I had the privilege of speaking on a panel titled, “25 Things You Must Do To Web 2.0 Your Company.” Also on the panel were Sherry Chris of Better Homes and Gardens, Marc Davison of 1000 Watt Consulting, Don Lawby of Century 21 Canada, and Charlie Young of Coldwell Banker.

A few hours prior to this panel, Brian Boero — also of 1000 Watt Consulting — had given a presentation entitled [something like] “50 Technologies You Must Understand” so Brad Inman went off in a slightly different direction in the panel and only made us come with 5 or so items. Later on I’ll post what I think the 25 things are.

Here’s the video, enjoy!

[Read more →]

Quick observations from Inman to add to the morass of blogging and Twittering going on…

1) Gotta love global warming.  60 degrees in New York City in January

2) Cosmic justice…I missed my flight yesterday because I set my alarm for 6pm instead of 6am.  I asked the hotel to wake me up at 6:45am.  The phone rang, I got up, got ready, and was about to step out the door…when I noticed it was actually now 3:15am and not 7:15am!

3)  One of the panels this morning was on marketing properties online, and video came up frequently as a marketing and listing tool.  Agents offering video marketing as part of their portfolio products are winning out against agents who don’t.  We heard such anecdotes about properties in all price ranges, right up to $20M Manhattan penthouses.

More observations later…

[Read more →]

…and finally, any suggestions for Session 4?

Wednesday, January 9, 11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Get Your Listings Everywhere
Brokers and agents face dozens of options when deciding where to put their listings online. This panel will explore easy methods for syndicating listings out to multiple places, how to track your efforts and what questions to consider before partnering with outside companies.

Moderator: Kevin Boer, Founder, 3 Oceans Real Estate Blog

Panelists:
Alex Montalenti, Co-founder & CMO, SubmitYourListings.com
Oliver Muoto, Co-Founder & Vice President Business Development, vFlyer
Celeste Starchild, Vice President Broker Sales, ListHub: Broker Division of Threewide
Carey Tufts, Director of Marketing, Point2

[Read more →]

…and session 3 — your questions, please?

Wednesday, January 9, 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
New Ways to Market Properties Effectively
Video, virtual tours, single property Web sites — there are dozens of options for marketing properties online. Find out new methods and hear panelists discuss what has worked and what hasn’t worked.

Moderator: Kevin Boer, Founder, 3 Oceans Real Estate Blog

Panelists:
Renwick Congdon, Chief Executive Officer, IMPREV
Jason Doyle, Division Vice President, Homes.com
Richard Ferrari, Senior Vice President, Prudential Douglas Elliman
Christian Sterner, CEO & Founder, Wellcomemat

[Read more →]

Continuing my effort at crowdsourcing the questions for the various panels at Inman Connect, what questions do you have for Session 2?

Details of the session are as follows:

Wednesday, January 9, 9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Use Technology to Craft a Successful Listings Pitch
Today’s sellers expect more than flyers and postcards. Learn how to jazz up your listings presentation to wow sellers and win referrals.

Moderator: Kevin Boer, Founder, 3 Oceans Real Estate Blog

Panelists:
Shari Chase, CEO, President & Founder, Chase International
Edward Herson, Vice President, Halstead Property, LLC
Heidi Mueller, Broker Associate, Prudential California Realty
John Reinhardt, President & CEO, Fillmore Real Estate

[Read more →]

So here I am getting ready to leave bright and early tomorrow morning for Inman Connect 2008, but the logistics, as they say, they are a’daunting. Kris Berg has noted the same — twice, in fact.

Determined to bring break the lazy habit I have of stuffing a big suitcase to the gills with everything I think I may need, I’ve decided to downsize and make do with a carry-on suitcase plus the inevitable laptop bag. Problem is, that means my toiletries kit will be going through that all-seeing conveyor belt Cyclops run by the TSA. Now that could be embarrassing.

Even worse, it seems all my “liquids, gels, and aerosols” have to be 3-ounce sizes or less AND fit in a one-quart ziplock bag. Not just any clear plastic bag, mind you; no — a ziplock bag. (Makes you wonder: Did Michael Chertoff just buy some S. C. Johnson stock?)

And so I head out to the local convenience store, and 15 minutes later I walk out with only:

• One Gillette Clear Gel deodorant, weighing in a 3.0 ounces. Phew.
• Box of 20 Ziplock (r) bags. Oh no. Just noticed they’re 1/2 gallon bags, which, if my knowledge of the antiquated measuring system foisted on us by our former colonizers and still in use in this country (despite having wisely dropped the u in colour and shifted the r and e in center) is correct, means I’ll have to either a) re-engineer one of the bags or b) head back to said convenience store or c) take my chances tomorrow morning.

Apparently 3 ounces is a really small amount! (Where I grew up, also a former British colony, they used the smorgasboard approach to ingesting silly British-isms: take some, leave the rest. They drive on the right, unlike the Brits. They use Metric measurements, like the Brits — not English ones, like the Yanks. They spell color colour and center centre.  I have no frame of reference for “3 ounces.”) Convenience stores simply don’t have 3-ounce sizes of shaving cream, toothpaste, and the other toiletry sundries.

Off to the nearest Longs, a 10 minute drive away. 10 more minutes of futile looking, before finally breaking down and doing the unmanly thing: asking for directions. Turns out what I’m looking for is not travel size but sample size.

Finally, I’m ready to go.

Now if I can just find a way to smuggle some kunu on board.  I don’t think Michael Chertoff has a specific ruling on that!

[Read more →]

This week Wednesday through Friday I’ll be in New York at the bi-annual Inman Connect conference. These conferences tend be both fun and intense: it’s always great to catch up with old friends and make new ones, but sometimes the volume of information is a bit fire-hosey.

I will be moderating the panels at the Internet Marketing Workshop on Wednesday morning. I’ve been emailing back and forth with the panelists to make sure we have a good solid core of questions with which to kick off each session. However, I’d like to be even better prepared, so I’ll be “crowdsourcing” additional questions.

Whether you’re going to be at Inman or not, what are some good questions you’d like to see explored during this panel? (In subsequent posts I’ll provide an opportunity to make suggestions for the other panels.)

Here’s what panel one is about:

Wednesday, January 9, 9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.

Tap New Methods for Finding Buyers
What are successful agents doing in today’s market to find buyers? Explore new methods that have proven cost-effective and will keep your prospect pipeline full without wasting time and money.

Moderator: Kevin Boer, Founder, 3 Oceans Real Estate Blog

Panelists:
Jeffrey Bastress, President, Startpoint Realty
Jamie Glenn, Vice President, Product Management, Trulia
Brendon Kraham, National Sales Manager Classifieds, Google
Greg Tracy, Founder/Realtor, Blueroof.com

[Read more →]