Since so many folks have been waiting for this information and taking guesses, I wanted to make our choice public.
After an extensive search, we hired Todd Carpenter, a founder of RE Blogworld and of mariah.com, a network of real estate and mortgage Web sites including lenderama and Denver Modern Homes. Many qualified candidates, both inside and outside of the real estate industry, applied for the position, and I asked a small set of finalists to prepare assignments detailing what they would do during their first 90 days in the role and how they would handle a challenging issue leveraging the power of the RE.net and the blogosphere.
We loved Todd’s ideas, his easygoing manner, his reputation and how knowledgeable he is about social media. We also really valued his relationships with so many REALTORS® who are using blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media channels to connect effectively with one another and with potential clients and customers.
Todd has (literally) just made the move from the mountains of Colorado to Chicago, where NAR is headquartered. He’s leaving his independent businesses behind to take advantage of this opportunity to lead the effort to help NAR’s staff and volunteer leaders engage with members and others in social media.
Todd’s official “coming out party” as our manager of social media will be at REBarCamp in Virginia next Tuesday, March 3rd. He’ll be traveling to and hosting events throughout the year, so hopefully many people will have the opportunity to meet @tcar in person.
Please join me in welcoming Todd to NAR and helping him help us succeed in this effort.
