Lessons Learned From Inman Connect NYC ‘08

January 15, 2008 |

My trip to Inman Real Estate Connect NYC ‘08 stretched my brain in all kinds of unexpected ways. The first day was filled mostly with the BloggersConnect panel sessions (one of which featured yours truly). After day 1, my head was filled with all kinds of thoughts about technology and how it intersects with the practice of real estate. I was also struck by the difference between Inman Connect and the NAR conference and expo. The overall feel of the two conferences was noticeably different.

With all of this banging around in my brain, I decided to take a minute (in Times Square, of all places) and put it to video. This is what I came up with:

Almost a week later, my opinion hasn’t changed. In fact, after attending the rest of Inman Connect, and having some time to think about it all, my opinion is even stronger than before. The two main points that I took away from day 1, and two of the most important points of the whole experience are:

1) You don’t have to implement every new technology in order to be effective. The Web 2.0 world can be a confusing, and even overwhelming, one. There are so many different tools and technologies out there from which to choose, that sometimes you can be paralyzed and choose to do nothing. That is not the right choice. Neither, however, is choosing to do them all. The point is to pick-and-choose. Give at least a look to whatever you can. You will know pretty quickly if it is something that you can use to your benefit. If it isn’t, let it go. Just because I’m doing something doesn’t mean you have to do it, too. There is also the issue of varying the use of these tools. The way I might implement a tool or technology might not be the same way you would do it, and that’s okay.

2) If you are going to go to a conference like Inman, don’t get too caught up in the sessions at the expense of ignoring other opportunities for learning. Some of the most valuable insights I gained came from stopping to talk with people either after the sessions or at the informal gatherings that take place throughout the conference. The amount of time that you have to learn during the sessions is strictly limited by the conference schedule. Why not take the opportunity to increase your learning by engaging with others. Collaborative learning can be a lot of fun, and you never know who you might meet.

All in all, Inman was a very valuable experience for a number of reasons, many of which I will talk about over the next few posts. The two that I talked about in the video happen to be the ones that I kept coming back to throughout the week.

Posted by Daniel Rothamel | Filed Under Blog, Industry Issues, Inman Connect NYC, Video Posts 

Comments

7 Responses to “Lessons Learned From Inman Connect NYC ‘08”

  1. Ben Martin on January 15th, 2008 7:36 am

    Daniel, that is an awesome metaphor. Well done.

    [Reply]

  2. Alistair Helm on January 15th, 2008 12:10 pm

    Daniel

    It was great to meet with you at the conference. Now I have got back to NZ I have had a chance to reflect on the learnings and contacts made during the 3 days. I have also had a chance to check out other bloggers sites - must say I am impressed by your videoblogs - you have the passion and personality to create informative and digestible as well as very watchable videoblogs.

    Congratulations - I am confident that your commitment to this medium will be rewarded in many prospective clients. I also hope this current malaise in the US market does nothing but enhance your reputation as a professional individual.

    I look forward to catching up at SF Connect in July - hope you will be coming, I am booking my trip shortly.

    Alistair

    [Reply]

  3. John Frank on January 15th, 2008 8:40 pm

    Hi Daniel,

    Enjoyed your thoughts and came to much the same conclusion about picking the technology that makes sense for you. Wrote about that for our blog while I was sitting at LaGuardia Friday waiting for my long-delayed flight back to Chicago, here’s the link:
    http://narblog1.realtors.org/mvtype/speakingofrealestate.

    All the best,
    John

    [Reply]

  4. John Frank on January 15th, 2008 8:41 pm

    sorry, try this:

    http://narblog1.realtors.org/mvtype/speakingofrealestate/

    [Reply]

  5. Daniel Rothamel on January 15th, 2008 9:10 pm

    Ben,

    Thanks!

    Alistair,

    It was really good to meet you at Inman. I’ll be posting some more video (yours included) as soon as I can get everything edited together. Yours is the first international real estate blog to make its way into my RSS reader. Well done, by the way!

    John,

    Looks like your takeaway from Inman was similar to mine. I was glad to hear so much sensible candor from so many panelists regarding not only the market, but the use of technology as well.

    [Reply]

  6. Jessica Swesey on January 16th, 2008 2:17 am

    Great summary of what this is all about! The number of options available for online marketing and customer reach today is mind boggling — much like the way I feel standing in Times Square.

    [Reply]

  7. Greg Tracy on January 16th, 2008 7:56 am

    Excellent metaphor, fantastic video. You get more out your videos with no production cost, than most production companies can get from $100K, professional writers and a month of planning.

    It was nice meeting you at the conference!

    [Reply]

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