Cool Ideas For Session Topics

I asked  REALTORS nationwide via my blog about which topics they would like to see covered more in-depth about RE/Tech and using social media for their real estate businesses. Great ideas were offered up that would make some  EXCELLENT session topics at our REBarCamp!   We are BEYOND fortunate to have RE/Tech trainers and thought leaders that speak at national events coming to share their knowledge with us in Redwood City on Sept. 20th!

If you would like to see any of the topics listed below discussed, please bring the topic idea with you to the event and write it down on the cards we will have for our attendees. The most voted for session topics will be the ones that we present, so come early with what you want to learn about!

Session Topic Ideas:

How to leverage technology at an open house.

How to get a following once you’ve set up your website, blog or Facebook page.

‎5 ways to increase your friends list on Twitter and Facebook.

A daily checklist for increasing your online presence/improving your Google ranking.

SEO tools you can’t live without.

How to link all your social media activities together.

How to calculate ROI not only on $ spent, but time spent.

How to determine the best mix of media for your specific market.

The most beneficial sites to build profiles on for REALTORS.

What does the consumer want to see (particular info, articles, stats, etc.) from a REALTOR on-line?

Guidelines to proper e-tiquette – i.e. time to respond, grammar sensitivity, etc.

How to build, follow up with and maintain cyber-relationships.

How to choose the right WordPress theme for real estate.

Schedule Of Events for REBarCamp SMC

Although the content for the day will be determined the morning of RE BarCampSMC, here is an outline of the day so you know when to arrive, and also can plan to attend happy hour 

• 8:00 am: Registration opens
• 8:00 am: Grab some coffee and refreshments
• 8:30 – 9:00 am:  REBarCamp BootCamp Session – New or confused by RE BarCamp? This session will demystify the concept, orient you to the day, and show you how to get the most out of your RE BarCamp experience.  More details here.
• 9:00 – 9:10 am: Welcome message and discussion of how sessions will be suggested by attendees and chosen.
• 9:45 am: Sessions are placed on a large whiteboard for attendees to see the session topics and rooms they will be held in.
• 10:00 – 10:45 am: Session 1
• 11:00 – 11:45 am: Session 2
• 11:45 – 1:30 pm: Catered lunch on site
• 1:30 – 2:15 pm: Session 3
• 2:30 – 3:15 pm: Session 4
• 3:30 – 4:15 pm: Session 5
• 4:15 pm: Happy Hour and Raffle on the Rooftop Terrace.

(Reminder: REBarCamp SMC is being held in Redwood City, at 885 Woodside Road (a new condo complex) on Monday, September 20th.)

REBarCampSMC Holds “REBarCamp Boot Camp” For Newbies!

I watched my son start his first day of school today. The teachers had all the kids line up en masse and do a chant to begin the day. He sat there looking around lost at first, then started mumbling to look like he knew what was going on. I am sure he will get better each day at this new way of beginning his school day, but if you are going to REBarCamp, you only get that ONE day! You can’t sit around mumbling!

SO! To show you the ropes, how to interact in the sessions and get the most out of your day at REBarCamp, we are holding a “BarCamp Boot Camp” at 8:30 am sharp the morning of September 20th. (in case you forgot, yes, that’s the day of the REBarCamp!)

Rodil San Mateo and Hilda Ramirez, who helped create the Boot Camp concept, will lead this 30 minute session and have you ready and able to go out there and pick a session track that works with your needs, at your level, and will give you insights into making sure that your time at “camp” is productive and rewarding.

Please be sure to RSVP ahead of time and we will be posting information here about the location of the Boot Camp at the 885 Woodside Condo complex. Come a bit early, grab some complimentary coffee and refreshments and be prepared to go from “newbie” to pro in 30 minutes!

(the organizers will be around to help out anyone we see “looking lost”, too!)

(this picture is from this morning at the new school)

Redwood City-Diversity in culture and environment

Many REBarCamps are held in “destination cities” across America. Ours is being held in Redwood City. A destination city? Not exactly a “destination” per se, but definitely a city with its own history, charm and proximity to San Francisco Bay. Are you flying in from New York because you just have to see Redwood City? You might if you love hiking trails, a historical downtown, and fantastic Fall weather! Here is more information about Redwood City, the location of the REBarCamp San Mateo County. (and the views of the area from the top of the 885 Woodside Condos are beautiful!)

This former lumber town, located exactly halfway between San Francisco and San Jose, has a long history as an important port city for the peninsula. The towering redwoods that rise above the Woodside area gave the city its name and also provided early industry, as lumber was cut and shipped to San Francisco via the deepwater port formed by the Redwood Creek. The port also gave rise to a local shipbuilding industry that thrived until 1883. The only deepwater port on South Bay, it remains a busy commercial port and yacht basin.

Despite a relatively small population of 76,000, Redwood City offers an intriguing mix of cultures and is known for its diversity, with Hispanics making up about a quarter of the community. Because of this international influence, the streets are lined with interesting shops and authentic Mexican eateries. The downtown area has expanded and modernized to meet the needs of industrial and high-tech companies locating in the area, but has managed to maintain its sense of history and small-town charm. Redwood City has been the training camp location for the San Francisco 49ers, and home to lifetime achievement Grammy winner John Lee Hooker and Heisman Trophy winner Gary Beban.

REBCSMC Sponsor Lovin’!

REBarCamps are specifically known for the ability to bring real estate professionals together in a collaborative environment to provide free real estate technology information, share ideas and best practices and give attendees information they can take away and use immediately in their businesses and invaluable contacts to add to their social media sphere. Whew! That’s a lot! And it’s TRUE!

The day is made even better when, thanks to the generosity of sponsors, the attendees are greeted with a beautiful, new condo complex to spend the day at, complimentary coffee and refreshments in the morning, a nice, on-site, catered lunch, decorated and comfortable rooms to have the sessions in, cold water throughout the day and libations to enjoy while networking at the end of the day.

Here are the sponsors whose in-kind support is helping us create an AWESOME day for our attendees!

The Venue:  885 Woodside, is graciously hosting us at this beautiful new and centrally located 42-unit condo complex. They have special commission deals for attendees, too!

Morning Refreshments: Trowbridge Insurance Services is providing your morning coffee and refreshments–Thanks Virginia and Corrin Trowbridge!

Catered Lunch: MLS Listings.com is providing a catered lunch so you can stay on property, meet and mingle and enjoy the view! Thanks to Jim Harrison, CEO.

Staging: Staged4More is decorating and staging the condos to add pizazz, elegance and flair to our event space! Thanks to owner, Cindy Lin!

Furniture: Cort Furniture is providing the furnishings for the condos to make them a stylish and comfortable place for learning.

Also, this event could not occur without the overall support of the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS , thanks to CEO, Steve Blanton and the Board of Directors.

We are still in need of $250 sponsors to help cover other costs of the event so we can create a truly rockin’ experience for the attendees! Please contact Julie Ziemelis at juliez@samcar.org for more info!

Thanks again to our sponsors and to our volunteers who are working behind the scenes!

REBarCamp-Networking on Steroids-and its GOOD for you!

One of the best attributes of the network of people in real estate is that they are loyal. Loyal to their customers, loyal to the industry and loyal to those  with whom that they do business. One of the ways to accomplish this is by networking with other Realtors who refer business to you and conversely, getting to know who you would make outgoing real estate referrals to as well. Face to face connections, social media connections and industry leadership participation are just a few ways to accomplish a viable real estate referral network.
REBarCamp networking will bring your perception of business networking to a new level. REBarCamp networking is bigger than the broker to broker customer referrals, it is about broker to broker business strategy networking. It is about loyal, long lasting connections that are fulfilling, informative, challenging and personal.
Is your business model stale?  Have  you exhausted all your creative ideas on new ways to market? Are you wondering what all the buzz is about social media venues and wondering how people fit them into their schedules? Are you sick of newspaper ads and periodicals that end up in hotel lobbies and public restrooms? Want ideas on how to get customers…that’s what we’re all looking for right? REBarCamps are your chance to ask the questions and get the REAL answers from people just like you who are in business and struggling just like you, but maybe they’ve found a solution that they are willing to share. You will have an opportunity to hear over 30 sessions over 30 subject matters!.. maybe more!

Thanks to the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS for spearheading this event! However, we need REALTOR volunteers to make this event a success! Get your networking into high gear and be part of the fun and excitement of putting on this event! Learn from doing and get connected to some of the smartest folks in the space! Contact Julie Ziemelis at juliez@samcar.org if you would like to get “in da space”!

(photo of attendees of a prior REBarCamp!)

Thanks to Debbie Kirkland from the REBarCamp Orlando for this post!

Doesn’t This Location Rock?

Hey ladies and gents!

We are super excited and fortunate that we will be able to hold the very FIRST Real Estate BarCamp San Mateo County at the 885 Woodside Road Condos in Redwood City this year. Here is a sneak peak:

Condo Entrance

This is where we will be kicking off REBCSMC in the morning and finishing up after the camp! Isn’t it gorgeous? Imagine yourself picking up all kinds of great internet marketing/social media information here..for FREE!

What IS a BarCamp? The Answer Revealed!

What is a barcamp?

From the www.rebarcamp.com website:

The concept for RE Bar Camp came from a technology BarCamp event held in San Francisco. Wikipedia defines a barcamp a: An international network for user generated conferences-open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants.

RE BarCamp is a BarCamp for Real Estate-what that means-the event is not structured like a typical planned conference. Every session isn’t planned out in advance. No one is paid to deliver a session. Anyone can deliver a session, and attendees are strongly encouraged to participate.

Anyone can lead a session, anyone can participate-or you can feel free to suggest topics that you maybe want to learn more about. It is very much what YOU make of it.

REBarCamp events are run completely by unpaid volunteers; they are typically free because of the support of sponsors.

This is NOT a for profit venture, it is very much a labor of love-to provide a forum where you can comfortably attend,network,learn,grow and participate.

We hope you will join us on Facebook and Twitter and help spread the word about this exciting event!

LIVE from San Mateo County-It’s REBarCamp SMC!

Welcome to the REBarCamp San Mateo County blog! The San Mateo County Association of REALTORS is proud to host and support this free web marketing event for the real estate community in the Bay Area. Here are the event details so far:

When: Monday, September 20, 2010 from 8:30 am-4:00 pm

Where: 885 Woodside Road, Redwood City, CA (these are brand new condos!)

Who: Anyone in the real estate industry that wants to learn more about social media, web marketing, Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc and for those that wish to share their knowledge.

How: We will be setting up an RSVP page  here pretty soon. Please RSVP so we know what to ask our sponsors to help us with in terms of food, drinks and swag!

Thank you to our SAMCAR volunteer organizers, Realtor, Jim Somers, Staged4more Home Staging and EcoJoe Founder, Cindy Lin, and Realtor, Brendan Aiello.  SAMCAR has generously provided the support of SAMCAR Public Affairs Director, Julie Ziemelis to get this party started!