on the planet. As an industry, we can embrace this opportunity with new and innovative solutions -- or we can resist until time surely cooks us.

THDi has a collection of current innovative solutions in strategic business practices and Internet technologies. Using these solutions and tools, we can develop a custom solution at cost-effective prices. We are available to assist you in using this disruption to your advantage -- or you can decide to stay in the water with the frog.

The water is heating up. Which way do you want to go?