A Word from one of our Sponsors: Bing

Who Will Own Real Estate Search?

Recently, Google announced that they’ll no longer support viewing property listings on Google Maps. Okay, good discussion topic since Google’s mission is to organize the world’s data and I guess real estate isn’t in the mix. At least not for now. Which raises the question about Real Estate and maps together as one and the happy mediums in which they get displayed. First off, I’m betting the real estate companies around the world are cheering about this news. That industry is superstitious to the nth degree about how multiple listing services (MLS) are used since that is their sacred cow for which they generate revenue. Which leads me to my conspiracy theories as to why they really took it down…and, perhaps why Bing never started in the first place. Just a reminder, these are just stupid theories I came up with.

Conspiracy Theory #1 – They finally violated some MLS rules about having to give credit and reference to the original seller brokerage since they were receiving data from all kinds of places.

Conspiracy Theory #2 – They’re trying to break into the enterprise business, no one is willing to pay them for what they’re historically given away for free and real estate sites have been abusing the free maps for years so they see upside and a potential revenue stream (they are trying to diversify that single source of income).

Conspiracy Theory #3 – The real estate market sucks so bad that not even Google is making money monetizing online visitors with conversion revenue sharing.

Conspiracy Theory #4 – It was becoming too much overhead to try to accommodate the business of real estate tools and it’s better left to the developers in that field. So, build a better platform.

So, map lovers, is there such a thing as too much data? Is it possible that we’ve finally found the end of what can be mapped onto a single experience? Are we saying that maps have a limited value for viewing data geographically and at the end of the day there’s just too much information and the search algorithms are too complex? Hmm. Unlikely.

Bing has this concept of “Collections” now called “My Places” that allows anyone to specify locations on a map (Google has something similar) and share the list with anyone via an email links A good percentage of collections are real estate agents who didn’t have the right tools from their brokerage to share data with consumers. I hired a wonderful agent (Babbs Weissman of Windermere) to help me find a house in Seattle and the tools she’s using to share properties with me are pretty rudimentary, the interface is list-based, and the map is an afterthought. So, I can’t find the “map all listings at once” function in the case that I want to see where they are in proximity to each other (or my office and other places I care about). So, even the tools that are available to agents have much left to be desired.

I’ve seen some wicked cool sites built with maps – John L. Scott is still my favorite – it’s fast and has a polygon drawing tool (neighborhood wizard) for specifying random areas along with different property attributes. I used to like Houston Association of Realtors (until the removed all the local information overlays – now the UX is complicated). I do like Zillow (neighborhood boundaries) and Windermere (HUGE MAP!) to round out the top 3. I don’t just like them because they use Bing (believe it or not). I like them because they provide tools and use hyper-local information.

At the end of the day, there’s plenty of work to be done in real estate. Plenty. Lots of UX work. Lots of data presentation work. Plenty of tools to be built for realtors and consumers. Bing Maps never stepped into the market and instead invested in building a platform that allowed our partners to get innovative with their data. The tools we provided complimented with the moved to Azure CDN (for performance) and Bird’s Eye Imagery and our slant on non-competitive customer markets allowed us to focus our attention elsewhere and gain inroads in the real estate enterprise market. I’ve seen a lot of innovation around Google’s Maps platform and there is healthy competition in the maps space.

Follow me @ChrisPendleton, ^CP

Note: my views do not represent Microsoft or Bing and are my own personal perspectives.
Chris Pendleton
Sr. Program Manager Lead, Bing Mobile
Microsoft Corporation

Reservations are Officially Closed!

This is a first in the four years that we’ve been organizing reBarCamp in Seattle!   We are at capacity for our space at the Seattle Center’s NW Rooms.  As of this morning, we have a whopping 700 rsvps on our site!   The “rsvp” tab is now disabled (password protected).

If you have registered for this event on March 3 and have since discovered that you cannot attend, please take a moment to email rebarcampseattle (at) gmail (dot) com indicating “please remove from rsvp” in the subject line.   Click here to see if your name is on the “Who’s Coming” list.

If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please email rebarcampseattle (at) gmail (dot) com with “please add to waiting list” in the subject line.

We know that a certain percentage of folks won’t be able to make it and therefore, odds are we may not have 700 participants show up; however we do need to plan for this scenario.  A large amount of the attendees tend to be those who will probably attend the Rookie Sessions and that room is set up to hold around 500 people.

We appreciate your support and participation at Seattle reBarCamp 2011!

A Word from One of Our Sponsors: Rhonda Porter aka The Mortgage Porter

I admit I feel kind of funny writing a sponsor post for Seattle reBarCamp but I won’t have time on the day of the event to participate in the Sponsor Spotlight Sessions…so I’m taking advantage of this opportunity. 

This is my second year as a sponsor and third year as a volunteer for Seattle reBarCamp…as  you can probably tell, I’m hooked on this event.  From January to March, it sometimes feels like planning a barcamp could be a full time job, but it’s not.  So here goes my shameless plug….

I have been a mortgage originator at Mortgage Master Service Corporation since April 1, 2000.  Our company is a family (my in-laws) owned correspondent lender who’s been around since the mid-70s.  Correspondent lenders are kind of like a combo between a mortgage broker and a bank.   I have the ability to work with and price several different wholesale lenders and banks, like a broker.  Our transactions are underwritten, loan docs are drawn and the transaction is funded all at our main office in Kent.  I would say this is like a bank but many large banks have processing and underwriting centers that are not local.   I feel like I’m spoiled working with the same underwriter for the past 10 years!  

Before I was in lending, I managed a title and escrow branch in Federal Way.  It was amazing to me how many clients I signed who either were not aware of their loan program and/or were unhappy with their mortgage originator.   It’s crucial to me that my clients are happy with me from start to finish as my business is completely referral or by consumers who seek me out because of the advice and information I provide on my blog, The Mortgage Porter.   This May will mark my 25th anniversary in the real estate industry!

I’m honored to have been relied on as a resource by the press and to have received awards.  Last year I was extremely humbled when I was invited to participate on a panel about mortgage origination and securitization at the Lusk Center for Real Estate for USC. 

The largest compliment I can receive is the chance to work with you on your next mortgage transaction.  I am licensed to originate residential mortgages as long as the home is located in Washington State.   We have conventional, FHA (including 203k), VA, USDA and jumbo loans available.

I look forward to seeing everyone on March 3 at the Seattle Center – this event is going to be over the top!   And I’m so proud to be a part of it.

Please follow me on Twitter and fan me on Facebook. 

Disclosure time:  RhondaPorter’s  NMLS License # MLO-121324

All New: Sponsor Spotlight Sessions!

Hello BarCamp’ers!

Can you believe it is only 13 days until RE BarCamp Seattle??  WOW!

The #rebcsea planning committee is putting the final touches on plans for the upcoming event… and wanted to let you know about a couple of updates and a brand new addition to our day!!

After much deliberation and conversation, the committee has decided to forgo a ‘bling/giveaway’ this year… Our non-profit partner, Solid Ground, is in tremendous need of assistance this year – and our community at large needs food more than you, our dearest participant, need another mug, t-shirt, or keychain.   The committee trusts that you will agree.

In lieu of honoring our sponsors with their names on ‘bling’ the plan is to enhance their vendor table display area, as well as host a special “Sponsor Spotlight Session Track” to spread the word about their products, tools, resources!

Many of our sponsors will be hosting drawings, giving out their very own bling, and sharing how they may be able to fulfill your business plans and visions!   

We encourage you to stop by these Spotlight Sessions and the vendor area to say “hello and thank you” to the peeps in the room.   They keep the event FREE… and allow us to donate to our community in need!

The committee looks forward to seeing you all in less than TWO WEEK! 

psssttttt…. 
Have you put on your thinking cap yet?
Any idea about WHAT you want to SHARE? 
How about what you want to LEARN? 
It is never too early to start getting your thoughts together… 
#justsayin

The Agenda aka “The Board”

One of the unique traits of reBarCamp is the agenda. A majority of the day’s sessions will be determined by the participants: those who show up on the morning of March 3, 2011. At registration, typically there is a stack of index cards available where you can jot down suggested topics. Often times the topic may be something you want to learn more about or perhaps it’s something you’ve found success with that you would like to share with your peers. Topics have ranged from social media, tech, real estate trends, issues and concerns – there is no limit to what you submit with exception to “sales pitches” or prepared presentations. For the most part, this is an “ad-hoc” event. This year we will have “newbie” sessions created for those who may consider themselves to be ”novice” and providing a little more structure than typical barcamp sessions. We’re also going to have a track where our sponsors have a chance to promote themselves in the “Sponsor Spotlight“.   All other sessions (5 tracks) will be classic “reBarCamp”.  TIP:  If  you’re coming to Seattle reBarCamp, start thinking about what topics  you’re interested in and jot them down so you don’t “draw a blank” at registration.  

As the index cards with suggestions for topics come quickly rolling in from hundreds of participants, some of the reBarCamp organizers will sort through and organize the suggestions into sessions.   The Seattle Center NW Rooms (by the north side of the Key Arena) offers several conference rooms for the session.  Last  year we had seven different sessions to chose from at one time!   Sessions will most likely be color coded (like last year) to help you see which sessions might be more advanced, basic or perhaps geared towards mortgage.   The color paper is taped up on “the board” which is really a dedicated space on a wall by the registration table.

 Your exact suggested topic may not make it to “the board” or seem to appear on the agenda.   It may, however, fit or be similar to what is on the board.   We do our best to create an interesting schedule based on what everyone is asking for.  If at a certain time, the board doesn’t have something that’s appealing to you, you can always create your own session, write your topic on piece of paper and one of the reBarCamp organizers will help you try to find a space (there will probably be extra tables in one of the larger conference rooms, or if it’s sunny, there’s nothing wrong with having a session outside).

Each session will start at the top of hour following Jim Marks, our fabulous Key Note Speaker, and will run for about 50 minutes.   This will give you 10 minutes to revisit the board.   It is our goal to not do too many changes to the board this year…however sometimes ”change” happens.  

Seattle’s 4th reBarCamp is going to be amazing with over 500 participants registered so far (check out the rsvp list).     Stephanie Dawson describes her experience from her first Seattle reBarCamp last year and offers great advice.   

As Stephanie says, this is a free event but it is your time. 

We look forward to seeing you on March 3, 2011 at the 4th Seattle reBarCamp!  If you haven’t signed up yet, please take a moment to RSVP…and be sure to thank our amazing sponsors for keeping this year’s event free!

Things We Love

It’s Valentine’s Day and we can’t think of a better time to share some of the things we adore and love.

We love our volunteers. Our volunteers all have full time “day jobs” and have dedicated countless hours of their time brainstorming, researching and planning to make the 2011 Seattle reBarCamp worth attending and participating.   As one of the volunteers, I can tell you it’s been a lot of fun working with this amazing group…and there is a lot of work that take place “behind the scenes”.   Please take a moment and check out our volunteers on the right sidebar and show them some love.

We love our sponsors.   Let’s face it, without their financial support, this event would not be free to attend.  Not only is this year’s event back at the NW Rooms of the Seattle Center, because of all of our sponsors, we will be able to make a nice donation to a great local charity, Solid Ground.    We love that too!

We love you.  Seattle reBarCamp returns to Seattle for the fourth time on March 3 because of you!  Thanks so much for tweeting about the event and using #rebcsea and for promoting us with  your blog post and on Facebook.   We have almost 600 people signed up to participate at this one of a kind event from all over the west coast.   For some it will be their first reBarCamp experience and others are returning.   Not only will there be a lot of peer to peer learning and sharing taking place, many will be networking and developing new relationships that will last beyond reBarCamp.

We look forward to seeing you all participating in the sessions and to making it a great day.

Seattle reBarCamp is the word

Seattle RE BarCamp is being talked about all over the blogosphere… check it out!

What I Want to See at REBarCamp Seattle by Jeff Bern

RE BarCamp Comes to the Emerald City on March 3rd by Rich Jacobson

Womens Council of Realtors South King County:  Are You Curious About the next Seattle RE BarCamp by Rhonda Porter

Productivity Junkies RE BarCamp Seattle 2011 by Darin Parsinger

Real Estate Bar Camp by Babbs Weissman

Chik Quintans talks about how much he has learned by attending Seattle reBarCamps in this video (you have to check out the special guest appearance).

You can also see what people are saying on Twitter by following #rebcsea.    If you’ve written a post about Seattle reBarCamp, let us know!

A Word from one of Sponors: Keller Williams Greater Seattle

Stay on the Leading Edge or be Left Behind
By Brad Davis, Keller Williams Greater Seattle

If you’re not adapting to the latest trends in real estate marketing, stay home and gussy up your resume. For those who have a passion and desire to continue making it in this business, RE BarCamp Seattle promises to offer you a leading edge.

Foremost, take a look at your brokerage brand name and logo. Think about the image it portrays to your colleagues and the general public. Ask people what they think or feel about your branding. Is it relevant to Gen-Xers or even Gen-Yers for that matter? Or does your brand image cater more to a segment of the market that’s retired and making ends meet on a fixed income?

Believe it or not, much of the general public thinks we agents are a dime a dozen. Truthfully some agents are and you may actually be shocked how seldom people you know think about you. Given half as many deals closed in the Seattle area compared to 2005, I hope you’ve at least thought about how you’re positioning yourself to stand out from the crowd.

Communicating how you’re unique from other agents isn’t magic or rocket science. It starts with a way of being which should permeate everything you do including how you communicate with your sphere and prospects.

What you’ll discover at RE BarCamp Seattle is very similar to what you’ll find happening daily at Keller Williams Greater Seattle or any KW office for that matter. Exchange of ideas, camaraderie , support, training and masterminding to name a few.

Come month’s end KW will also be releasing to its agents a highly advanced multi-function tool designed to fully manage contacts from initial lead intake all the way through closing. It’s called eEdge. This tool integrates with your existing database, can auto generate marketing campaigns, replaces your transaction management software and much more.  I’m certain you’ll hear much more about it throughout our industry in the coming months.

KW exists to support its agents in the further development and advancement of their careers in real estate. In alignment with our company’s core values, Keller Williams Greater Seattle is a proud sponsor of RE BarCamp Seattle. Come find out what might be missing from your business.

Editor’s Note:  Seattle reBarCamp thanks Keller Williams Greater Seattle for being one of our sponsors and helping to make this event possible.  Please be sure to check them out on Facebook.

Thanks Keller Williams Greater Seattle!

« Previous Page — Next Page »