Dena Stevens Plans to Come to REBC Denver to Connect with Friends

Dena Stevens from Pueblo has been an online friend for years.  On Active Rain I watch her write about Southern Colorado Real Estate and take some great photos of the area.  Dena will be heading north on REBC Denver Day more to hook up with old friends and meet some new ones.  Be sure to meet Dena, you can’t miss her because her sunny smile will be lighting up the room!

Let’s hear from Dena…

Tell us a little bit about yourself, are you a Colorado native or what brought  you to Colorado?

I moved from Los Angeles to Denver in the early 1980′s and have never regretted it. Since 1999 I’ve lived in Southern Colorado, I can’t imagine ever living anyplace else but Colorado.

Who do you work for and why do you enjoy your job?

Colorado Western Real Estate based in Pueblo CO.This will sound corny but, I enjoy my job because of all the people I get to meet and the places I get to go. I can be in La Veta, Canon City, Ordway and Texas Creek all in one week. I can’t imagine working in an office environment looking at the same 4 walls everyday. But the best part of my job?  Meeting and helping people, great stories, opportunities to take pictures and awesome local food!

What is your favorite tech tool for business?  Why is it your favorite?

Tech tools are actually a two edged sword for me. While 75-78% of Americans have access to the internet the areas I work are very rural. Many people may have the internet but, many don’t and still do business face to face. So my favorite tech tool is simply the internet as a whole, it cuts down on a lot of driving and phone calls when both my clients and I can use it.

What would you like to learn more about at REBC-Denver?

How to intragrate all these “tech tools” and make them more accessible and understandable to the average consumer / client. While professionals in the real estate industry are becoming more and more techie I have to wonder, are overwhelming the our clients? Many of my clients turn their computers on once or twice a week, or maybe only if asked to do so. And many agents and mortgage lenders I know are attached to the internet 24/7. Where is the happy medium? How do we all work together and use current technology?

Contact Dena Stevens at Colorado Western Realty

Meet Amy Cesario a Denver Twitter Fan!

Amy Cesario is a connector, it’s evident to anyone who follows her on Twitter or even more so when you meet her in person.  When Amy volunteered to assist in organizing REBarCamp this year I was delighted.  Amy exemplifies the proper use of social media, she knows how to start a conversation and keep in touch.

It’s with great pleasure I introduce Amy Cesario…

Tell us a little bit about yourself, are you a Colorado native?

I grew up in the heart of Denver. I wasn’t born here, but have lived here since I was a year old.  I went to West High School, live the first 20 years of my life on the West Side and the next on the East Side of the city. Now that my son is off to college I’m thinking of trying out the center of the city.

Who do you work for and why do you enjoy your job?

I work for the Berkshire Group.  My last client told me I would be a good detective, sometime’s to sell real estate, that is what you have to be.  You use your gut instincts, you listen and hear what your clients are saying (and sometimes what they don’t say), and ultimately you solve the mystery of how their house is going to be sold with the least amount of disruption to them and their families and where the next chapter in their live will be spent.  Many times they don’t know exactly what they want, but they have many of the pieces of the puzzle I can help put it together and fill in the missing pieces.

What is your favorite tech tool for business?  Why is it your favorite?

Lately my favorite tech tool has been twitter.  I have connected with people I never would have met without it.

Do you plan to present a topic?  If so what would you like to talk about?

I would present “Twitter-pated”.

There is really only only one reason to be on twitter and that is to connect.

1. implement the tools to find out who you would want to connect with (hootsuite/tweetdeck/seesmic etc)

2. learn the language/rules/safety

3. decide how you are going to meet face to face or how you are going to convert via internet

Ask the group for feedback on what their strengths are…mine is face to face… tell how that works for me…

First I am not all that great on the phone or on the computer, the best place for me is face to face and this is what twitter has done for me, it has allowed me to place myself in rooms of people.  When I am around people I can make a connection. What do I mean place me in rooms of people? I mean tweetups, fundraisers, restaurant openings, Burger contests, networking groups, geek trivia games where I don’t really fit in but have had a ton of fun, poker games, etc.

Conversations are so easy with a room full of people who have twitter in common with you, you have a name tag and you walk in and…the conversation starts like this…Oh, you are “BiggPolo” (on twitter)…nice to meet you…and he responds, “Oh, you are the Realtor right?”  Well, that is MUSIC TO MY EARS! Even though I don’t talk a lot about real estate, the people on twitter get to know you, read your blogs, comment on your photos, so when you are face to face they have a built in knowledge base of who you are and what you like to do, we connect. Connecting is what I like to do. I like the twitter love, the positive attitudes, the camaraderie.

Maybe someone really is better on the computer, I can share how I have met people from across the country and ultimately showed them houses here in Denver, not my goal, but a by-product. Maybe someone in the group can share a story about how they are better on the computer and how that works for them.

How to use and why would you use Foursquare or yelp? Open house announcements… Share safety issues…

I imagine the group to be interactive. There are always tons of questions and people who have an opinion on twitter I can handle the objections and the positive experiences.

Contact Amy Cesario at The Berkshire Group, Realtors

303-995-3180

amy@tbgdenver.com

Amy Cavender of Simplified Mortgage Solutions Plans to Attend REBarCamp Denver

Amy is very visible online on both Twitter and Facebook.   I chuckle at how she has decided to market herself, by using the letters in her name to illustrate what she does for a living…can you guess?  aMY L cavENDER

Yes, Amy is a lender who works for Simplified Mortgage Solutions.  Let’s hear a little more from Amy:

Tell us a little bit about yourself, are you a Colorado native or what brought  you here?

I was born in Gunnison, Colorado and have lived on the front range for most of my life.  Attended CSU and lived in Ft Collins for 18 years.  About 5 years ago I moved back to Colorado Springs to start a business with my dad and be closer to my immediate family.

Who do you work for and why do you enjoy your job?

My father and I have Simplified Mortgage Solutions.  We can up with the name of our company about 4 years ago,  how ironic it’s turned out to be.  I still try to make the process of buying a home as “Simplified” as possible.  New challenges with disclosure make it a little rough though.  I love helping people purchase their first, second, or last home.

What is your favorite tech tool for business?  Why is it your favorite?

I am really enjoying using Facebook and Twitter for business.  I want people to get to know me, trust me, love me.  Those relationships are much stronger than the ones you could get from advertising in the newspaper.  I don’t push what I do for a living in people’s faces.  It’s pretty apparent what I do for a living and I don’t think my personal Facebook page is a place for it.

What would you like to learn more about at REBC-Denver?
Wordpress

Contact information:

aMY L cavENDER
Simplified Mortgage Solutions, LLC
719-321-4575

www.simplifiedmortgagellc.com

Twitter: @Mylender

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.

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:

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REBar Camp Denver Welcomes Joshua Dorkin Founder of Bigger Pockets

Anyone who has been active on the Internet and in real estate has stumbled upon, tripped over and most likely become a part of the popular site called, Bigger Pockets.  I know myself it was impossible to navigate anywhere without seeing this site.  Imagine my surprise when I received a call one day from Joshua Dorkin the founder.  Come to find out, Joshua lives in Washington Park, just a mere few blocks from my office!  It was a delightful realization once again demonstrating how small our world really is!

Now a year later I have the pleasure to introducing Joshua Dorkin to the REBC site.  Let’s hear more about him and his creation…

You run a very successful Real Estate website called “BiggerPockets,” what inspired you to start this site?

I had spent time as a real estate agent in Los Angeles and was actively investing in real estate when I started BiggerPockets.  At the time, there were a few websites focused on investors, but I felt like they were all focused on trying to sell me something.  I felt that there was a need for a website where people could find good, quality information about buying and investing in real estate, where they didn’t have to worry about the ulterior motives of those providing the information to them.

I hate sales pitches, and feel like many of the real estate “experts/gurus” were taking advantage (and continue to do so)  of people who are desperate for quality information.  They sell you a bit of information, only to upsell you more detailed information with the ultimate goal of selling you once again.  It is BIG business.  It happens in the investing space, the real estate sales space, and in the real estate tech space.

BiggerPockets was built to bypass that business model.  Our goal was to provide that info directly to the end user so they can use their hard worked money for actual real estate dealings instead of investing in educational upsells.  Since then, the site has expanded to cater to not only investors, but professionals and others as well, but the initial intent was to build this platform free of pitches, and that vision continues today.

As the name says, we can all have Bigger Pockets if we work together to share our communal knowledge and experience with one another.

Tell us in a few words what the site is about:

BiggerPockets is a real estate social network and information resource portal focused on helping real estate professionals, investors, homeowners, and aficionados in their real estate education, networking, deal making, and marketing.  The ultimate goal of the site is to help these people in their day to day real estate-related tasks and activities.

Who can join BiggerPockets?  What benefits will they receive from being a part of this network.

Anyone and everyone can join the site, but those people who will find it useful are people working in real estate and real estate related businesses, investors, homeowners, renters, etc . . . so, basically anyone and everyone.

The reasons to join the site are many.  One of the things that makes our site different is that we aren’t interested in allowing BiggerPockets to become a virtual flea market.  We could just allow people to constantly pitch one another, but they don’t want that.

While the marketing opportunities on the site are many, what you’ll find on most other sites are people constantly pitching their services to you, especially when you’re not looking to be sold anything.  e.g. Ask a question on these other sites about mortgages and 10 lenders solicit your business. On the other hand, when you ask a question on BiggerPockets, you’ll get people actually answering your question.  We do have many places on the site where you can solicit deals, partners, business, referrals, etc., but if people are just looking for help, then they should get it instead of having dozens of people trying to pull at them from different directions.

That said, when members are looking to do deals, find partners, market their services, etc. they know that there is a vast community of people who can easily find and work with them.

Our site ranks for thousands of keywords and phrases and is SEO optimized.  Look for almost anything in real estate on the search engines, and you’ll end up at BiggerPockets.  That visibility is extremely helpful for those people who take advantage of our site by becoming active participants.

Obviously BiggerPockets is an example of social media in action.  What 3 things would you recommend a newcomer to your site do first?

The first thing I’d recommend a newcomer to do on BiggerPockets is spend some time navigating the site.  As almost all information on the site is also available to non-members, everyone can benefit from the great information contained within our forums, blogs, official blog, article directory, etc.   What I find interesting is that a vast percentage of members do spend a good amount of time on the site before joining.  I love reading their introductions, where they tell us how they felt compelled to join after spending so much of their time just peering in from the outside.

The most important thing a new member can do is to fill in their profile completely and truthfully.  By filling in your background, goals, haves, wants, etc., you help others to get to know you better.  Networking is much easier online when people can easily find out more about who you are.

Once you’ve got your profile set up, jump on our forums and write your introduction post.  The forums are truly the hub of the community, and by introducing yourself, you can tell people a little more about who you are, and why you’ve decided to join up. The intro will begin your visibility on the site.

Finally, start participating.  Share your questions and insight on the forums, get involved in our Bulletins platform (social news), write your own blog or get involved in the discussion on the blog of others, attend local events, join some groups that interest you, post your property listings, and so on.  As you participate more, people will begin to get to know you better, and as a result, you’ll notice your visibility on the site will increase as well.

People will have different reasons for using BiggerPockets, but despite differing backgrounds, careers, and sub-interests within the realm of real estate, everyone can find a place on our network.  We just ask that you respect your fellow members and  our rules & guidelines, and you’ll find that BiggerPockets is the ultimate online real estate destination.

You can find Joshua blogging on BiggerPockets.

REBCDenver Welcomes Gavin Hagashi to the Blog

Gavin Hagashi was recommended by Bob Schenkenberger because of the outstanding social media classes he was providing.  Naturally, I wanted to include Gavin in the REBarCamp event, because we can never have too many people willing to give their time to teach other.  Let’s hear about Gavin…

Would you please tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Gavin Higashi and I work for Land Title Guarantee Company. I am a Colorado Native and feel very blessed to live in such a beautiful state. I have been married to my beautiful wife for 8 years and I am the proud father of two out of control, but well behaved boys.

How long have you been in the real estate industry?  What did you do before?
I have been in the real estate industry for over 11 years and I have been in title insurance for the majority of that time. Before this I did all kinds of fun stuff. Built golf clubs, repaired snowboards, and waited on tables.

Tell us about your company.  How long have you been working there?  What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?
Land Title Guarantee Company is a locally owned Title Company that has been serving the Colorado real estate market for over 40 years. I have been with Land Title for just over a year and have enjoyed every minute of it. Great culture, great people, great support.

Are you involved in social media?
Yes I am. I utilizing Twitter and Facebook the most, and I also blog at Gavin Higashi.
How do you use social media to leverage your business?
Social media is one of the platforms that I use to communicate with my clients and other industry professionals. It allows me to connect with people that I would normally not meet through my day to day activities. I am able to educate and provide material to my connections on what I do, and what is going on in our industry.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?
We typically work with Realtors and lenders who are frustrated and overwhelmed with the time and complexity of each transaction. They are worried about the reputation and financial stability of their current title company. Lastly, they are wondering if they are doing the right activities to fill their pipelines. Land Title has the people and products to support your concerns as a Realtor in this market.

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?
I am coming to REBC and would love to present a topic. I would like to present on property data, and searching tools available to the Real Estate community. Twitpic, and Facebook notes.

How can we contact you?
You can contact me by sending an email to ghigashi@ltgc.com or go to my blog at www.gavinhigashi.com.

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