A while back Joel Burslem — author of FutureOfRealEstateMarketing.com — joined Inman.

Today we hear that Rudy of Sellsius has joined Trulia.

Other (still unconfirmed) transitions we hear are in the works:

• Redfin buys Bloodhound Realty and its associated blog, and Greg Swann becomes Redfin’s Arizona broker-of-record.  Redfin CEO Kelman, distressed at Swann’s self-proclaimed disinterest in national parks, sends him off to Yosemite to distribute Redfin stickers, with strict instructions to send back Latin-only postcards.   Russell Shaw, sick of the traditional broker model, is seen handing out the Book of Kelman on street corners in Phoenix.
• Overwhelmed by her increased workload, Redfin media maven Cynthia Pang brings aboard uber-consultant Marc Davison — at Greg Swann’s recommendation.  Marc and Greg are spotted writing press releases in Haiku.
• Rudy’s long-time business partner Joe Ferrara joins Zillow as its “Chief Zestimate Accuracy And Opt-Out Evangelist.”
• Brad Inman, founder of Inman News, having successfully convinced the real estate industry to adopt electronic signatures, heads to the Middle East to replace Tony Blair as peace envoy.
• Athol Kay gets hired by Kodak.  His new job?  Do nothing, absolutely nothing.  In particular, PLEASE DON’T POST ALL THOSE BAD PICTURES!!! It makes our industry look bad.

• Marlow Harris, burnt out with real estate, moves to Memphis, TN, and becomes a Graceland docent.
  
  
• Daniel Rothamel moves to Masai Mara, Kenya and becomes a safari guide.  On weekends, he heads into Nairobi to coach and ref basketball games.
• Dustin Luther, missing the corporate life, moves back to Move.com.
• Brian Brady gets an emergency call from Washington.  “Bernanke quits.  We need you.  P.S. Leave the suspenders in San Diego.”

Tags: Humor, Industry, Inman, Redfin, Sellsius, Trulia, Zillow

[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…

Tags: Industry, Inman, Inman Connect 2008, Inman-Connect

[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

Tags: Industry, Inman, Inman Connect 2008, Inman-Connect

[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

Tags: Inman, Inman Connect 2008, Inman-Connect

[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

Tags: Inman, Inman Connect 2008, Inman-Connect

[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!

Tags: Inman, Inman Connect 2008, Inman-Connect

[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

Tags: Google, Inman, Inman Connect 2008, Inman-Connect, Real estate, Trulia

[Read more →]

Inman News today announced their list of 2007’s “Most Influential Bloggers.” (May soon  disappear behind a pay firewall)  Yours truly was honored and humbled to make the cut.

A number of equally and more well-deserving folks unfortunately didn’t make the cut, including most prominently — in my opinion — the incomparable Kris Berg, Brian “Puke All Over The Internet” Brady, and Athol “Sock Puppet” Kay.

A number of good friends and colleagues of mine made the list, including (warning to my civilian readers:  corny inside jokes galore ahead…)

• The Sellsius Twins
• My own twin Pat Kitano (inside joke)
• Greg “The Libertarian Jesuit Bloodhound” Swann
  
• Teresa “St.-Paul-Not-Minneapolis” Boardman
• “Ahdell” DellaLoggia
• Marlow “Elvis Has Not Left The Building” Harris
• Doug “Mini Cooper” Heddings
• Noah “Down mahket?  What down mahket?  I work Manhattan, baby” Rosenblatt
• Dustin “Can’t comment on Move.com vs. Active Rain” Luther
• Jonathan “Neo” Miller
• Joel “Brad Inman Jr.” Burslem
• Jim “The Tomato” Cronin
• Adam “Plugged-In” Koval
• David “Aagh, neh mahn!” Gibbons
• Glenn “Re.net Punching Bag” Kelman

The others I don’t know well enough to bestow a nickname, but here they are:

• Morgan Brown
• Todd Carpenter
• Calculated Risk
• Paul Jackson
• Jonathan Butler
• John Cook
• Peter Coy et. al
• Everybody’s second favorite sock puppet, Keith
• Patrick Killelea

Tags: Glenn Kelman, Industry, Inman

[Read more →]

The ongoing Active Rain vs. Move.com dustup, our very own ongoing soap opera saga, illustrates one fact above all else: the re.net is maturing. As the traditional players in real estate (finally) begin to appreciate the potential of emerging technology in real estate, it’s inevitable that more acquisitions will take place — hopefully successfully.

Move.com’s overtures to Active Rain were actually not the first in which a traditional player courted one of the new ones. That honor, I believe, rests with our very own Joel Burslem of FOREM, which was acquired by Inman a number of months ago.

Some other possible pairings? Google must be looking with interest at both Zillow and Trulia. Inman, Ris Media, and other real estate industry news sources may be eyeing some re.net blogs.

And who knows…maybe the Bloodhound will make a play for one of the other Phoenix re.net blogs? Or perhaps these guys might be interested in this one?

Tags: Active Rain, FutureOfRealEstateMarketing.com, Google, Industry, Inman, Joel Burslem, Move.com, Trulia, Zillow

[Read more →]

With due apologies to my civilian readers, my content over the next few days will be heavy on the geeky-technology-side of real estate — you know, with the Inman conference starting tomorrow and all.

Tonight’s back-to-back pre-conference events were sponsored by Zillow and Trulia at bars only a few blocks apart.  T-shirts, free alcohol, and bloggers were all in abundance.

Personal highlights included…

1) meeting The Incomparable Kris Berg (her new official title)…here pictured with Dan Green.  Despite her travails during the long trip here all the way from San Diego, she appeared in good spirits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Connecting again with David G from Zillow, complete with a t-shirt that read “I’m DavidG from Zillow.  Who the hell are you?”  Here he is shown with special agent Therese Swan of Alain Pinel Realtors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Scoring a t-shirt from Trulia, here modeled by none other than CEO Pete Flint.  First the front (”Find me on Trulia Voices”), then the back (”because I’m too old for Myspace.”)  A rumor was circulating that earlier versions of this t-shirt had the punchline “because I’m not creepy enough for Myspace.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 4) Getting a look at the fabled Sellsius blog mobile, fresh from a cross country trip:

5) Meeting the Sellsius twins again…Joe here pictured with Ardell Dellaloggia and Dan Green…and then with Mark Lesswing from NAR.  (Mark graciously forgave me for asking some tough questions during his presentation a few months ago at an Opes Advisors-sponsored event.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6) Talking with Mike Simonsen of Altos Research (my blogfather), Joel Burslem (Inman and Future of Real Estate Marketing.com), and Scott Sambucci, also of Altos Research.

7) Comedic highlight of the evening was this somewhat futilely-posted sign, missing perhaps at least a zero, judging by the size of the crowd.

 

Tags: Inman, Mark Lesswing, NAR, Pete Flint, Trulia, Zillow

[Read more →]