But what the heck is a “un-conference?”

But what the heck is a “un-conference?” by Rene Fabre

A client asked me the other day about RE Barcamp. The concern was, as the topic was framed, “Aren’t you guys competing with Raincamp and Agent REBoot?

Answer: No, not at all.

Raincamp and Agent REBoot are conferences, and they’re both excellent.

RE Barcamp is an “un-conference”

But what the heck is a “un-conference?”

RE Barcamp is not a conference or a seminar. There is no list of headlining social media stars giving presentations on the latest new wave of lead capture topics. You don’t come to REBC to hear a presentation from an expert to learn their method. There won’t be any speakers to convince you that their “system” is the best and if you sign up for now it’s only $199 with free upgrades for life.

The “un-conference” is coming together to share and learn from each other. The topics are wide ranging and pretty much anything goes if it has something to do with real estate, marketing, emerging technologies, and social media.

Online networks and communities are places where we gather around ideas. At RE Barcamp we have the opportunity to gather around these topics and ideas face to face. The “un-conference” model gives everyone opportunity to participate. It’s not lecture and learn, it’s bringing your unique experience to the group discussion.

The fun begins when everyone in the morning writes their suggested topics on a card. The cards are collected and by simple majority the topics get posted to the board first. This initiates, by order of the group, what “breakout groups” will first be formed.

It’s like jazz for ideas. We want to hear you solo!

There won’t be a Pouring Ceremony of Kool Aid that you have to drink to become an official member of the “Tech Savvy Hip and In Usual Suspects Crowd.”  Cuz there ain’t one. The big expectation is you’ll bring your passion with a purpose and share with an open mind. We could all use a lot of that.

Much of the excitement for me about RE Barcamp is the opportunity to mingle my way into as many conversations as possible. I have a lot of ideas about how it all works and where it’s going. I need your input. I’m putting the puzzle together also, “what pieces are using and why?

We’ll pick each others brains, share our real world experiences, talk about successes and failures, and discover insights to personal processes. What worked, what didn’t, and of course that varies from person to person. People talk differently when they’re in a group discussing something they’re passionate about.

My take: Go to Raincamp, go to Agent REBoot… and don’t miss RE Barcamp! We need to be in as many good relevant conversations as we can be to succeed.

I hope to see you March 3, 2011. Let’s jazz some ideas!