Real Estate BarCamp (REBC) Welcomes Robert Luna of Diverse Solutions

dsSearch has been marketing to the MetroList Region for awhile now, so it is no surprise to have Robert Luna become a major sponsor to REBC Denver.  I had the pleasure of meeting Robert briefly a few weeks ago at REBC Phoenix.  In a matter of few minutes determined he would be a great person to work with.  Robert will be coming to Denver on Friday, so we can all seek him out to chat about their exciting new IDX program.  Let’s welcome Robert to the Mile High City, and when you see him, say thanks for the really cool band tags!

Q: How long have you been in the real estate industry?

A: I have been in the real estate industry working with real estate agents for over a decade the majority of that time (8 years to be exact) I have been working in the real estate software industry; and I can say with out a doubt having a front row seat the last 8 years has been really fun and exciting time.

Q: What did you do before?

A: I was in marketing and advertising working with advertising agency’s and magazines in Phoenix Arizona.

Q: Tell us about your company.  How long have you been working there?

A: I have been with Diverse Solutions for nearly 2 years working with a great group of people. Everybody bring a tremendous amount of experience from the real estate software industry to the table. We all take a lot of pride in what we create and what we do, so everybody has a voice you never know where the next great idea will come from.

Q: What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?

A: Diverse Solutions does it all from real estate website to marketing, however what we are most famous for is our mapping IDX product dsSearchAgent it has definitely become our flagship product and what most people associate with Diverse Solutions.

Q: Are you involved in social media?
A: I enjoy social media, I have met many really good friends and it has given me and the company a place to tell our story.

Q: How do you use social media to leverage your business?
A: Social media is just that social and as I am sure you can imagine the topic of real estate software and marketing are always topics that come up so just engaging and being ourselves has defiantly helped get our name out there.

Q: How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?
A: I can spend all day on this subject the bottom line is we like to build the best whether it’s a custom website or the most intense mapping IDX solution on the planet! Really I encourage everybody to judge for themselves our website .

Q: Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?
A: Diverse Solutions has been involved with the REBarcamp’s form the beginning we sponsored the first one in San Francisco and many since then, we are proud sponsors of the Denver REBarcamp. I have spoken at a couple of REBarcamp’s and I really enjoy going wherever the conversations take me so there is a good chance I will speak in Denver.

Q: How can we contact you?
A: You can hit me up via email at RLuna@diversesolutions.com  or tweet me at http://twitter.com/RLuna

Kristen Veraldi of Kinetic Knowledge Presents Beyond SEO

The professionals will be in attendance at REBARCamp Denver this week.  When the sessions start the hardest part will be how to decide on who to hear first.  Kristen of Kinetic Knowledge is a great resource, both friendly and knowledgeable when it comes to all things Internet.  Be sure to come early and grab a front row seat.  This is a session will be yet another “do not miss!”

I would like to introduce you to the readers of the REBarCamp Blog.  Would you please tell us a little about yourself?

Certainly – most people just know me as ‘Kristen’ at Kinetic Knowledge.  I am one of the company founders and happily a tech geek, but also the face of customer service, education and tech support here at Kinetic.  If something is broken or someone needs help, I’m the “go-to” gal.  I like to think that I can fix any problem online if just given a few minutes with Google   Although I tend to be “behind the scenes” and completely virtual, I’ve been involved in blogging and social networking for real estate and business professionals for about five years.  I’ve lived in the Vail Valley for over 13 years and currently work from my home office here – I love summer in the mountains!  In the earlier stages of our company’s growth some may have seen me as a technology panelist at NAR, FAR, AEI or Real Living.

How long have you been in the real estate industry?  What did you do before?
Although my background is in Physics, I have been involved with real estate marketing for my whole working life.  I moved to Vail immediately after college and never intended to stay – I bet lots of us living here can say that and smile   I started out as a Marketing Director for a boutique real estate firm here in the valley and worked there for many years.  It’s here that I was first introduced to the idea of business blogging and here that my entrepreneurial spirit was born.  This is something most people probably don’t know about me, it’s unique that I truly understand the challenges Realtors face and am familiar with every part of the transaction.

Tell us about your company.  How long have you been working there?  What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?
Kinetic Knowledge actually has an interesting history.  We hit the scenes about four years ago as Real Estate Blogsites – our sole focus was bringing business blogging technology to real estate agents.  As the business landscape changed so did our company.  Kinetic Knowledge was born from a need to bring less expensive technologies to a wider range of businesses.  Today we think of ourselves as not just business blog providers, but as a modern day online marketing services company.  We build, host and manage custom branded business blog solutions, we provide content creation services, we educate about social networking connectivity, and most importantly, we guide our clients to be effective and efficient users of the medium.  These days we talk about a “Return on Time” versus the traditional Return on Investment.

Are you involved in social media?
Sure, you’ll find me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as well as sporadically on our company blogs at www.kineticknowledge.com and www.realestateblogsites.com.  You can also find Kinetic Knowledge in Facebook company pages.  As many of you know, sometimes it’s hard to practice what you preach because there is always a business to run.  Although I’m not yet as active as I’d like to be, you can bet that you’ll soon see me following a social media marketing plan each week!

How do you use social media to leverage your business?
All of our marketing efforts are done through business blogging content creation and the dissemination of free educational PDFs.  In fact outside the other free social networks, this is the only marketing we do.  Aside from a trade show or an event such as this here and there, we are completely virtual.  It provides us with a three-tiered approach – search engine optimization (SEO), branding, and direct marketing via a growing permission-based email list.  Direct marketing via your business blog is often understated for the headliner, SEO.  However using your blog’s RSS feeds to send out automated emails of new blog posts to your subscribers is an invaluable way to stay connected to your existing sphere of influence and the newbies reading your blog.  If this is a foreign concept, you’ll want to vote to learn more about this subject and come to the session on Beyond SEO.  Twitter is also gaining ground in importance for us, but I could go on and on about that so I’ll leave it to a session educator!

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?
I have such passion about business blogging because it is the biggest bang for the marketing buck anybody can achieve and it is so attainable.  As there are many free blogging and social networking products out there you may be wondering how Kinetic Knowledge provides value.  Unless you are a bit of a tech geek yourself, you can always expect to get what you pay for with free blogging platforms.  In this tech landscape it’s imperative to retain the control of your brand, your online reputation and your domain.  As a company our main value proposition is service and management.  We are your online marketing success partner – we remove headaches and manage all aspects of the process.  We are constantly educating.  We provide exemplary customer service and most importantly guide our clients to maximize their Return on Time.  You can easily spin your wheels blogging – as good business bloggers know, you need a bit of discipline and some simple yet specialized knowledge to really get the most marketing value out of these tools.  We help to ensure your success.

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?
Yes!  As I briefly mentioned earlier I’ll be presenting on a topic titled, Beyond SEO: Using Business Blogs for Automated Direct Email Marketing.  The direct marketing value of blogs is incredible yet often takes a lesser seat to search engine optimization.  In the session you’ll learn that blogs can prove their marketing value even if you threw SEO right out the window (Gasp!  No, but seriously it’s not the end all be all – it’s only one tier).  We’ll talk about RSS feeds and setting up services such as FeedBlitz or FeedBurner to create an automated, subscription based push of your blog articles via email.  We’ll discuss the use of unique content categories and simple forms or links to promote subscription.  Permission-based marketing is ideal because people have actually given you license to contact them freely and at will.  They want your knowledge and will listen to your message!   Have no idea what I’m talking about?  Subscribe to our blogs to get educated and see what it’s all about!  It’s so easy; you just enter your email and choose your news 

How can we contact you?
Via email: Kristen@kineticknowledge.com or any of the social networks listed above.  And directly by office phone: 970.372.5255.

Wendi & Trinity Title Support REBarCamp Denver!

When REBarCamp Denver was in the infancy stages of planning, Wendi Milinkov was one of the first people to step forward and offer to sponsor.  Typical of Wendy, she has the ability to cover a lot of ground without ever breaking a sweat.  Each year Wendi is responsible for recruiting volunteers to moderate at the Realtor Rally, in addition she is a member of the Education Committee always offering her assistance and knowledge.  It’s with great pleasure I welcome Wendi and Trinity Title to REBarCamp Denver.

Would you please tell us a little about yourself?

I am a highly motivated, type A 30 something! I’ve been in the title business my whole career since graduating from college in 1993 with a BS in Marketing/Public Relations from Northwest Missouri State University. I am a mother of two boys, and I enjoy writing, playing golf, teaching title and marketing classes and networking. My customers rely on me for being a great source of information to them in helping them build their business and be more efficient in their day to day work efforts. I quickly help them solve problems and I enjoy being the “right hand woman” on the title side!

How long have you been in the real estate industry?  What did you do before?

I have been in the title insurance business since 1993, where I began my career in the claims & special projects department, served as the marketing director/public relations director and then worked as an account manager for the last 9 years for a couple of local title companies.  Before title, I was a student-but I worked for the chamber of commerce and for a local alzheimer’s facility handling public relations work. Before that, I was a cashier girl in my mom and dad’s little store by the college.

Tell us about your company.  How long have you been working there?  What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?

I am currently working at Trinity Title. I’ve been employed there for 6 months and I love it! We are a young, upwardly mobile company that was founded by a family who “grew up” in the title business. Most of our employees originate from the bigger title companies in town, and we’ve taken the best philosophies-and revolutionized our systems to fit the way the real estate and title business is changing. We’re tech savvy, innovative-and big on social networking. We offer all the core services you see from other title companies, but we don’t rush out the door at five. We can handle after hours closing, virtual closings or whatever our clients may need.

Are you involved in social media?

Of course-Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain, Plaxo. I’m not too into Tweeting just yet.

How do you use social media to leverage your business?

I use it to keep in touch with friends, associates and as a great way to network 24/7. I think there is a careful balance you must apply to your social networking. You need to keep a business flavor-but you should also allow the fun side of your personality to show. If you’re all work—and no fun-people will view your efforts as a “commercial.” If you bring value to your social media efforts, as well as fun, it’s amazing the response you’ll receive. Our company has received orders from our contacts in our social media networks who are outside of the real estate and lending business! It’s very exciting to watch this trend!

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

We have a VERY attractive 10 year, 50% re-issue rate. We’re sensitive to our economy and to the price sensitivity of the consumer. Our core services and products are the same as the larger title companies, but we use some outsourcing techniques with our marketing and farm packages and with some virtual offices to keep our costs lower. We don’t want to be in the habit of hiring and laying off like many of the larger title companies do.  We offer a great net sheet tabulator on our web site, cd’s and e-files for our title documents (yes, we are a green company), an experienced title and escrow team, after hours closings, marketing services and more.

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?

I’m coming—but I’m not teaching! I’m very excited to be a part of it and I know so many of the folks that are a part of the event from another committee we served on them. I’m proud of them for putting on such a great event!

How can we contact you? By email or by phone! wendi@trinity-title.com  or 303-886-6288

Scott Sambucci of Altos Research Presents Denver Real Estate Stats!

Altos Research has been supporting REBarCamp from the very beginning.  I first had the pleasure of meeting Scott and Mike in the balcony of the first REBarCamp in San Francisco.   They were presenting their products to an amazed crowd.  “Yes, these graphs are in real time! You can place them on your website and watch them change.” OK, that may be as exciting as watching paint dry, but it is true, you plug ‘em in and forget about them. They are the coolest widgets in the industry!

Scott will show us how to use real estate statistics in an effective manner so we can demonstrate competency in our respective neighborhoods. It is with great pleasure I welcome Scott to the REBC Blog and next week to Denver!

Tell us about your company.  How long have you been working there?  What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?

Altos Research does real-time real estate market data.  We’ve been supporting real estate agents with our marketing solutions packages since 2005.  We provide a complete suite of products to help agents answer “How’s the market?” in all aspects of their business including:

• Personalized market reports updated every week
• AltosConnect to set up customized, automated drip marketing campaigns
• AltosCharts that provide live, real-time market data on websites and blogs

Are you involved in social media? How do you use social media to leverage your business?

Yes, yes, and yes!  We’re most active on Twitter – following clients, sending out local market data, publicizing real estate industry events (like Barcamp!!).  We also announce free webinars that we host and special deals for Twitter friends.

We’re starting to do more on Facebook, and just launched a Facebook app for any to use – it’s a real-estate market chart customized for your area – shows your Facebook friends that you’re in real estate without have to blare to everyone that you’re an agent.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

When someone asks an agent “How’s the market?” what they are REALLY saying is – “OK – you’ve got about 30 seconds to tell me why I should consider participating in today’s market and why should I work with you to do just that.”

Because we support agents in answering this $1,000,000 question for lead generation websites, with drip marketing to your contacts, with complete reports to support listing meetings and buyer consultations – we’re providing helping agents with transparency about the market to their clients.

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?

Indeed!  We’ve been presenting our “Real Estate Marketing with Statistics” workshop across the country.  It’s a look at how to integrate market data and stats into your prospecting, client communication, and buyer/seller meetings.  Helping agents see the opportunities they have to showcase their local market expertise with just a few simple strategies using market data.

How can we contact you?

scott@altosresearch.com
@scottsambucci
@altosresearch.com
Scott on Active Rain
Articles by Scott Sambucci
(415) 931 7942 – office
(415) 596-0804 – cell

REBC – John Skrabec of Live Urban Is Coming with His Associates!

When the message went out that REBarCamp was in need of a few sponsors, the guys at Live Urban stepped forth to lend a hand.  It is with great pleasure I introduce John Skrabec, Broker/owner of one of Denver’s boutique real estate offices.

A Colorado native, Broker/Owner John Skrabec grew up in Denver. Along with business partner and Managing Broker/Owner Mark White, he founded LIVE Urban Real Estate in 2006. He’s renovated four homes in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood, where he lives now, and is active in his neighborhood organization. John stays busy experimenting in the kitchen, skiing at Winter Park, scooting on his Vespa, and trying to keep up with his eleven-year old son Anten.

How long have you been in the real estate industry?  What did you do before?

Being a creative soul at heart, I started my career as a budding architect, earning degrees from CU-Boulder in environmental design and marketing. After years in the creative arts, I needed to flex my “entrepreneurial muscles” and founded Cactus Marketing Communications, a full-service ad agency. During that time, I was elected President of Denver’s Advertising Federation as well as President of the Colorado Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

After a decade of success in advertising, marketing and design, I decided to apply my marketing knowledge and business experience to real estate. Following my love of historic properties, I began a career as a Realtor in the urban neighborhoods of Denver, where I have been working with buyers and sellers all over the city for over eight years. For the last five years, I’ve also earned recognition in the Denver Board of Realtor’s Roundtable.

Tell us about your company.  How long have you been working there?  What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?

LIVE Urban Real Estate is a full-service real estate brokerage with a focus on the diverse and vibrant urban neighborhoods of Denver. We love this city as much as you do. With unique backgrounds, valuable real estate experience and a love for city life, our team of 41 real estate brokers are determined to craft a unique standard of service in real estate. Mark White and I started the company in 2006.

Whether you are buying or selling, our brokers specialize in urban-oriented, residential properties and have exceptional market knowledge of Denver’s classic neighborhoods and up-and-coming hot spots. We have unique insights into the most sought-after urban communities that blend friendly neighbors with thriving small business – because we live there ourselves.

Are you involved in social media? How do you use social media to leverage your business?

Yes, we’re beginning to use social media for marketing purposes within the context of an office wide ‘New Media Initiative’. Not only does the office have its own Facebook and Twitter presence, all our brokers are strongly encouraged to participate in Facebook and Twitter, sharing the latest real estate news, new listing and open house announcements, topical items of interest, etc. We have a office-wide group blog at http://blog.liveurbandenver.com where all agents participate in the discussion. All brokers are also encourage to regularly participate and post information on Zillow, Trulia and Active Rain.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

I believe we’re savvy marketers, who take an out-of-the-box approach to real estate marketing and promotion to serve our clients and brokers. With a commitment to breakthrough marketing, growing brand awareness and up-to-the-minute productivitiy resources, it all means results for our agents. Our brokers are supported with Free Marketing Consultations, E-Marketing Systems, Targeted Direct Mail, Cutting-Edge E-Contract Software, Virtual File Management, a Personalized Web Presence and more.

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?

Yes, I’ll be attending, along with several of my colleagues from LIVE Urban Real Estate. At this time, I’ll need to pass on the opportunity to present. Thanks for asking!

How can we contact you?

John@LIveUrbanDenver.com

If You Are Looking to Get Ahead of the Curve…

Certain “ah ha” moments  make conferences worth the trip.  A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of sitting in on a session lead by Devesh Khare while he spoke about mobile technology.  I was thinking I was in the wrong place, because after all I had my  iPhone tucked neatly away.  What could I learn about mobile technology?

Ha ha, the joke was on me. Devesh was not speaking about the device he was telling a story of the demographics of phone usage and how consumers are migrating to mobile search.  With that one statement he had 100% of my attention. 

It is with pleasure I introduce Devesh Khare to our readers, Devesh, can you tell us a little bit about your background?

I was born and raised in Vancouver where I became an electrical engineer, but about 8 years ago, I hung up my development gloves to focus on product marketing and ventured down to sunny Southern California.  It was a good move as I really enjoy working with businesses and helping them understand how they can leverage technologies in new ways.  Over my career, I’ve worked with technologies ranging from semiconductors to software.   In 2006, I started Aumnia with the goal to make it easy for any business to leverage mobile marketing using their existing web infrastructure.

After listening to your session at REBC in Phoenix, I was very impressed with what your company does with mobile technology. 

Can you give us a brief introduction to this technology and why it very important for us who are online?
Aumnia is an automated mobile internet platform that enables real estate professionals to extend their website services and branding to the mobile environment to drive lead generation and increase sales.  We optimize existing marketing materials, web content and services for mobile devices, providing a better, more relevant mobile experience to your clients.

Currently, over 88% of the US population has a mobile device and mobile devices outnumber PCs worldwide by a ratio of 4:1.  So, it’s an understatement when I say the mobile has become a key part of today’s lifestyle.  With smartphones like the Apple iPhone and BlackBerries, mobile users are using their phones to do much more than just make calls.  In fact, mobile internet usage has doubled from 2006-2008 and analysts expect that over half of all the devices browsing the internet will be mobile by 2012.

For real estate professionals, this means that having a website alone will not be sufficient for you to reach your online audience and that you must have a mobile marketing strategy, just like you have a web strategy today.

Are you using social media to leverage your business?  If so, tell us what is your favorite platform.

From a business perspective, we are just starting to use social media as a way to interact with our partners, customers, and end users.  We have learned a lot by attending past RE Barcamps and are getting a lot of insight on what we need to do.

From a personal standpoint, I’ve been using a variety of social media for a while to keep in touch with my family, friends, and colleagues globally.

Since you are a sponsor and will be attending REBC Denver, do you plan to volunteer to present a session?  If so, please tell us how we will benefit from coming.

I plan on facilitating a discussion that I like to call “mobile marketing – going from cool to driving results”.  The discussion is centered on the three tiers of mobile marketing (text messaging, mobile internet, and smartphone applications) and how to use each one effectively and avoiding pitfalls of all the mobile hype. 

How can you be contacted?

You can always visit our website & blog for general info.  To reach me directly, follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/mblz, email me at devesh@aumnia.com, or call my office at 949.242.3646.

Aumnia is one of our generous REBC Sponsors.  If this topic interests you, be sure to RSVP and attend REBarCamp Denver on May 22, 2009.

DocuSign Supports REBarCamp as a Sponsor

DocuSign is a REBarCamp sponsor and will have An Bui representing them.

Tell us about you…who are you where do you live?

My name is An Bui and I split time between Seattle and Boulder. In Seattle, I live in the Belltown/Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. In Boulder, I live in the Flatirons neighborhood. I love both communities for the outdoors opportunities coupled with the entrepreneurial energy and creativity.

Where do you work?  How long have  you been working for DocuSign?

DocuSign, the #1 provider of on-demand software services for electronic signature and online contract execution, chose me to lead their social media/blogging efforts since January 2009.

How do you use social media to leverage your business?

Yes – I’ve been involved in social media since college, joining Friendster and then Facebook. Before that, I was involved in social networking in high school, back when Six Degrees was around.

Professionally, I generate content and attach metrics to social media efforts for organizations such as DocuSign as well as speak at conferences and give talks about social media, digital identity and online community.

DocuSign uses social media to connect with its customers and potential customers. Using Twitter, we try to help those who have tweeted that they are looking for more information about electronic signature or electronic contract execution. We also use it to share new updates and be more accessible to our customers. to establish a knowledge base for our customers. There, they can post questions, share stories and connect with others of the DocuSign team. Forums are a great resource for our customers and a great place to see what else has worked for others.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

DocuSign’s electronic signature and online contract execution services help real estate agents save time, money and do more deals. Using DocuSign, our customers don’t have to drive all over town to get papers signed nor do they have to deal with paper and fax machines. Deals close more quickly because all you need is an internet connection, web browser and you’re in business.

In a time sensitive industry like real estate, electronic signature and online contract execution can help you get deals done in minutes.

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?

I’ll be at REBC Denver, and would like to present on the Business 2.0: Advantages of the Mobile Office.

Where can I contact you for more information?

You can check DocuSign out on the web call 866-219-4318, or leave a comment on , in the forums for my business card – text “AnWith1N” to 50-500 for my contact information -

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