ShareThe Iowa Association of REALTORS® has partnered with a safety company to implement the Moby app, which enables REALTORS® to display their exact location to coworkers, regularly check in, and send an alert if they are in trouble. Some Iowa REALTORS® are using technology to help stay safe, following the murder of Ashley Okland in a West Des Moines model home.
“We want our members to have every advantage possible when out of the office doing their best to serve their clients and communities,” said Dave Bert, CEO of the Iowa Association of REALTORS® in a news release. “We have launched new safety programs, including self-defense classes, kicking off a state wide safety tour with the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ safety guru, Andrew Wooten, and encouraging members to look at new tools such as smart phone apps like Moby to enhance their existing safety plans.”
Wooten’s safety videos, along with other member safety tips and information, are available at the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® online REALTOR® Safety guide.
Increasingly sophisticated location-based smart phone apps (for a subscription fee or for free), featuring a panic mode to facilitate rapid response, are available from a surging number of providers, such as MyForce, iDefendMe, and Safety Switch. Other location apps, designed mainly for social networking, include Glympse, Foursquare, Google’s Latitude, Facebook’s Places, Banjo, Sonar, and one of the latest startups, Life360.