Half-hearted congratulations should be extended to the National Association of Realtors for their online blog NAR in the News. They've dived headlong into the blogosphere and while it's not a big splash, it certainly goes further than a lot of other corporate blogs. Kudos that RSS feeds are easily subscribable and that popular newsreaders are supported. More importantly, trackbacks and comments (moderated) are enabled so that at least one of the posts has some lively debate growing.
I say half-hearted only in that after a good sprinting start, the site seems to already be wheezing and slowing down. Weeks go by since it's initial flurry of activity with not so much as a whisper… then an update yesterday that's nearly patronizing in its brevity.
I was hoping when NAR in the News launched it would be more than just a reactive tool for NAR's PR department to add their counter-spin to the public record. Here was a great opportunity to be proactive and take their message directly to consumers. They could promote their value in a transparent forum in such a way that allowed spirited discussion on the merits of their position. Sure, they'd have a bias, but at least their side of the story was out there.
Unfortunately, it seems that after only a few weeks, the blog seems to have been relegated to the sidelines, meriting only a brief update until the next crisis hits. Becoming, sadly, another missed opportunity.
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