Realtor Teach-In

By Larry Hotz, Senior Editor ADRE
There is a new phenomenon for real estate agents sweeping the country. It’s called REBarCamp. It’s very difficult to explain, really. Imagine a cross between the Teach-Ins of 1960’s and a Real Estate Convention.

Denver's first REBarCamp was a lesson to Realtors about how to use social media.

Over 300 Denver Realtors joined a dozen or so national speakers for Denver’s first REBarCamp last month. The purpose was to bring together Realtors to hear, present and discuss this new phenomenon of social media. How can social media benefit realtors and consumers alike?

Denver’s first REBarCamp was extremely interesting. Unlike attending a real estate convention, you’ll see no ties in REBarCamp. Okay, there was one but I took mine off. Much like the Vietnam era Teach-ins, there was plenty of improvisation, informal meetings and some serious presentations.

REBarCamp Organizer was Denver Blogger Kristal Kraft who here in interviewed by Broker IP TV.

Denver Blogger Kristal Kraft organized the event and is interviewed here by BrokerIPTV.

On first blush I thought this is all about how Realtors can blog. Blogging certainly was involved in over half the topics. Because there is a real desire for Realtors to learn what blogging is all about and how it can help their careers. Realtors like most everyone else, are not particularly tech savvy. They don’t really understand why they should blog, to whom they should blog and how they should blog. Blogs, of course, are just a combination of the journal along with news reporting mechanism.

Still, most Realtors are looking for ways to be more relevant and to market themselves effectively in this new social media. So, a little more than a year ago, an ad hoc group of unusually tech savvy realtors got together and decided it was time to form and REBarCamp. The first one was held in San Francisco last year. How appropriate. I remember the first Teach-In was held across the bay in Berkeley.

Todd Carpenter, Social Media Director for The National Associaton of Realtors, spoke.

There was no set agenda. Participants came together and discuss who wanted to part dissipate and present and a schedule was drawn up right on the spot for topics. Some of the sessions were presentations. Some were discussion groups led by a moderator. But all of the gatherings were interactive with participants contributing important information so the whole group could learn.

I didn’t know what to expect from the first Denver meeting. It started like chaos. But, as time went by, an agenda was formed, rooms assigned and presentations began. Refreshments and lunch were provided by sponsors. There was no fee to attend the all-day REBarCamp. I couldn’t imagine a real estate conference without a fee. It really was like the 60’s.

Zillow says less than 30% of home values it sets are accurate in the Denver metro area.

Topics expanded from just talking about blogs to talking about social media in general. I attended one session in which a representative from Zillow freely admitted that that  his website’s estimates of a home value are only right 30% of the time in the Denver area. Still, Zillow operates an automatic valuation model which attempts to determine a home’s value through a computer program. But, the program can be notoriously inadequate and even produce dramatically distorted values. Zillow is looking to involve more Realtors in its website. That is what social media is all about. The concept is not that a website simply presents one point of view but rather involves a community in a discussion on line. So, even Zillow, a huge, commercial enterprize,  is trying to move in that direction.

Young Dave Moyer owns 5 web-related media companies and presented on Podcasting. I am the other guy.

Other forms of social media that were discussed included podcasting, Twitter and Facebook. One of the major presenters was a 16-year-old high school student from the Denver area, Dave Moyer. He owns five media companies and produces podcasts as well as blogs. His presentation was as smooth as an infomercial and contained information about podcasting that was on a postgraduate college level. He could have been the reincarnation of a modern age Elmer Gantry evangelizing for technology.

The sessions were lively and educational.  There were many beginners and many people who traveled in from around the country who have been involved in social media for many years. Kristal Kraft, the local and prolific blogger, lead the host committee to present a really remarkable program with very few logistics laws. They even managed to serve pizza and soda for lunch to the assembled throng .

Nationally known Bloggers and Speakers included Teresa Boardman from St. Paul, Dave Meyers from Tucson, Todd Carpenter (National Associaton of Realtors) and Lorelle VanFosen. There were plenty of others too.

What does all this mean for you? Well, if you’re a Realtor it means you need to understand that the delta change in our business is moving toward social media. You don’t have to have your own blog. But, you probably need to figure out how you can interact with your market!  How can people get to know you before they even know you? That is the goal of social media. That is the coming trend in real estate.

If you are a consumer of real estate services, you need to understand that social media offers you a new tool. You can not only research properties online, you can research Realtors. You can read them. You can discuss with them. You can even find people who have hired specific Realtors in the past. See their ratings; read their reviews;  know who are dealing with before you decide to fill out an inquiry form online or even make a phone call.

It’s a new world with new technology. But it’s fun to see a little throwback to those vibrant, innocent and  exciting times of the Teach-In. How ironic it is to come full circle. There is a new phenomenon for real estate agents sweeping the country. It’s called REBarCamp.