Come check out the new blog from NAR's Information Central! "Power Tools on Technology" is no longer being updated, but you'll find plenty of interest in the InfoCentral Blog. The InfoCentral Blog keeps you up-to-date on new and useful information resources for the real estate industry -- websites, research reports, eBooks, news articles, services and databases from NAR's Information Central, and more. Surf on over to http://narblog1.realtors.org/mvtype/infocentral/.

Recently added to NAR's Virtual Library eBooks Collection: del.icio.us Mashups, MySpace For Dummies®, Videoblogging, Digital Video Essentials, Digital Video For Dummies®, Videoblogging For Dummies®. Check out eBooks.realtor.org for these and other titles. NAR members can borrow up to 3 eBooks, digital audios, and/or videos for FREE. New to NAR's digital library? Just follow the Quick Start Guide...and have your NRDS number ready!

The membership of the National Association of REALTORS® has grown steadily over the years, although it has taken some hits every so often in the face of economic recessions. But for the most part, NAR membership has grown in defiance of economic and housing market conditions.

The "smoking gun" behind the boom in REALTORS®, at least according to PoliticalCalculations.com, is technology. "Our working theory is that technological innovation, first in the form of the computerized MLS and later through improved access to information through computerized database and Internet technologies, lowered the barriers and costs of entry to larger numbers of real estate agents, above and beyond what would be expected if only the health of the U.S. housing market and economy is taken into consideration," says PoliticalCalculations' April 9 entry.

Amazon, Microsoft, and a number of other Internet powerhouses make Seattle their home. Might the next big thing in online homebuying emerge from the West Coast city, too? Already garnering praise from homebuyers in Washington State and California, Seattle-based Redfin is taking its successful business model national, with new offices opening soon in Boston, Chicago, and Washington, DC.

Redfin lets buyers do their own shopping with tools to help them research and find the home they'd like to buy, then offers the services of a real estate agent to assist in making a formal offer, negotiating the deal, lining up inspections and coordinating the closing. The company rewards Web-savvy buyers for their work with a rebate. By letting buyers find the property they want and letting agents handle the transaction details, Redfin hopes to bring changes to the real estate industry. The company is barely a year old, and already "[o]ur numbers have gone from zero percent market share to about 2 percent [in the Seattle area]," CEO Glenn Kelman told the Seattle Times. "That's insignificant, but time is on our side."

Both consumers and real estate professionals are flocking to the Web, employing new technologies to find, buy, sell, and market property. BtoB, a magazine for the marketing industry, believes direct marketers can learn some things from the real estate business and its use of videos, RSS, blogs, and other Web features. "Make an emotional connection," "Build relationships," and "Dare to dream" are among the five top tips explored in BtoB's article. One central theme tying the five tips together is learning to adapt to new technologies. "“One day someone will be driving through a neighborhood and they’ll see a sign with a podcast URL. A few minutes later they could be sitting in front of the property, watching a video tour on their cell phone. We want to be ready for that … and make sure we’re adapting to accommodate it,” said one real estate executive.