[T]echnology: Too Many Headlines…Here’s What Matters
[E]ducation: Is Instagram Actually Dying?
[C]oaching: Speaking of Noise…
[H]ow To: Protect Yourself
[T]echnology: Too Many Headlines…Here’s What Matters
Some weeks the AI news comes so fast it's a part-time job just to track it. This was one of those weeks. A new Siri, a new Claude, and a dozen breathless posts swearing each one changes everything.
This is the part I do so you don't have to. Here's the honest read.
Apple rebuilt Siri, and yeah… it's cool shit. It'll pull a buyer's pre-approval out of a buried text thread, shuffle your calendar, write a reply in your voice, all on the phone you already carry. But cool isn't the same as ready. It's running on Google's brain under the hood, it doesn't reach most phones until fall, and Apple's promised a great Siri before and whiffed. So file it under "worth watching," not "act today." It's cool… it's just not that cool yet. 😎
Then Anthropic dropped Claude Fable 5, the most powerful model they've ever handed the public. And this one's the real deal… genuinely the kind of thing that changes the world. Just not your world, not yet. It's built for software engineering and scientific research, and it's priced for companies running it at scale. It is not going to change your business one listing description at a time. World-changing, sure. Tuesday-changing, no. ❌
So here's where that leaves you this week: nothing you have to do. Both are real, both are worth knowing exists, and neither one needs a thing from you right now.
That's the whole game with this stuff. Most of the headlines are noise you're allowed to let pass. The handful that actually touch your work, I'll flag the second they do… and when one of them is finally worth your Saturday, you'll hear it from me first.
[E]ducation: Is Instagram Actually Dying?
Abby thinks Instagram is dying. And she makes a real case.
I sent her the news that Instagram just launched a paid subscription… $3.99 a month for Instagram Plus. Her take… nobody's paying for that unless they're a big business. Why would they, when the same post on TikTok or Shorts pulls thousands of views for free? She barely knows anyone who still opens Instagram. They've all moved to TikTok.
I came back with the obvious one. Instagram's still the biggest by a lot… roughly 170 million users in the US, more than TikTok. Platforms that are dying don't start charging a subscription to squeeze the people who are left. 💰💰
Her answer was the one that actually made me think. Sure, it's big… but people are engaging way less. And she's right. Likes on regular posts are down 48% this year.
So who won? Me, obviously (kidding)… where we meet is the useful part for you.
Yes, likes are cratering. But the same data shows comments up 7% and shares up 11%. Look at how the algorithm ranks things now and it clicks… saves and shares carry the most weight, comments are high, likes only moderate. The double tap was always the cheapest signal.
That's the one dying. The stuff that moves business is climbing. 🪜
And here's the piece that settles it for our world. The younger crowd lives on TikTok, no argument. But Instagram's core is 25 to 44… prime buying and selling age. So even if TikTok wins on raw engagement, the people actually closing on houses are still on Instagram. 🧠
You've never gotten a listing from a like. You get it from the DM. From the share to a spouse who's been "thinking about it." From the save someone opens in March when they're finally ready.
So is Instagram dying? No. The scoreboard just changed. If you're still chasing likes, you're tracking the one number that no longer matters. Watch your saves, shares, and DMs. That's where the deals are.
(And Instagram Plus? Skip it. None of those 11 features help you sell a house.) ❌
[C]oaching: Speaking of Noise…
We've spent this whole issue on noise. The headlines you're allowed to ignore. The likes that stopped meaning anything. Here's the version that does the most damage, because this one actually feels like work.
Be honest about how much time you spend keeping tabs on other agents. 👀 Who landed the listing you wanted. Who's running ads in your farm. Who posted their "just sold" for the third time this week. Who left for the brokerage across town, and what everyone's saying about it.
It feels like staying sharp. Knowing your market. It isn't. It's the tell. If you've got the energy to track what everyone else is doing, you've got energy you're not putting into your own business.
Think about who actually sits around worried about the competition. It's never the agent buried in follow-up calls and listing appointments. They don't have a spare minute to care what the agent down the street is up to… they're too busy doing the work. The people keeping score on everyone else are almost always the ones avoiding their own scoreboard.
And the math is brutal. Every twenty minutes you spend stewing over a competitor is twenty minutes you didn't spend on a call, a follow-up, a CMA, a check-in with a past client. String a few of those together a day and you've handed away the exact hours that would've put you ahead of the person you're worried about.
So treat it like the rest of the noise. Next time you catch yourself refreshing a feed or chewing on office gossip, tune it out and point that energy at your pipeline. 💰
The agents at the top didn't get there by studying everyone else. They got there because they were too heads-down to notice. Do the work, and the competition stops being something you watch. It turns into something you forget about.
[H]ow To: Protect Yourself
Last week, we talked about clients using AI and the misinformation that can result from relying on content generated by ChatGPT. This week, I want to touch on something I have seen agents (and others) posting that could potentially get them into trouble.
There is a laundry list of reasons why I believe AI-generated graphics can hurt your business, but one issue you need to watch out for is compliance. I have seen many people using company logos that have been altered by AI-generated graphics. ❌ Even a seemingly minor AI modification, such as making a logo appear hand-drawn, futuristic, metallic, or partially recreated by an image generator could violate a firm's branding guidelines or create trademark concerns.
I have even seen the Fair Housing logo and the REALTOR® logo altered. If you're creating real estate marketing materials, modifying either of these logos can raise compliance concerns. 🤨 Altering the REALTOR® logo's design, proportions, or appearance may violate NAR trademark guidelines, as AI-generated reinterpretations, stylized versions, or redesigned logos may not constitute proper trademark use.
So, is there a way to use AI-generated graphics while protecting yourself from these concerns? Absolutely. One simple solution is to create the graphic with AI and then add any required logos yourself using Canva or another design platform. This allows you to use the official logo files rather than AI-generated versions, helping you stay compliant with branding and trademark requirements.
As AI tools become more common in our industry, it's important to remember that convenience should never come at the expense of compliance. Taking a few extra minutes to use approved logos and branding can help protect both your reputation and your business.
Want high commission, a low cap, and real support to grow your business? Aspire is our exclusive program for motivated agents who are ready to scale fast with elite coaching and next-level tools
-Ty Morton + Abby G