RainCamp Los Angeles - The Date and Venue Are Set

Many have been asking me when...When... WHEN is RainCamp coming to Southern California?  We just received our confirmation so I'm typing this as fast as I can.  Los Angeles it is - May 15th, 2010.  Mark your calendars and register quickly, we only have about 300 seats open, and only 84 Platinum seats available with tables and power for your laptops. That is about 1/2 the size of an average RainCamp in a much bigger real estate market. The other auditorium seating will only have your laps available and no electrical power. 

RainCampLA will be hosted at Loyola Marymount University in the "Hilton 100" Room. - 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045. (310) 338-2700. Check out the new RainCamp.com, we have our schedule posted there and all the information you'll need for each and every RainCamp event!

We're really very excited to be coming to Los Angeles, we might have to stay a couple extra days just so we can meet up after with so many of our AR friends and family down there.

"I was lucky to attend the first RainCamp in Seattle. The investment of time and money has been well worth every penny and minute! I am a believer! As an attendee of the first RainCamp, I say "Save the date" and make time in your busy schedule!!! You will be astonished..."
Paul Henderson - Lacey, WA

"I have been to a slew of events that over-promised and under-delivered, often nothing more than expensive sales pitches from people who didn't even want to be in the field anymore. What impressed me was that Ben Kinney is simply sharing what he's actively doing. Very useful information all day!"
J Philip Faranda - Westchester County, NY

"I have received three phone calls in the last two days as A DIRECT RESULT of what I learned at RainCamp"
John Cannata - Dallas, TX

If you're coming to NAR in San Diego, I hope you'll stop by and see us. Traditionally in the past, ActiveRain hasn't had a booth on display where we've shared our goods and promoted the Network.  This year will be no different, except we will have our own small section of Real Estate at the convention.  Sound confusing? 

Good, then you'll read on.....

Our friends over at MarketLeader have graciously offered to share their "Large Acreage" lounge with us, and I get to come be the AR mascot for two whole days.  Jon and Bob are finally letting me out! lol~  I'll have my laptop with me, so If you don't come by and see me, and I see you, it's likely that I'll be offended and remove points from your ActiveRain account. (just kidding..lol)  Seriously, stop by and see us.  It will be an informal, comfortable lounge type setting, where you can relax, rest your weary feet, and just chill with us. 

We'll be giving away some really cool stuff, answering some questions if you have to ask them, but mostly we'll be there to support NAR and all the wonderful members that we're hoping to see this weekend.  We are also going to be doing a joint drawing: Two RainCamp tickets and a $100 American Express card giveaway for some lucky winner to enjoy dinner during a RainCamp event of their choice during the 2010 tour.  We'll be there all day Saturday and Sunday.  The drawing will occur on Sunday at the end of the show.

MarketLeader will be giving away a 10 day cruise, so you might want to stop by and see what that's all about too?  I'm Looking forward to getting out of the office for a couple days, learning a few new things, mingling with some old and new friends, and most of all, creating some great memories in Sunny Southern California. (it will be sunny right?) 

So just drop by, say hi, leave us your card, chat for a bit, and we'll do the rest!  If you want access to the entire NAR event on your cell phone, you can download the "NAR 2009" app on to your cell phone here  How cool is that?

Until then, travel safe, and "Be All You Can Be" you can and DO make a difference in the world!  :-)

Our Lounge Booth is #2425 on the main aisle

RainCamp is Coming To San Francisco

The ActiveRain RainCamp Tour is Official!  Our first ever RainCamp in Seattle was sold out in just two weeks.  Now there's a demand by many of our members and non members to bring RainCamp to cities all across the Country.  As you can imagine, this is a huge undertaking for our staff and team. There are so many details that go into setting up this event, but our members and guests are not only worth it, they deserve it.

The "Rainergy" and "Buzz" that comes from a RainCamp is like no other event I've ever experienced.  You have to witness it for yourself to understand and grasp the full value and impact it will have on you, your Business, your relationships in your community, and the industry.  Here's what a few of the folks from RainCamp Seattle had to say:

RainCamp is coming to San Francisco on December 2nd, 2009 for a full day packed with great content, presentations, and some of the most useful and applicable ideas and processes that you can implement immediately into your Social Media, Networking, and Blogging Business Strategy and Plan. The Location and Venue we've selected is once again a "Top Notch" off the hook spot.

MarketLeader will be our official Platinum Sponsor for the next 6 RainCamps on the tour schedule.

WHAT IS RAINCAMP™

How is RainCamp different from other Conferences?

• Assess how you stack up in the modern market.
• Listen to people that are practicing what they preach, and having outstanding success doing it.
• Learn the methodology of a newer agent who has leveraged the Internet to become a 'Mega Producer'.
• Walk away with executables you can put into action immediately.
• Hard core real estate technology education. This is not a fluff event!!

What Do You Get?

Date: December 2nd, 2009

Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm
(registration 8:00am)

Location: Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF
1675 Owens Street, Suite 251, San Francisco 94143
GOOGLE MAP |  Yahoo Map | Mapquest Map | Microsoft Map

Facility: Wireless Internet Access and Power Available

 RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW!

There will be approximately 140 seats setup classroom style (with tables) reserved for attendees with laptops.  It is all open seating so those seats are first come first serve the day of event.  We are limited to only 500 seats max capacity, so register right away. There will be On-site paid parking available, street parking and/or complimentary shuttles from the BART and Caltrain stations.  If you're wanting overnight accommodations, here's the Unique Venues Site.

Platinum RainCamp™ Sponsor: Market Leader

Connecting socially in the On-line World is great, and important, especially for networking, building relationships and business, but connecting in person after that cyber handshake is what makes it even more exciting and awesome than you can imagine.  These are extraordinary times.  Inman.com calls their annual event "Inman Real Estate Connect" and it's pretty clear as to why.

"Visitors to Real Estate Connect enjoy 3 jam-packed days full of the industry's best networking opportunities and the very latest business intelligence that will help you rethink, re-frame and recharge your business."  Inman.com

The AR community has been a big supporter of "Connects" all the way from San Francisco to New York, and we're doing it again this year.  The good folks over at INMAN have extended an "Early RAIN" special discount to ALL ActiveRain members in hopes you'll join us there this year.  Jon, Bob, Jeff and I will be there, and we're excited to see old friends and finally get to meet many of you.

Here's some of what's been planned for REC "09"

• Bloggers Connect - Familiar names and friendly faces will be speaking like Jeff Turner, Daniel Rothamel, Dustin Luther, Jim Cronin, Reggie and Nicole Nicolay and others.  A one-day workshop that is worth the time and investment it takes to get there.
• ConnectTECH - Look at these topics and speakers they have which include Matt Lerner - CTO at Walkscore, Gregory Cosmo Haun - Chief Programmer at ForeclosureRadar,  Zach Scott - COO at Point2 Technologies.  Grab your notepad!  :-O
  
• Internet Marketing Summit - The great debate with Sean Black - VP of Sales at Trulia, Alex Chang - CEO at Roost.com, and Tom Tognoli - Founder, COO, and VP of Intero Saratoga.  Here's your monies worth.
  
• Top Experts and Speakers - Warning: the list is LONG!  In addition, rumor has it that our own Jonathan Washburn and Jeff Corbett will also be speaking this year.  Even if this is just a rumor, the AR Gatherings are not. (more on that coming soon...) 
  
• Start up Alley - What's the future of real estate technology? Start-Up Alley, the newest addition debuting at Inman Connect.
  
• 2009 Innovator Awards - See who's The Most Innovative Brokerage or Franchise, Most Innovative New Technology, Most Innovative Web Service, Most Innovative Blog, Most Innovative Media Site?  These awards started back in 1997.  Previous winners included ActiveRain, Roost, Estately, AgentGenius, Frontdoor, vFlyer, Altos Research, Google Earth, Curbed.com and many more.
  
• Social Networking - This is happening before, during and after the event on sites like LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter etc.
• Sponsors and Exhibitors - Stroll the isles and see the latest and greatest products, tools, and services for your business from some of the greatest vendors and minds in the Real estate Industry.  This is one of my favorites.
• The ActiveRain Gathering - To Be Announced!
  

Inman Videos From Past Conferences

Looking back at years past, I have never regretted attending one of these events.  They just get bigger and better every year.  If you have never attended an Inman Connect, it's difficult to put into words the value and benefit they bring to your business, and if you have attended in the past, then you know exactly what I mean.  Come meet many of the ActiveRain members you may already know on-line, and also come away with a good understanding of what is needed to survive the future of the Real Estate Industry.

My trip down "Memory Lane" from previous connects:

VIDEO:
Video from Inman Connect 2007

ActiveRain Member Interviews from Inman Connect 2008

PHOTOS:
Inman Connect San Francisco 2008

Inman Connect - New York City 2009

We hope you'll join us August 5th -7th for another exciting "connect" and "gathering" and just FYI, ActiveRain Gatherings in the City By The Bay are the absolute best!  So go get that member discount, and come join us for a time you'll never forget.  We'll see you in San Francisco. :-)

Click Here for ActiveRain Partner Pricing
Deadline to register at this discounted price is June 19, 2009

Are you a Real Estate Broker or Manager?  Do you support your Agents Blogging?  Should a Real Estate Brokerage have a company Blog in addition to their own personal Blogs?  What is the value of having a Brokerage or TEAM Blog with multiple contributors?  Who are the "key" people that should contribute to a group Blog?  What should be the focus of a "Brokerage Blog" vs "Personal" and what kind of time commitment is involved?  What tools can be incorporated to bring more value to your Blogs and to the consumer, and why the Heck should you care?

This Friday, we'll share some insight about these and other questions.  The CRB  (Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers)  Northern California Chapter has invited AR to attend and represent the community.  The question of whether to have a Blog or not is really no longer the question at all, especially if you're in todays Real Estate Industry and Market.  The real question is; "how do you support, budget, and integrate time and technology so that the individual and Broker Blogs work, and are not something that can cause you or your office problems, lost business, or big money?"

Consumers are using the Internet more and more for research causing Agents and Brokers to take a deeper look at their involvement with Blogging, WEB 2.0 technologies, and their Internet presence.  Is it time to be in tune with them and to find more ways to support them?  Every Brokerage should consider having a Group/Team Blog.  In the very near future, this won't be a choice or option, it'll be an Industry standard, just like "the website" was.

The only choices soon will become when and how...

Building a Team or Broker Blog with Multiple Contributors doesn't have to be challenge or nightmare.  Understanding some basic key fundamentals can help you establish a powerful presence both on-line and in your Local Community.  ActiveRain programmers, developers, and our staff have put in many hours of time and research to determine what works and what doesn't.  Without a doubt, it takes commitment, focus, time, and a plan.  Investing these four basic elements will deliver a multitude of positive results.

Making the decision to have a Blog or Team Blog is the easy step, but knowing how to make it work and what things to implement, along with who should be contributing, is the key to ANY multi-authored Blogs' success.  If you're a Real Estate Broker/Manager, and you do not currently have a Blog or TEAM Blog for your Personal, Brokerage or Office, this may be an enlightening Luncheon for you to attend.  Joe Banuat from Coldwell Banker  (also the NOR-CAL CRB Executive Director) is inviting ALL OF YOU to join us in Sacramento this Friday for:

"Technology and YOU - the Broker/Manager"

brought to you in part by:

All Licensed Real Estate Agents are Welcome, you DO NOT have to be a Broker or Manager to attend this event.

If you're a REALTOR®, Broker, or an Agent and member of ActiveRain, this is a MUST READ!  Last month, over 100,000 consumers searched ActiveRain for Real Estate in specific cities using the "Search For Homes" feature.  I was just in a meeting with Bob Stewart and Doug Ching going over the stats and analytics reports.  Folks, this is no joke, consumers flock to AR and used this tool in their quest for finding homes.  

So why is this so important and why should you care?  We've discovered that most of our Agent and REALTOR® members DO NOT have "Hit Router" Campaigns setup.  That means these searches are NOT going to your IDX lead generating sites.  WOW, look at these numbers and stats.  I'm sharing this with you because while you are out there searching for tools to better your SEO and Blog, consumers are searching our network interested in homes in your area, and in most cases, we have very few members with campaigns setup in these areas.

And the list goes on and on and on... in fact, there are 600+ cities that had more than 100 searches.

If you're a REALTOR® member here, please don't miss out on this crucial opportunity to take advantage of the Hit Router Campaigns that each of you have access to.  If 487 people searched San Diego last month for "Homes For Sale" and not a single member has a campaign setup there, this means those possible leads are lost to another company that may in fact be selling them off.

The key to making this work for you is:
#1 - Setting Up Your City Search Campaigns, and
#2 - Making sure you have a good lead capture IDX site where this traffic will land.

After researching some pay per clicks sites out there, Brokers and Agents are paying upwards of $3.00 per click to capture these leads from other sources like Google.  AR campaigns start at .49 cents per click.  I can't emphasize enough the value and gold mine you're sitting on here.  Please take a few moments to look into this, the urgency here is that if our members aren't interested and don't take advantage of these "campaigns" fairly soon, they will end up being sold to the larger companies who are already willing, able and want to capitalize on these Clicks.

ActiveRain members need to be aware of this while you have the opportunity to jump on it. This is HUGE!!  We want our members to get first shot at directing these home searches to your IDX sites, and will do everything we can to get this information out there to every REALTOR®.  Bob Stewart is doing a price comparison of some other pay per click sites to show you the difference in value here, I'll add that link shortly.  I would also assume that the home searches conducted here are of higher "quality" than they may be on some of the other generic pay-per-click sites. 

This is one of the most important posts and announcements I've written on ActiveRain.  Home searches are taking place on Activerain right now, these stats are proof.  We want YOU to be able to help complete the process in finding these people homes.  Please, contact Bob or myself if you have any questions or need more information regarding these stats, or if you just need help setting up your hit router campaigns. 

This should be given priority consideration today.  Thanks.

I was just notified that the Inter-Active ActiveRain Business Card is now available on iTunes.   Last week, I posted a video on how the app works and received a great response from many of you iPhone users.  That's not to say I didn't hear from the BlackBerry Crowd too!  lol~ 
As promised, I said it was coming...now it's here.

There is already more functionality, a new mortgage calculator, and a feature that allows iPhone 3G users to click on a button while in front of a property, (or in a specific neighborhood), that returns them a google map geocoded with the location, photo, and details of that property. 

I love this stuff, I think other iPhone users will too.

How Do I get it?

To get yourself a copy to check out, or test on your iPhone, just go to the iTunes store on your MAC or PC, and in the "Search" box, type "ActiveRain" and viola!  It only takes seconds to install, and I think you'll enjoy some of these first features. (you may find a couple "rain radio" podcasts on iTunes as a bonus...shhh)

If you're an iPhone owner, you can download a copy of this app RIGHT HERE.  It's easy to do, and it's FREE.  You can also download it directly from your iPhone buy clicking the "AppStore Icon" then the "Search Tab" with "ActiveRain" as your search.  I'd love to solicit your reviews, comments, and opinions over at the iTunes store.  Once you've download the application, you'll see a button for "reviews" at iTunes, your feedback and support over there is appreciated, but only if you have the spare time. :-)

Getting My Own Customized App

Getting this application customized for you and your company or business will be easy.  There'll be a launching of the site wizard this next week, giving you the capability to create one of these for your own iPhone.  I'll have a post giving instructions and details on how to do this sometime next week.

Thanks for sharing in all the excitement with me, it's been a long time coming, and now I finally get to share it back.  Take a moment and check it out, then you can decide how you'd want your own iPhone Business Card App to work.  Or... you can just use mine to work and play in the "RAIN!"  Enjoy!

http://itunes.com/app/activerain

It's not often enough that I take the time to honor and recognize some of our outstanding members and contributors here on ActiveRain.  Today I want to share with you a particular member I think you all need to know about.

One of our ActiveRain Founding Members, Patti Kouri joins Ken Blanchard, Brian Tracy & Stephen Covey in a new book, "Discover Your Inner Strength."  According to a PRWeb Press Release Newswire this morning, it looks like one of our very own has been discovered, and is well on her way to a very successful and exciting future.

"Patti Kouri, keynote speaker and author, has been selected from a
nationwide search to be featured in Discover Your Inner Strength, a highly successful book series from Tennessee based Insight Publishing.  The book features best-selling authors Stephen R. Covey (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People), Brian Tracy (Million Dollar Habits), and Ken Blanchard (One Minute Manager). Patti Kouri, Blanchard, Covey and Canfield, are joined by other well known authors and speakers, each offering time-tested strategies for success in frank and intimate interviews." see full article

Patti has been a contributing member of ActiveRain since February 6, 2008, when she posted her very first article, "TOP TEN PROFIT HOLES".  She has since posted some great value-added articles for her readers and our members.  I have really enjoyed reading her Blog and watching her grow on ActiveRain.  Sneak a peek for yourself.

Some of Patti's Inspirational and Motivational posts include:

The Naked REALTOR®

Getting Rid of Worry Lines...Without Surgery

Do You Have the Real Estate Flu

The Referrals Fountain

Boundaries: Build a Fence to Help You Grow

Victim or Victor? The Choice is Up to You

Seven Keys to Survival for Today's Reality

Double Your Time - No Magic Required

Your Winning Formula

Where Are Those #@*! Keys

TOP 100 Most Influential Women in Real Estate 2008

Stefan Swanepoel created the popular list of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in leadership roles in the Real Estate Industry, as voted by our members and the industry, Patti was in the Top 50.  We all know the hard work and effort it takes to be both a Blogger as well as an active, successful Coach and Speaker.  I have learned from watching Patti's progress here, that it takes Time, Dedication, and Commitment! 

I wanted to personally acknowledge Patti today and congratulate her on her achievements and successes.  We are proud of you Patti, and honored to have you as a member and contributor here in our community. Keep up the great job you are doing!  See Patti's Blog

Discover Your Inner Strength.  Something we all need to do at some point in our lives.  You can reserve an autographed copy of her new book here. 

Congratulations Patti, and Best of luck to you from all your friends and family here on ActiveRain.