Harc Media Release
Harcourts NZ CEO leads the way with new blog
4 December 2008 - The CEO of Harcourts New Zealand is leading the way in the industry by starting his own blog in order
to share up-to-date market information and relevant insights directly with anyone interested in New Zealand real estate.
Bryan Thomson, who has more than 17 years' experience in real estate including a decade in senior roles within
Harcourts, is believed to be the first New Zealand real estate group CEO to start a blog.
He says the recent move enables him to engage directly with people interested in the New Zealand property market and our
local real estate industry, and provides him with crucial hands-on experience of social media - which is a playing an
increasingly important part in many peoples' lives.
A well-respected and successful member of the real estate profession, Mr Thomson is often quoted in the media, regularly
speaks to groups within Harcourts and is actively involved in the wider real estate industry, including as a board
member of www.realestate.co.nz, and says he sees his blog ( http://blog.harcourts.co.nz/) as both a logical and vital step given the growing relevance of social media.
"Blogging is an important communications channel to add to the mix, enabling me to share information and my thoughts and
opinions instantly, unfiltered and with a wider potential audience, plus it has the bonus of being interactive too - so
not only does it allow anyone who is interested to hear directly from the CEO of New Zealand's largest real estate group
but it also gives them an unprecedented level of access to me by way of interaction via my blog."
Mr Thomson says he hopes to "provide some clarity" with his blog. "There's a huge volume of information and a wide
variety of opinions out there about real estate, including some from commentators who are misinformed or have agendas,
so amidst all of that I hope I can provide some clarity and offer buyers, sellers and anyone interested in the industry
with valuable information, informed insights and hopefully the odd smile as well."
An early adopter of new technology, Mr Thomson says he was also motivated to start his blog in order to increase his own
understanding and skills in this area of communication technology.
"People are increasingly using blogs and other social media in both their business and personal lives, including many of
those in Team Harcourts and of course our customers and potential customers too, and with Harcourts being renowned for
our use of leading-edge technology I felt it was important to show some leadership in this increasingly important realm
and to learn about it myself by running my own blog," he says.
"I'm really enjoying the challenge of writing regular blog posts and interacting with people regarding their own views."
ENDS