Thanks to SoCal Agents for Another Successful Bloginar

Posted on by

Russ and I just returned from giving a Bloginar in Bel-Air today and it was a blast!

I’d call it a success as the audience seemed engaged and there were lots of side questions and side discussions during the breaks. It is obvious to me that blogging in real estate is still in its infancy, and while it may not be an appropriate tool for all agents, the technologies involved are here to stay. Personally, I have a lot of fun at the seminars as I enjoy engaging others in a conversation about how real estate professionals can use blogging to create a community around real estate.

Note that if you’re looking to see how a blog post can generate a fascinating discussion around a real estate topic, check out Russ’ post from two days ago where he inspires people to discuss real estate commissions with a simple two paragraph post (and a link!).

By the way, if you were one of the attendees at today’s seminar, please consider leaving some feedback on how you think it went. Your feedback is crucial for us to know how to improve the seminar into the future!

Thanks again for everyone who showed up for making it a success!

Related posts:

  1. Free Bloginar in L.A. for 200 Agents!
  2. I have no intention of turning this into…
  3. Website Owners Not Liable for Comments
  4. Web2.0 is About You

27 thoughts on “Thanks to SoCal Agents for Another Successful Bloginar”

  1. A big thank you to Russ and Dustin for traveling down to LA and putting on a great show. So much info in such a short time…
    Many people were excited, interested and curious, some were totally confused. I heard LOTS of great ideas that were being discussed in the crowd. WOW!

    Here are my main take aways:
    -There are so many niche markets for Realtors to stake out in the new land grab of web 2.0.
    -Don’t try to be a dead end street and “capture” customers. Provide relevant community info and access to other sites where people can get more info and they will come back.
    -Consumers want more than just homes. List of homes are everywhere. Provide the local info they can’t find elsewhere.
    -Stories are great content.
    -Web 2.0 is about community, personality and culture. Share yours.
    -Pick a niche to serve and focus on that. Don’t try to be all things to all people. That’s AOL’s job. Your job is to be the anti AOL. Go micro.
    -The hardest part is just deciding to try. Go for it!

    Thanks again to Dustin and Russ for sharing their insight.

    Chris (from a wireless connection on a southbound Amtrak train somewhere near Oceanside…gotta love the internet!)

    Reply ↓

  2. A big thank you to Russ and Dustin for traveling down to LA and putting on a great show. So much info in such a short time…
    Many people were excited, interested and curious, some were totally confused. I heard LOTS of great ideas that were being discussed in the crowd. WOW!

    Here are my main take aways:
    -There are so many niche markets for Realtors to stake out in the new land grab of web 2.0.
    -Don’t try to be a dead end street and “capture” customers. Provide relevant community info and access to other sites where people can get more info and they will come back.
    -Consumers want more than just homes. List of homes are everywhere. Provide the local info they can’t find elsewhere.
    -Stories are great content.
    -Web 2.0 is about community, personality and culture. Share yours.
    -Pick a niche to serve and focus on that. Don’t try to be all things to all people. That’s AOL’s job. Your job is to be the anti AOL. Go micro.
    -The hardest part is just deciding to try. Go for it!

    Thanks again to Dustin and Russ for sharing their insight.

    Chris (from a wireless connection on a southbound Amtrak train somewhere near Oceanside…gotta love the internet!)

    Reply ↓

  3. Russ and Dustin,

    Thanks for including me in your class. The subject matter is very relevant to today’s realtor. All agents need to be thinking how the real-world communities that they already serve can be identified and addressed as online communities.

    Good luck in future events!

    Thanks again…

    Mark Cofano

    Reply ↓

  4. Russ and Dustin,

    What an amazing and insightful presentation. I appreciate Coldwell Banker supporting this education. Thank you for the time, energy, and knowledge you put into it.

    I’ve enjoyed working with computers since 1980….and previously sold dial up services and then the Internet based ones…..so I like to think of myself as somewhat knowledgable with technology (working it, not fixing it!). Your presentation made me feel like a babe in the woods. There is so much to know about blogging and I embrace learning it. This was the first time I really understood why anyone would want to blog.
    –The hand-outs were an excellent training tool and helped in my understanding of the topic. If the screens on the hand-out could be larger (yes, I had my glasses on!), that would be helpful.
    –The combination of the two of you presenting the class is ideal. Russ you bring knowledge, experience in real estate, and help to slow down the pace once in a while for the part of the audience that may not be getting it. Dustin you bring incredible knowledge and enthusiasm for the topic and can speak easily with the true techies.
    –You may wish to insure you have even more time to share the info…there’s so much!
    –E-mailing me afterwards was very helpful…..I was still a bit reluctant to determine how to find you on the Internet…..your e-mail made it easier for a first time blogger.
    –By the way, I do have a url but I didn’t include it since it ‘just’ connects the user to my space on CA Moves. Seeing some of the others, I feel the need to create a website.
    –For Chris Crocker’s website on Manhatten Beach office…..WOW! It’s so exciting to hear what’s being done……I hope the company continues to provide these excellent learning tools for technology.

    Reply ↓

  5. Russ and Dustin,

    What an amazing and insightful presentation. I appreciate Coldwell Banker supporting this education. Thank you for the time, energy, and knowledge you put into it.

    I’ve enjoyed working with computers since 1980….and previously sold dial up services and then the Internet based ones…..so I like to think of myself as somewhat knowledgable with technology (working it, not fixing it!). Your presentation made me feel like a babe in the woods. There is so much to know about blogging and I embrace learning it. This was the first time I really understood why anyone would want to blog.
    –The hand-outs were an excellent training tool and helped in my understanding of the topic. If the screens on the hand-out could be larger (yes, I had my glasses on!), that would be helpful.
    –The combination of the two of you presenting the class is ideal. Russ you bring knowledge, experience in real estate, and help to slow down the pace once in a while for the part of the audience that may not be getting it. Dustin you bring incredible knowledge and enthusiasm for the topic and can speak easily with the true techies.
    –You may wish to insure you have even more time to share the info…there’s so much!
    –E-mailing me afterwards was very helpful…..I was still a bit reluctant to determine how to find you on the Internet…..your e-mail made it easier for a first time blogger.
    –By the way, I do have a url but I didn’t include it since it ‘just’ connects the user to my space on CA Moves. Seeing some of the others, I feel the need to create a website.
    –For Chris Crocker’s website on Manhatten Beach office…..WOW! It’s so exciting to hear what’s being done……I hope the company continues to provide these excellent learning tools for technology.

    Reply ↓

  6. I was at the Bloginar in Bel Air yesterday. Generally, it seems that many blogs and their respondants skew younger to a majority of folks that can not afford a home, especially in the LA area. What’s your knowledge, personal or professional, related to this issue on blogging and real estate affordability in your area?

    Reply ↓

  7. Larry,

    You ask a very interesting question in that blogs (and most social networking technologies) are known for appealing to the younger generation…

    And there is no doubt that the market for the most popular social networking site (MySpace) is almost definitely the young generation not necessarily ready to buy a house. But my opinion (and I think it is well played out on Rain City guide) is that the blogeshere is plenty big enough for “adults”. 🙂

    I don’t have any statistics, but if I had to guess the average age of the contributors on Rain City Guide (both posters and commenters included), my guess is that we’d be somewhere in the 40s. Definitely not a young crowd by internet standards. In other words, the age and demographic of a blog really depend on the community you attract and build. The Rain City Guide blog is definitely not trying to reach “everybody” but rather, we reach a different audience than the MySpace crowd. These internet technologies are plenty big for all of us.

    Reply ↓

  8. Larry,

    You ask a very interesting question in that blogs (and most social networking technologies) are known for appealing to the younger generation…

    And there is no doubt that the market for the most popular social networking site (MySpace) is almost definitely the young generation not necessarily ready to buy a house. But my opinion (and I think it is well played out on Rain City guide) is that the blogeshere is plenty big enough for “adults”. 🙂

    I don’t have any statistics, but if I had to guess the average age of the contributors on Rain City Guide (both posters and commenters included), my guess is that we’d be somewhere in the 40s. Definitely not a young crowd by internet standards. In other words, the age and demographic of a blog really depend on the community you attract and build. The Rain City Guide blog is definitely not trying to reach “everybody” but rather, we reach a different audience than the MySpace crowd. These internet technologies are plenty big for all of us.

    Reply ↓

  9. Thanks for putting on the show…it was very interesting…unfortunately I had to leave before you got to part that was of particular interest to me; RSS/XML feeds. I wanted to get you take on their impact on rankings and whether you feel that the employment of push technology gives you a head-start over a static site which is relies on its pull?

    Also in the spirit of linking, I though this might be of interest, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5195714.stm

    Reply ↓

  10. Stuart,

    The quick answer to your question is “yes!”. I personally don’t follow any sites any more that don’t offer a feed just by virtue that their content never hits my radar. While only a small percent of the population is “RSS feed” savvy at this point, those are an influential small percent and well worth having them on your side! 😉

    And my guess is that the feeds from the home search that Robbie built (like this feed of homes in Ballard as they come on the market) are even more effective at building up a brand around Rain City Guide.

    Reply ↓

  11. Stuart,

    The quick answer to your question is “yes!”. I personally don’t follow any sites any more that don’t offer a feed just by virtue that their content never hits my radar. While only a small percent of the population is “RSS feed” savvy at this point, those are an influential small percent and well worth having them on your side! 😉

    And my guess is that the feeds from the home search that Robbie built (like this feed of homes in Ballard as they come on the market) are even more effective at building up a brand around Rain City Guide.

    Reply ↓

  12. Hi Dustin & Russ,
    I attended your Bel Air seminar. I attended because my interest is always people and how to make contact. I also try to keep up with new technology and cutting edge. And, a couple of years ago I sold a house to someone who told me about blogs. I had no idea what he was talking about–MySpace—and I thought it was for young kids and not adults or business people Anyway, I am intrigued by it and am thinking of a name for MY blog. I spoke with Dustin for quite a while before you started and thank you so much for sharing your info.

    I tried to Skype you a while ago, but did not get through.

    Reply ↓

  13. Hi Dustin & Russ,
    I attended your Bel Air seminar. I attended because my interest is always people and how to make contact. I also try to keep up with new technology and cutting edge. And, a couple of years ago I sold a house to someone who told me about blogs. I had no idea what he was talking about–MySpace—and I thought it was for young kids and not adults or business people Anyway, I am intrigued by it and am thinking of a name for MY blog. I spoke with Dustin for quite a while before you started and thank you so much for sharing your info.

    I tried to Skype you a while ago, but did not get through.

    Reply ↓

  14. Your enthusiasm is infectious. Even though I’ve had a bit of experience blogging, you gave me a couple of great ideas which I plan to implement over the next few weeks. Thanks for taking the time to inspire us. (The referral opportunities didn’t go unnoticed.) Interesting business plan for those of us who don’t want to go door to door.

    Reply ↓

  17. Thank you very much for having this seminar, although I have asked my webmaster to implement a Blog on my website a while back and we haven’t finished it yet, I definitly picked up some great ideas from you guys that would help me get started. I’m trying to add a few components i.e. Smilies etc. in the Blog which would make it more fun for people to join in and comment.
    Thanks Again

    Reply ↓

  18. Holly, Jim, Kerry, Florence and Asher…

    Thanks for the great words of encouragement! Definitely feel free to return to RCG with questions at any point as you begin your blogging adventures!

    Reply ↓

  19. Holly, Jim, Kerry, Florence and Asher…

    Thanks for the great words of encouragement! Definitely feel free to return to RCG with questions at any point as you begin your blogging adventures!

    Reply ↓

  20. Dustin and Russ,

    I wish every agent in Coldwell Banker had been present last week.
    Exciting, thought provoking stuff. Touching life at new points!

    Where and when is your next appearance? You are a dynamic duo!

    Thank you for the energetic, informative session.

    Reply ↓

  26. Pingback: The trouble with Marc’s approach to Twitter | 4realz.net

  27. Pingback: Lov’n Real Estate Speaking Opportunities | 4realz.net

Leave a Reply