Who should attend REBarCamp?

REBarCamps are a phenomenon that have been finding excited participants across the nation since 2008.  Typically the topics covered at REBarCamp relate to the web, blogging, digital technologies, video, cameras, social media, mobile devices, conversions and conversations.

The most common question people want to know, “Is REBarCamp for advanced users only?”  In a word the answer is “no!”  Of course that doesn’t mean the topics covered are exclusive to beginners!  The format of BarCamp is intended to bridge the gap so everyone can find common ground and learn a trick or two.

Traditional BarCamp agenda’s come together spontaneously on site.  A grid is placed on the wall and speakers are scheduled to present that day as time allows.  Each slot is 30-45 minutes where the speaker may introduce a topic and illustrate main points then open up the conversation to everyone in the session.   This is when information exchanges and the learning begins.

As the organizer, I am asking everyone I meet if they have a topic they would like presented.  It so, let’s hear it!

So far suggestions have been made for

• website optimization
• how to pick relevant keywords and tags
• How not just to use social media but more importantly to UTILIZE it to build business
• What are The Real Causes of Success in Real Estate
• Short Sale Strategies
• Photography Tricks and What camera should I buy?
• Help Understanding Video and it’s Usage
• Reputation Management
• Tech Tools that Will Provide Value Beyond Tomorrow

The list can go on an on.  If you have a subject you would like to learn more about, bring it up.  Also, if you are talented with a subject and want to share, show up and let’s hear your stuff!

So who should come to REBarCamp?  Anyone no matter their skill level who is passionate about sharing, learning and is forever sharpening their skills to be the best!

See you at Camp!

kk

Photos from the First REBarCamp Denver 2009

The Facts, Nothing But the Facts…

One week from today, Denver will be hosting it’s first the Real Estate Bar Camp (REBC). This landmark event has attracted over 400 people to date. Since we changed the venue, there should be no problem accommodating this size group.

If you haven’t marked your calendars yet, please schedule it now.
• Friday, May 22, 2009
• Registration begins at 8:30
• Event begins at 9:00 a.m. SHARP! Sessions end at 4:00 P.M. After party begins immediately after
• Lunch shall be provided during a 1/2 hour time slot (approximately mid-day)
• Location: DPPA 2105 Decatur St. Denver, Colorado

Directions to DPPA

Parking is abundant. If parking is full next to the building use Bronco Stadium parking to the south. (It’s OK the Broncos aren’t using it!)

Dress: Casual  (extra credits for those who wear flip-flops)

Broker IPTV Mark Eibner and Dirk Freeman will be live streaming. If anyone is breaking parole, or doesn’t want their image on TV, please avoid the cameras. The world is watching Denver because we are going to Rock next Friday!

VOLUNTEER BLOGS needed! Have you ever wanted an evaluation of your blog? If so, enter our BLOG IDOL contest and have your blog dissected by experienced, critical, nasty, creative judges like Simon Cowell (played by Lorelle on WordPress, Teresa Boardman and Justin Smith.You decide who is the nasty one, I’m not willing to risk my life!) If you are interested please contact me with the url to your blog. Three “winners” will be chosen for the dissection on Friday. Folks pay a lot of money for this service, so be brave and come forth. I double dare you!

PHOTOBUGS will be glad to know we have an exclusive Flickr group created to post pictures of this event. You can find it at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/rebcdenver/

TWITS the HASHTAG for our group is #REBCDenver (If you don’t know what a hashtag is, you should sit in on the #1 Twitterer in Colorado, Rob McNealy and find out what you are missing!)Those of you who know what a Hashtag is; it’s our chance to make a great impression let’s spread words of REBC wisdom to the world!

DOOR PRIZES: We have a few generous people who have volunteered to bring Door Prizes. If you would like to Bring a Prize, please do so. It’s a nice way to have your name mentioned and we all love to win! So far we have Colorado wine and 2-one year subscriptions to Real Estate Shows!  Anyone want to donate a couple days at a time-share, dinner coupons, home inspections or something of value you want to share…we’ll have a drawing and you can be a hero!

AFTER PARTY: Immediately following REBCDenver we will continue our “networking” at the Vita Restaurant Rooftop (the weather will be nice!) 1575 Boulder St.

PRESENTER INFORMATION
To date 31 people have come forward requesting to present. We have 36 slots (to the math challenged means there’s still room to present!). Some people may find the topic they want to discuss already being done. My suggestion here, team up and do it together. Groupings like this make great conversations.

Please respect the BarCamp Philosophy. We are here to present topics and discuss them as a group, not lecture and certainly not present sales pitches. With that said, we all have something to sell so let’s give first then if the message is good enough you will receive. OK?

If you wish to present and need an overhead projector, you need to contact me. We have a very limited supply (2 3 thanks @joelrunner) so I will need to schedule you in the proper room. (If anyone has a projector to donate for the day speak up!)

All rooms are WIFI ready.

HOW IT WORKS: Presenters will be given an opportunity to post their topic first thing in the morning. We will have a GRID of the schedule posted. You will be able to pick your time and the room. Some rooms will be reserved for those needing the overhead. The large room will be reserved for specific presentations. We have 6 rooms with 6 time slots 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Questions, Concerns, Comments? Call, Click or DM me.

• Kristal Kraft
• 303-589-2022
• kristal@tbgdenver.com
• @KrisTalks
• Denver Real Estate

P.S. Don’t forget…spread the word. Thank you all!

If you have a blog and want to display our very cool badge, here’s the code:

<a href=”http://www.rebarcamp.com/denver/”><img height=”149″ width=”200″ class=”size-full wp-image-109 align=” title=”REBarCamp, Are you coming?” alt=”REBarCamp Badge” src=”http://rebarcamp.com/denver/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/denverbadge.png”></a>

REBarCamp Denver Attracts Headliners!

REBarCamp Denver is proud to welcome real estate icons.

Jeff Turner, wears many hats, he is the founder of Real Estate Shows and serves on the Advisory Board of the newly formed   Social Media Marketing Institute. Jeff is a thought leader and a man who influences many with his actions. Alongside his businesses, he makes time to spread the word righting wrongs, as in Child Slavery and supporting his wife, Rocky in her mission to enlist mothers to organize and help others in need.  Together the Turners are sending a message to us all that we as individuals can make a difference.  Jeff is known in the industry as having the ability to take a very complex subject and break it down into understandable concepts for use in business.  Last year Jeff Turner was a hit at Realtor Rally when he not only filled the room, but had to literally be pulled off the stage due to his popularity. So if you were one of the many who couldn’t get enough of Jeff Turner’s wisdom, come to REBC on May 22!  As our esteemed Master of Ceremonies, Jeff will get REBC off to a great start!

Todd Carpenter will be surprised to see a promo of himself here.  Todd is the maker of the original BarCamp website (the one you are reading right now).  He twisted my arm to do a REBC in Denver than took off for a new job in Chicago, seldom to be heard from again (ok I’m kidding, he calls and cracks the whip!).  Todd is a perfect example of how blogging can change your life.  A few years ago, Todd began a mortgage broker blog called Lenderama, his little blog grew into a national sensation, attracting mortgage bloggers from across the nation.  Since then Todd has organized Denver’s first Blog Fiesta and the REBlog World in Las Vegas.  As mentioned, Todd is now gainfully employed at a place we bloggers refer to as “the darkside” aka N.A.R.  Yes, Todd Carpenter is N.A.R.’s first Social Media Director! Way cool Todd!  It’s so great to have friends in high places!

Teresa Boardman of St. Paul Real Estate Blog fame has also made her RSVP to attend camp. Teresa is a Realtor, Blogger and Photographer.  Her success is evident in all her writings from her personal blog, to her mobile blog, her musings on Agent Genius, The Real Estate Weenie and Inman Blog. Teresa’s first love is photography and using Flickr to post photos and network.  She wants to present a session for us on Flickr.  Those who attend will be in for a treat, because no one knows their way around Flickr better than T!  And if we are very, very nice to T, she might even tell us who REALLY writes her blogs and takes all those photos, as we all know one person can’t really do all that work!

Dave Smith is flying in from Tucson, AZ to join us as well. Dave is the Director of IT, Realtor, Photographer and all round nice guy who developed Tucson Real Estate for his wife Barbara Lasky.  At my incessant begging, Dave has agreed to present a session on how to do HDR photography so snap a few pics, bring your lap top and sit in on Dave’s session!  Examples of Dave’s photography can be found on his Painting Tucson Blog. A quick glance at his work will more that convince you of his artistic talent with a camera.  Dave is a dial-up geek, he writes The Real Estate Blog Lab where we all go to learn the stuff Dave probably invented.  For you photogs out there, Dave can be tempted to do a Photo Walk in Denver.  Lucky for us he doesn’t like shooting people, but he’s a master of the desert, flowers, buildings and things that generally don’t move.  Maybe, just maybe we can take him out Friday night for some one on one photography tips.

Brad Andersohn of Active Rain is yet another outstanding addition to the REBC line up. Brad is a perfect example of how far one can go when applying oneself to learning technology.  I remember when Brad came on the blogging scene, he was deleting comments on his blog because people were responding!  It didn’t take long for him to discover that was actually the point.  Now Brad is well versed in more technology than I can remember. He has an amazing collection of “Top FREE Picks” posts on Active Rain  is worthy of bookmarking and studying.  When you want to learn a new technique or two, check out Brad’s blog on Active Rain, or better yet, just subscribe to him and read everything he writes. I can assure you, you won’t regret being a follower.  Brad is a true giver and I’m delighted to welcome him to Denver on Friday, May 22, 2009.

Have your RSVP’d yet?

Land Title Rep., Jim Renshaw Discusses Use of Social Media

The best part of planning REBarCamp just has to be meeting many new and interesting people.  I enjoy hearing from people I don’t know and learning how they are incorporating social media into their lives as well as their business.  Jim Renshaw is one of those people who emailed me about his blog.  Jim has uses his blog to inform his readers about the state of real estate in metro Denver and the many services his company provides.  It’s my pleasure to “virturally” introduce Jim!

Tell us about your company.

Land Title Guarantee Company is a locally owned Title Company that has been serving the Colorado real estate market for over 40 years.

How long have you been working there?

I’ve been working at Land Title for 6 years.

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

Superior title research and professional closings along with marketing assistance to help real estate professionals grow their business. I can do this by being part of a team at Land Title

Are you involved in social media?

Yes – I’m on Facebook, twitter and have an active blog at Jim Renshaw

How do you use social media to leverage your business?

I use social media to enhance or create new relationships.  I’ve found that using social media enables me to get to know my clients better so when we do meet face to face our time can be very productive and enjoyable.

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

I look at my role as helping real estate professionals grow their business. It start with our core services of having accurate and timely title research so clients can depend on the information. Professional closing services so buyers, sellers and borrowers leave the closing table with the best possible experience and increasing the chance of referral business in the future. I also provide marketing assistance that varies from farm pack to real estate statistics, postcards, flyers, foreclosure list, home books to name just a few.  I’m also big into education so I like to do classes on everything from understanding title and closings to utilizing social networking with your real estate business.

If you were asked to present a topic at REBC, what would you like to talk about?

If I did present a topic I would do the following using plugins to help with your wordpress blog such as feedburner, Akismet, WP-ContactForm and a few others I like.

How can we contact you?

I can be found on my blog at http://www.JimRenshaw.com

Thanks Jim!  Hope to see you and everyone else at Real Estate Bar Camp Denver, on Friday, May 22, 2009!

Change in Location!

The location for REBarCamp has been changed!  The new location is at 2105 Decatur Street, Denver, CO.

The DPPA Event Center offers our group more space and abundant parking (Bronco Stadium Parking).

Please make this change in your calendar for May 22, 2009.

Map of New Location and Driving Directions from DIA

REBarCamp is Growing!

The popularity of BarCamp has been overwhelming!  We have been advertising it via word of mouth and have grown to over 300 attendees with a month to go before the event!

After attending the wonderful REBarCamp Phoenix last week, we decided that everyone who wants to attend should have the opportunity to do so, therefore we are moving the venue.  We want to thank both MetroList and Armbrust Real Estate Institute for having enough faith in us to sponsor the very first (and totally unheard of) Real Estate BarCamp in Denver.  We really appreciate their vote of confidence in a yet untried event, if you hadn’t supported us early on, we may never have gone ahead with our plans. Thank you!

In the next week the new venue will be announced.  We are both excited and a little nervous about moving, it means we need to raise more funds (hint, hint) so we can keep this event free, but we believe we can do it.  Over the last month we have garnered the support of some wonderful new sponsors and have a few more who are showing interest.  With some more planning we know this event is going to happen and everyone who attends will enjoy it!

Just a quick mention, the event is scheduled for the first Friday just before the Memorial Day Weekend. This can be either a plus or a minus for some people. If you cannot come, please send your regrets to rebarcamp.denver@gmail.com so we can let someone else have your spot.

Now that the registration is open again, I would like to encourage you to “tell a friend.”  I’m sure you know of someone who would enjoy a great, fun learning experience.

Your Camp Counselor,

Kristal Kraft

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