AE Profile: MLS of the Future

In her more than 30 years working with and leading MLSs, Merri Jo Cowen, RCE, e-PRO®, has witnessed the industry transform from listing books to mobile apps. She is the CEO of My Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service, a consortium of 15 REALTOR® associations and boards that represent about 32,000 members.

Small Board: Embrace the Cloud

As an AE for a small association, I am my own IT director. I make sure our computers and software are up-to-date and working properly, which they usually are. But a few weeks ago, my assistant’s computer went down, and along with it went all of our association files (e-mails, membership details, financial accounts, everything). Our saving grace? Our data backup in the cloud.

Law & Policy: Soliciting RPAC Investments from Staff

A question raised from time to time by AEs and other association staff involves soliciting association staff to contribute to RPAC.

HR Connection: Train or Hire?

The skills it takes to run a successful REALTOR® association are deep and constantly evolving. Today’s associations need social media expertise, consumer marketing know-how, and political skills they didn’t need just a few years ago. And who knows what new talent you’ll need in the next few years?

So how do you keep up: train existing employees, train yourself, outsource, hire freelancers, share resources with other associations?

AEC Chair: Tech “Aha” Moments

Hello from Minnesota, where we are still waiting for spring to arrive. Anybody want to join me back in sunny San Diego, home of this year’s AE Institute? And what an event 2013 AEI was! I was so impressed with the excellent work the AEI committee and NAR staff did.

As this is the technology issue of REALTOR® AE magazine, I went back to the committee and asked them what their tech “aha!” moments at AEI were this year.

Lights, Camera, Action! How and Why to Make Association Videos

Why should I make videos?

How many online videos have you watched in the past month? According to comScore, which measures online engagement and use, 85 percent of Internet users watch online videos.