Looking beyond at AG – An open letter from the Editor

Out of character

I’m not a self-indulgent person, and although I have a perceived public persona, I really do enjoy putting others out front, and in the case of AG, I get to do that on a daily basis. I suppose in this regard, I am truly selfish. I take great pride in what we do here at AG, but rarely take to this stage to boast AG’s many accomplishments, but I would be remiss if I didn’t do that today.

Today is special, perhaps one of many special days, but most especially special as we mark new milestones. In less than four years, we’ve served over 2,000,000 readers, published over 3,800 articles, we are nearing 68,000 comments and not one animal was injured in the process. Sure, there have been a few bent egos, possibly a few misunderstandings, but at the end of the day, I have to say as any proud father would that AG’s milestones are important and should be recognized. But our work isn’t done, and in fact, these milestones only mark a turning point at AG toward the future.

We have a big responsibility that we take seriously

We’ve broken hundreds of stories, are often the first to a big story, and those we write about rarely know whether we love them or hate them- in this sense, we’re doing our job. It means we both acknowledge the good and the bad, even when the good is less popular or less read. One AG columnist noted that it seemed in order to get a piece on the National Association of Realtors read, you had to insert “[negative adjective] NAR” in the title. There’s a lot of truth to that statement, but it’s never been AG’s way of doing things, and it has served us well.

Early this morning over coffee, I glanced at AG’s traffic stats to see that 1,000 unique visitors had already hit AG this morning, with nearly three times that number in article views, and you think wow, but then you pare those numbers with our 98.9% real estate professional demographic, you really get a sense of the awesome responsibility we have at AG, in not only what we say, but what we do- this fact has never once been lost on us.

The vision for AG and a turning point

I mentioned a turning point earlier on, and although I cannot get into specifics right now, you’re seeing some of the changes live before your eyes every day, and you have been over the past year, but more evidently in the past and coming weeks.

My vision for AG has been to create a news environment that I would have appreciated when I was practicing. I’ve never really fit into the old stodgy reads, and magazines are pretty but behind the times. I needed a publication that is on time but was aggressive enough to be bleeding edge, an assertive balance, PRO Member, and today’s real estate news headlines at a glance. A digital environment that narrows down today, inspires me, targets my focus, and entertains- a place I could relate.

AG has the ingredients, and together, we’ve repeatedly influenced major industry change, we are bleeding edge, with a trailing edge wing, accompanied by today’s top real estate news stories, and remain member first.

What your support means to us

We really are proud to call you friends even when we do not agree, and we thank you so much for your support over these years, and ask you once again to continue that support through comments, supporting our site partners, reading, and spreading the word about AG. It means the world to us- we really do read and see it all. Together you, and AG make one hell of an industry voice, and it’s truly inspiring from where we stand. We hope you’ll continue to share AG through links to AG from your sites, utilize our content to educate your readers, share our content, comment to articles, and support however else you can to help us continue to serve you.

And to our site partners that keep AG free, and allow us to be who we are and unrelenting, thanks to you too- without you, we couldn’t do what we do.

Thanks for all you that do,
Benn and the AGTeam