A simple case for REBarCamp

RE Barcamp Logos

Over the past couple of years I have had the privilege to design quite a few logos for RE Barcamps across the country. Even though it’s not our primary “stock-in-trade” to do design work, I’ve really enjoyed helping give an identity to the events.  Those I’ve designed logos for have been nice enough to give “in-kind” consideration to one of my companies in exchange for the work but that’s not why I’ve done them. Having been involved with REBC from the very first event, I wanted to do what I could to be a good steward to the brand. I’ve got too many irons in the fire to keep up with it.

If you’re planning an upcoming RE Barcamp I would suggest finding a good local designer that would consider the in-kind sponsorship trade. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

Colors
Keep the number of colors to a minimum and try not to use gradients or complex fills for the layout. Your printing costs will stay low and the ability to re-size the image for avatars etc. will be easier. You will be using several types of printing including screen printing for t-shirts and badges, so if you keep the registration of colors simple it will be easier in the long run.

Flame On
The constants in a Barcamp logo are the flame and the typeface (Century Gothic). There are no rules for the way you can use it and there have been some really creative implementations. Take a look at Barcamp.org and click through to the 1,000’s of barcamps that have taken place across the world.

Formats
Your designer will need to design a 300 x 150 transparent .png file for the RE Barcamp web site. Send it to Andy Kaufman to get it added. ( andy AT myeastbayagent DOT com. ) If you’re doing BandPass event badges, keep in mind they are typically black and will require a design that works well on a black background. Have the logo designed in a vector illustration program and save your high resolution file as either Adboe Illustrator or .EPS format.

Sizes
Have your designer layout the standard logo design and an alternative format that is square and scales down well. This makes creating avatars for Twitter, Facebook etc. easier.

Working With Your Designer
If you use the same logo for subsequent events, please give your designer the same consideration of sponsorship you did for the initial event. Try not to use committees or large groups to decide on a design. Keep it to 3 people and the process will be easy for selection.

Files
The original Barcamp files to give to your designer are located here. Century Gothic by Monotype is the tyepface used for all Barcamp logos. Most designers will have it in their type library. If not it can be purchased at Fonts.com.

I hope this helps out anyone planning a new REBC and I look forward to seeing as many of you as I can at upcoming events. Cheers!

REBarCamp.com site redesign in the works

One of the great things about attending REBlogWorld in Vegas this weekend was a meeting I had that should give this site the ability to grow faster. Right now, I build every new event blog from the ground up. Also, while I like the way the theme looks, it adds lots of extra steps to creating a new blog.

We’re rebuilding REBarCamp.com on the WordPress Multi-User platform. This will allow us to add sites at the click of a button. Okay, maybe two buttons.This will take a while, but once it’s ready, we’ll be able to offer event sites again.

If you need an event site for your REBarCamp done right away, I suggest building it yourself. We’ll still link to it. Otherwise, hold tight. I’ll share more details when I have them.

Changes for REBarCamp.com

I don’t have time to keep up with RE BarCamp’s expansion. I won’t be building any new event blogs, or promising any sort of online support. I will do my best to link to anyone who builds their own site for one of these events.

Do you want to help? Have any ideas? Please comment. I’d love to continue to make this work.

edit – please understand that the effort to do this is overwhelming me. I can’t keep up anymore. I don’t want to promise on things I can’t deliver on. I’m very sorry to have to write this post.

RE BarCamp Planning Call for San Diego

Here’s a recording of the RE BarCamp pre-pre-pre planning call for San Diego. We also start to tackle some of the issues surrounding how to structure REBC in a way that preserves the grassroots vibe of the event without letting vendors take over.

RE BarCamp Planning Call.

What does Todd Carpenter’s new job mean to RE BarCamp?

This week I’m starting a new and very exciting challenge. I’m the new Social Media Manager for the National Association of REALTORS. If you’ve followed me for a while, this shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise to you. I publicly petitioned for this job last fall in a post I wrote on Lenderama titled “If I were NAR’s Social Media Manager“. In it, I make mention of Re BarCamp.

“18. I’d get behind RE BarCamp in a BIG, BIG way. This is a massive opportunity to connect. I’d organize events in Chicago, Seattle, Denver, and New York. If someone else doesn’t do it first, I’d organize one before SXSW in Austin. RE BarCamp in San Diego, 2009 during the convention is a no-brainer.”

Since then, Seattle and New York have become a reality, Denver is set for May 22nd, Chicago is in the wings, and yes, NAR has offered up space at the annual convention in San Diego next fall. Thanks in huge part to Chris McKeever at CRT, NAR is offering up this space for an RE BarCamp with traditional values. Most importantly, free and open access to the event. You do not need to be a REALTOR, or buy a ticket to the annual convention to participate in RE BarCamp San Diego.

I’m one of the original volunteers for RE BarCamp, I’ve been on the ground at the San Francisco, New York and Virginia events. I built and hosted the blogs for most of the events. I helped Kristal and Vali launch RE BarCamp Denver. I’ve even started building out REBarCamp.com to be a resource for other folks who want to start an RE BarCamp of their own. I happen to think my resume as an RE BarCamp volunteer is pretty solid.

However, my new appointment is leading to concerns throughout RE.net that NAR is too close to RE BarCamp. I’ve heard this both directly and indirectly, and I think it’s time for a public discussion on the matter.

There have been many conference calls discussing the future of RE BarCamp. I’ve always been one that leans toward the “hands-off” camp. The three RE BarCamp events I’ve attended were all different. Not one of them was wrong. I’m of the opinion that the people primarily involved in planning RE BarCamps should be the ones who decide how they are structured, funded and branded.

This has been my approach on REBarCamp.com as well. I set up a blog, give the organizers admin (full control of the blog) status over it, and tell them they can do whatever they want with it. The only thing I’ve ever asked of any of them is to let me know when they are adding other admins to their blog. That’s only to help me know who to contact if the blog breaks. I also gave full admin status to Jay Thompson and Andy Kaufman for the root REBarCamp.com site. I purchased the URL, pay for the site’s hosting out of my pocket, and was one of the original paid sponsors for the first event. I want these events to flourish.

During the original conversations RE BarCamp volunteers had with NAR (long before I worked here), I was the one who asked for assurances from Chris that an RE BarCamp running under space donated by NAR should be able to run within the free and open standard that’s been established. Chris assured us that he wouldn’t want NAR to host the event if it couldn’t operate in such a fashion. So when Chris got this space approved, and with my new job here at NAR, I volunteered to take the point in organizing RE BarCamp San Diego.

RE BarCamp events have been organized, hosted and/or sponsored by Inman News, Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate, OnBoard Informatics, Zillow, Active Rain and the Virginia Association of REALTORS. Like I said all the way back in the post I wrote last year, NAR’s involvement is a no-brainer in my mind. NAR is the association that represents most of the attendees. Helping our members learn more about social media through these events is an affordable way to connect, teach and learn from these members. If we had both the time and budget for it, we would sponsor and attend every one of these events. As it is, I think more people will wish we were more involved than feeling like we’re too involved.

NAR wants to adopt social media as a tool for better communicating with its member base. We want to know if you think hosting an RE BarCamp is a problem, and if so, why? Let’s please talk about this in the open. I would very much appreciate your comments — the dissenting ones most of all.

NAR to host RE BarCamp San Diego at 2009 annual convention.

Chris McKeever at CRT let us know this week that the National Association of REALTORs has signed off on hosting RE BarCamp on site at the 2009 annual convention in San Diego. Wow! NAR has progressively become more involved with our grassroots effort, but this is a huge step.

In keeping with RE BarCamp traddition, the event will be free, and you will not need to be a member of NAR to attend. They are being very hands off, and nothing but extreemly helpful where we need it. How cool is that?

The convention is not until this fall, so we’ll have more details down the road.

RE BarCamp coming to Virginia

Check out the FAAR Forum for details. March third in Fredericksburg. Set your calenders.

Start Spreading The News – REBarcamp NYC Is A Go

Thanks to the folks at Inman along with The Real Estate Zebra and Trulia’s Social Media Guru – NYC will be rocking a Real Estate BarCamp! The event is being held in conjunction with Inman Connect. Details are still in the works. If you plan to attend Connect this year, you dok not want to miss this event.

Facebook group and event pages have been established. They are a little redundant. Dan and Rudy are your “go to” guys, so if you’re interested in volunteering, attending or sponsoring, leave a comment here or on Facebook.

Video from RE Bar Camp San Francisco

Kudos to David Gibbons from Zillow for putting together this great video on RE Bar Camp!

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