Been a ridiculously great morning at the HomeQuest Social Media Summit in Portland.
We had a packed house… Great audience. Wonderful crowd. Engaging speakers. So much fun!
And the speakers were unbeatable. There’s always so much to learn from:
And if you were at the event, we’d love your feedback… What did you think? How could we improve the event/presentations?
[Photo from Dale Chumbley!]
As always, the Real Estate Connect Event put on by Inman this year rocked! The information, the people, the food, the fun… it’s just way too much fun (honestly too much!). And I know I’m a bit biased, but I hang with a really great group of people, even if you’all do stay out a bit too late.
Combine a great New York City trip with being able to team up with Jay Thompson for a session on blogging and you know I’m going to have fun.
Follow that up with a great opportunity to moderate a discussion on the future of mobile technology in real estate with Brad Blumbert of SmarterAgent, Mark Ford of Qwasi, Dawn Doherty of StreetEasy and Jamie Glenn of Trulia and I was feeling pretty darn good! But then give me the opportunity to moderate another panel on web analytics with Gahlord Dewald of Union Street Media, Marty Frame of CyberHomes, Ed Freyfogle of Nestoria and Anita Gandi of Hitwise and I was in online real estate geek heaven!
I learned a ton from so many folks at Inman this year, so thanks again to everyone who connected up over the past few days!
Sadly, I’m going to be missing out on the last day of the event (thanks to the fact that I doubled up my NYC time with a client meeting on Friday), but I did that very reluctantly as I cherish every minute I get to soak up from the great folks in online real estate!
Can’t wait to see you’all in San Francisco!
Dustin, how fun! I am soooo jealous!
You should be jealous Irina! 
Maybe we’ll be able to get you up to SF this summer???
It was amazing huh? Great to meet you IRL and hopefully I’ll be there at San Fran too!
Hey great job moderating! That web analytics panel felt great to be on.
Amazing Poppy! I definitely look forward to seeing you in SF! and maybe a trip to London for me some day!
Thanks so much Gaylord! You guys did a great job on the panel and made my job really easy!
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Matman speaks on 4Realz {seesmic_video:{“url_thumbnail”:{“value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/ODUa8PCSVd_th1.jpg”}”title”:{“value”:”Matman speaks on 4Realz ”}”videoUri”:{“value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/QSNZ0jLoHk”}}}
Taking advantage of the fact that there’s a bunch of real estate folks in town for the CAR event in Long Beach, Jessie B of Retrove has organized an event for Monday evening and you’re invited. It should be a fun night of food, drinks and conversation!
If you’re interested in attending, let me know in the comments and I’ll happily send you an invite to the event page on Facebook where you can get all the details!
you know, it is only 6 hours from here. With all of the good friends in that part of the world, it sounds kind of tempting. 
I’ll be there with Mana Tulberg. Sounds great!
What time and where is the meeting? What topics are usually covered? Thanks!
Nick, 6 hours is one hell of a drive, but it should be a great time!
Carol, I send you an invite to the Facebook group with all the details.
In terms of topics, it should be pretty informal… At this kinds of events, folks normally break into groups and make the connections that make the world go round.
At the last 4RealzEd event, a wonderful real estate videographer by the name of David Toth agreed to film our event as well as some reactions from attendees. My favorite video, for reasons that will probably be obvious if you watch it, is when he captured me talking with attendees after the event:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es4YC4UDlWk]
Here are some links so you can learn more about the people featured in the video:
Our next event is in Pasadena on May 30th! And just like the Irvine event, we’re hoping to blow this one out of the water and close registration down early again for lack of space, so now is the time to register!
And finally, I also want to thank Jessie B of ReTrove. He went out of his way to connect us with David Toth so that the videos could be possible! Not only did he capture the testimonials above, but he also edited down our presentation into three pieces to give you an idea of what to expect if you attend (4RealzEd Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Obviously, if you’re looking to connect with a real estate videographer in Orange County area, you should consider talking with David because the guy knows what he’s doing!
(By the way, don’t be too surprised if I drop off the internet for the next few days as I travel and present in Toronto at RealtyQuest early this week…)
Dustin, good stuff. It is great when you have a quality product/service and create value for others. People are happy to help you spread the gospel and it is the most effective way to get the word out. I am sure you will quickly sell out your next event.
Thanks Brian… It was definitely fun to get the reactions of the people in attendance. I keep learning a bunch with each event!
I hope that Pasadena event gets packed for you Dustin. My brother, James, and I will be talking about it this week when we are in Pasadena teaching. We always have fun at your events and I know people will not only have fun but they will learn as well.
…Friday. For those of you in the LA area, I recommend avoiding the last minute rush and registering on Upcoming now!
(and while you’re at it, consider joining the RE.net event group on upcoming so you can get updated on all kinds of good events like this!)
What an awesome crowd!
People seemed interested, engaged, and enthusiastic about the material. Thanks to everyone who helped make this event happen!
Also, I just posted a few of my photos from the event on Flickr… including photos from the evening before when a group of us went out for dinner at an unbelievable too Mexican restaurant in Newport Beach.
What a blast!
Hey Dustin,
I saw the flickr photos shared on Twitter… Looks like good times! I’ll catch you at the event in Pasadena in late May. I’ll rally up the posse. In the meantime, see ya in Sherman Oaks.
Congratulations on the great turn-out by the way!
Thanks Ricardo. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Thanks again Dustin! It was a great event with a lot of valuable information. I’ve already started going through my pages of notes and have started recommending the seminar to Assist-2-Sell brokers.
Congrats on the meeting. Glad it went well, but that was never in doubt…
Thanks for a great meeting filled with great ideas. It was well worth my time. I think you and Jim have much success ahead of you with this topic! Glad to have met both of you.
- Stacey Harmon, Surterre Properties
So excited about the material and anxious to begin the ‘nuts and bolts’ of putting the ideas to work – that piece still feels a bit overwhelming to someone that is not inherently ‘techy’. I just know I want to do all of this!
Great educational seminar! I look forward to the next 90 days. Thank you for all the information and to the guys at Chicago Title in Cypress for sharing the good word.
Dustin,
I had a good time at the event. I look forward to the training over the next 90 days. Your excitement for the business is “Viral”. I am glad I attended.
Erin, Stacy, Linsey, Kim and Steve:
I’m so glad you enjoyed the seminar! Jim and I definitely look forward to going forward to getting to know you’all better over the next 90 days!
Dustin,
Great seminar, well worth the drive from Ventura County to Irvine. Great information and detailed. Thanks again, I ‘ll come again in May and bring some friends.
Ted Mackel
Keller Williams Realty
Simi Valley, CA
Hey, I’m still awake. Haven’t slept in over 36 hours……talk about jet-lag…….4realz!
Rudy
Ted: it was great to see you as well! See you at the TweetUp in a few weeks!
Rudy: I thought the point of traveling is that you could get some sleep!
thanks again for coming out! I’m so glad that we got to hang out so much and I can’t wait to share some of our ideas for the NAR event with Jeff!
Congrats Dustin. Looks like you had a great turnout. Nice pics.
Dustin, great seminar! Appreciate all the information from you and Jim.
Nice turn out. Sounds like some good information was relayed and a good time was had
Congrats and keep em coming.
Hi Dustin & Jim,
I first heard you speak at our Coldwell Banker Company meeting in January – and was stimulated by the wealth of ideas you shared in a short time. I couldn’t wait for your Pasadena class, I live in SFV, to learn more & start understanding more of what I know I want to do, but not sure how!! After your program yesterday in Irvine -
I am really excited about the 90 day course & will be with you 100+%. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn more.
My only thought to improve the next one is set up the sponsors, so their interaction with the attendees during the session does not interfere with those of us trying to stay focused on your material.
I too may have to go to Pasadena for a review – you both had soooo much great information & make it sound so easy! Thanks
Roz
Coldwell Banker Brentwood Court
DUSTIN…YOU ARE THE GODFATHER…SMILE
RAIN CITY GUIDE IS A GREAT PLACE FOR INFO… I KNOW I WILL BE A FREQUENT VISITER.
I’M SUPER EXCITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 90 DAYS OF TRAINING…IT’S EXACTLY WHAT I’VE BEEN YEARNING FOR…
KIM
Thank you Dustin and Jim for a very energizing presentation. Your enthusiasm shines through all of your material. Hopefully I will be able to implement some of your valuable tips in an engaging way. I certainly am looking forward to our 90-day e-mail program. Thanks, again,
Robin
Dustin & Jim-Thanks for the info & I look forward to flooding the internet with wonderfully created & totally captivating blog info & other such stuff…with your guidance & help of course! Keep up the great work (just don’t get the secret out too well…just kidding!).
Hi Dustin & Jim:
Thank you for an informative class. I am so glad that Jerry Bieser with Chicago Title recommended your seminar to our office. (BTW-that’s me in the center front row of your photo with Andree, Steve and Ali) I will be recommending your next seminar when you return to our area. You both gave excellent presentations and really motivated me. Thank you again!
Mary Ann Ferris
Recruiting, Sales & Training
Hanu Reddy Realty
Irvine, California
http://www.hanureddyrealty.com
Thank you for the valuable information, Dustin and Jim. Looking forward to the 90 day program and continuing to learn from you guys.
Mike Wochner
Coldwell Banker, Big Bear Lake, CA
Your picture is worth a 1000 words Dustin!
Congrats on a successful event!
Thanks again to everyone who is leaving feedback! It’s obviously much appreciated! Best!
Awe shucks… I am feeling a LOT of love in this room… group hug anyone!! Lets keep spreading the 4RealzEd gospel!! Thanks to EVERYONE for taking the time to leave such positive comments!! Roz, I completely understand your point about the sponsor location and thanks for pointing it out… after only two events, we still come home from each with a list of things to improve….
Hi Dustin, I saw the flickr photos this morning following my twit feed, I recognized some people. Glad it was successful and hope you can make it to Ann Arbor someday.
Missy: Right with you! I’d love to get out to Ann Arbor some day!
Dustin,
Thank you for all of the information provided. I think the 90 days of just 15 minutes at a time is a wonderful model, and I look forward to it.
Dustin,
I attended the Irvine seminar and it was the most useful event I’ve attended in a long time. I am very excited to learn more about your systems and what the new world of real estate marketing is all about.
Thanks so much Christine and Mary!
Dustin,
The Irvine seminar was a real eye opener. The information that you and Jim put together was so unique and valuable to the current real estate marketplace. I am really looking forward to the 90 day ramp up and will definitely recommend your seminar. The only change for the next one would be to turn up the heat. It was freezing in there.
Best of luck.
Nick
Ok, seeing the key to getting better CEO is having more links on our website; I need some help understanding exactly how to do that. Do you have a specific place where you put the links? Am I suppose to write an article and include a link in it? If so, this could get old REALLY fast. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Great information, great strategy. I’m looking forward to the next 90 days and at the end being able to evaluate and visualize how much can be accomplished. Alright so I’m a few days behind already, but I’ll be caught up soon! Thanks again.
Hello gents, I already email Dustin on how much I enjoyed and received value from the event, and what a great job both Jim and Dustin did. Also the fact that someone finally ‘got it’ that we REALTORS we missing the tools and direction to successfully create a viable website and blog. Thanks again guys. Looking forward to the next 89 days of info. Cheers! James St James-Surterre Properties
Great Seminar as always the information was worth a mint
Tons of Great information
Thank you for the great seminar. You had a lot of valuable information that I look forward to implicating in my business. For your knowledge many of the emails in the 90 day course end up in my junk mail. Is there something you can do to fix this for the remainder of the course?
Ingela,
I’m glad you found this stuff valuable… There’s not much I can do about your spam filter that is grabbing our emails. However, if you “rescue” them, some spam filters are smart enough to “learn” the emails are good…
Although seemingly daunting at first, considering I lived in an age where color televisions were a modern day marvel, this seminar was truly remarkable!! Although I must admit that my assistant will be doing much of the up keep, I learned and still am learning so much!! Quoting a line that my marvelous, tech-savvy assistant wrote to Dustin:
Again, I wanted to shower you with praise for your
program; time permitting, it’s an
invaluable resource that can bolster any agent to
super-star!! I can’t wait to fully delve
in!
That pretty much says it all!!! Thanks for such a great course!
4realzEd-Pasadena
I can just barely make myself out in the photo above. 
Just finished Laguna Hills, we had some second (an third!) time attendees… I think everyone just loved it!!
I was also at the Laguna Hills seminar. I have been looking for the right path for my internet education and I have found it. Totally jazzed to be doing the coursework after the seminar. I look forward to being a repeat attendee!
Internet marketing through the platforms of social networking…who knew wrestling this Goliath to the ground could become the equivalent of a 15-mins a day discipline! Thanks for what you are doing!
Considering there’s a great crew sponsors and attendees traveling to Orange County for 4RealzEd event on Thursday, we thought it would be fun to meetup at Javier’s Cantina the night before.
Jim made a reservation for 16 people…. and considering Rudy, Joel, Jeff, Loren, and Drew have already RSVPed, you’ll want to get your name on the list quickly if you want to reserve a spot! It should be a blast!
(By the way, there’s still a handful of spots left open for our event on Thursday and we’d obviously love to fill the place up. If you know of any real estate professional in Southern California interested in getting a jolt of internet marketing education this Thursday morning, we’d obviously appreciate it if you helped spread the word!)
…submit proposals for a special session at NAR in Orlando!
I have lots of ideas, but I think it could be particularly interesting to submit a proposal for a discussion along the lines of “learning from success.” My idea would be to show a few different examples of how people are generating leads by using (non-blogging) social networks like LinkedIn, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, etc. and tie everything together in some general themes of what it takes to be successful.
I have enough good examples in my back pocket to put a presentation together, but I could ALWAYS use better examples… Are you an real estate agent or mortgage broker who has found a way to tap into a particular online community who wouldn’t mind sharing your story? Let me know!
Hey D!
Yeah, I have few in my front pocket
Shared a bunch golden nuggets at a blogging and social media class I taught along w/ Joe for LIBOR – The Long Island MLS in New York yesterday. Yes, there were some pretty loud oohs and ahhhhs from the audience…..
Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia
Dustin and Rudy, why don’t the three of us submit a panel proposal?
There are plenty of case examples to look at- most of them revolving around SEO techniques around communities or online word of mouth campaigns. Point2’s Facebook app would be a good example of a quick adoption item, as well as many of the realtors who have amassed 10k+ mailing lists on sites like Myspace. I’ve even seen a few pop-up on Meetup.com too.
Perhaps a brainstorm conference call. E-mail me at my new address if you want to catch up!
~Barry
Jeff: When I read Rudy’s comment earlier today, my initial reaction was… I wonder if we can do something together. And then, when I saw your name on a comment, I immediately though, I wonder if we can get Jeff involved!
The fact that you suggest that thought in the comment makes it all the better!
Barry: I’d love a brainstorm (and to find a bit more about what you’re up to these days!). Email is sent!
@ Dustin and Jeff – Let’s do it!
I just like sticking my head in here and watching you guys work together…
If you need anything from a guy in the trenches, just shout!
I would love to have some insight as well about social networking.
Tracey,
I’m hoping that Rudy, Jeff and I will be able to put something fun together or NAR, but that is still a ways off… Much sooner (end of May), Jim and I will be having another 4RealzEd event in Los Angeles!
And sponsored by MySpace? How could we resist… 4realz is joining Loren, Jeff, Robert, Justin, Jeff and Matt to ‘Hollywood’ tomorrow! Wish us luck!
So jealous Dustin…………..
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…Mary! (and especially glad she didn’t share any of the stories!)
More notes from RETechSouth:
and, how, could I forget… I had a blast hanging out with the Miami Beach backlink whore.
(Don’t be surprised if I add more links to stories about the event as I find them!)
I heard there was a fabulously devious plan to make me #1 for “Google backlink whore.”
I have no scruples, whatsoever.
Thanks, for the backlink!
Seriously, that conference was great and packed with quality information.
My room smelled like a big cigarette…..gasp.
Methinks you linked to the wrong link-love post from Mary. Didn’t you mean: http://www.rsspieces.com/retech-south-was-a-huge-success
Wish I coulda been there!
Jay—it WAS great. I was sorta jonesin’ for a mid-year kick-in-the-a** and that is why I attended.
We all had fun.
Methinks Jay is right.
Looks like the event was a success. I am very happy for all those involved.
Dustin, Kevin is the Miami Beach Backlink Whore , lets be as accurate as possible.
Gracias, Dustin. Had a great time with you all and I am actually holding your stories hostage for sale to the highest bidder.
Jay, I hope you will be at Unchained. I’ve been dying to meet you!
Tom
Are there any other backlink whores out there who will be “transparent” enough to admit it?
Laurie?
Tom?
Jay, Daniel, Tom… I updated both mistakes! (i.e. the link goes to the right post and I’m using the right anchor text on the link back to Kevin!).
Thanks to all!
I can’t believe Kev actually has competition for “backlink whore”, and I mean that in so many different ways
@Mary “Jay, I hope you will be at Unchained. I’ve been dying to meet you!”
I doubt if I’m welcome at Unchained. But there is always “after hours”. I’d love to meet you too! Going to Connect SF?
Jay
Why would you think that you would not be welcomed at “UC?”
??
…sheez I wonder when the next blogwar will be?
Ridiculous!!!
@SouthBeachCondo – long story and probably best not to discuss details “in public”. Suffice it to say that things changed between myself and the primary UC organizer when I chose to stop contributing to Bhound blog.
Dustin…thanks for taking some time after the conference to speak with Brenda and I…it was much appreciated!
I really did enjoy the entire event… And, as is usual for me, the conversations in the hallways were the best part!
Carol McCart, 
Elaine Hanson and one other person are discussing. 
Brian Requarth are discussing. 
Ricardo Bueno 8:28 pm on February 17, 2010 Permalink |
Great audience!
Dustin 8:29 pm on February 17, 2010 Permalink |
yeah… it really was. Not only a full house, but good questions and great feedback.
Ron Ares 1:00 pm on February 18, 2010 Permalink |
I thought the event really picked up steam as presenters rolled out the complete vision. Your example of ‘blog posting is like sending webmail was a great analogy’.
I wondered though, if the majority of attendees had an understanding of what Wordpress is, how it is administered, how to set it up, etc.. I know the talk wasn’t meant to be techy, but I was approached by a few attendees who didn’t know what it was or thought it was a product.
Dustin 12:26 pm on February 20, 2010 Permalink |
Interesting point about wordpress… and you’re right that we weren’t trying to go too indepth in the technology. If anything, I hope they walked away thinking the technology just isn’t all that hard and the tools are just that: tools. The tools are interesting and fun, and we spend a lot of talk blogging about them, but they’ll change over time. Nonetheless, we could definitely have put a section in the presentation that was a little more hands-on here’s how you use the tool, but I find that stuff gets so dry so fast that I’m not exactly sure how we would have fit it in there cleanly. Nonetheless, we should figure out a way to get a bit more about the tools in the presentations…