So I was chatting with Brad Coy the other day, (On the phone!? Get out of town) and he asked me why, after participating in the hoopla of the Project Blogger competition, did I not go to Inman Connect.
Me: “Well, uh, um, well, uh, you know, um…”
I must come clean: I really hate conferences. I have the patience of Job with a lot of things, BS ain’t one of them.
I simply can’t sit in a crowded room listening to someone drone on and on, particularly if they are droning about something they are selling. And with a conference I’m supposed to pay for that unique pleasure? Especially when there is a big beautiful city calling my name? No way, not me.
When I heard that Bloodhound was planning a conference, I cringed. Then I immediately made plans to go- not because I thought that this conference would be different- the truth is I didn’t think it would be different, oh me of little faith. I made plans to go because I love Arizona and haven’t been in years, and thought it would be fun to finally meet a bunch of Bloodhounds. That was it. My double secret plan was to show up, say Hello!, put in a minimal amount of face time, then quietly bug out and head for the desert. And let me add something I’m not entirely proud of, but it’s important to this story: That was still my plan up until yesterday.
Greg says: “We’re nobody’s fan boy, nobody’s water boy, nobody’s pony boy.” Amen, brother! I might be a contributor here, but the way I see it, BHB Unchained is going to have to prove to me that it’s worth something before I’m sticking around for the show. I love this from Kelley Koehler in a comment on Agent Genius
“Remember me? I bought a ticket. Me. My money bought me the right to demand your attention on me, the right to only care about what I can get out of you. Anyone wearing a vendor hat and doing anything other than helping me becomes merely an irritant with no value. Your focus is on me. Your goal is within me. Anything – no, everything – not in line with that focus is useless.”
To which I say, “Amen, sister!”
I’ve been paying attention to the line-up of speakers- certainly interesting, but I’m still not convinced I’m going to learn something. Yesterday I was sitting at home, minding my own business when Greg emails with some details for Bloodhound Unchained and dammit all if now my best laid plans for a leisurely vacation have been foiled.
Day 1, Class 2: The Way of the Farmer, dominating the Long Tail to dominate your farm Six 20-minute segments:
Segment 1 — Listing strong to farm strong
Segment 2 — Building single-property web sites
Segment 3 — Using engenu to dominate the long tail
Segment 4 — Zestifarming to dominate Zillow
Segment 5 — Blogging listings with engenu
Segment 6 — Belly-to-belly farming the Web 2.0 way
Maybe you saw it, but did you really read it? “Day 1, Class 2” This only represents 2 hours worth?!!
Greg shared more: “Each segment is supported by supplemental material — discussion, elaboration, demonstration, interviews — etc.” Apparently this is all presented in workbook form.
I’m not spewing from a kool-aid addled brain; I’m very very cynical about this stuff. I’ve not been to any Inman Connects, no NAR shin-digs because I hate conferences! There will be no Mary Kay cheerleading from me. And maybe this is business as usual at real estate conferences, but I saw the blogs after the last two Connects and according to those that went, most of the good stuff happened in the halls. Correct me if I’m wrong.
I don’t know much more yet. I know that there will be a class on The Way of the Hunter (whatever that means- no details), and I’ve been told that there will be a class on making the most of your database. engenu will be there, but I’m not really working with it yet, so I can’t weigh in on that. Oh, and sharpen your yellow #2s, because apparently they are planning homework. These are classes, hands-on, slogging through it classes: Not presentations, not sales pitches, not a dog and pony show. Feel free to disagree- yeah, go for it- but maybe this conference will be worth it after all.
On the other hand, I’m beginning to think that my double secret plan for a relaxing vaca has just been tracked down by a Bloodhound and kenneled in the backyard. I certainly hope so.
Chris Johnson says:
Practice the art of non finishing. Walk out. Do it publicly. Have high standards. Say “Boo-rring” like Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. That’s what you gotta be willing to do.
If they take their money, then the bloodhounds are your…
March 16, 2008 — 6:25 pm
Teri Lussier says:
>If they take their money, then the bloodhounds are your…
Practicing I see. Nicely done.
March 16, 2008 — 6:31 pm
Geno Petro says:
I’m travelling to AZ with my wife and my Managing Broker who is also my BFF. Neither of them will be attending any classes during the visit. We’re staying at a resort away from the city. I keep telling them I’ll be in classes for two whole days. They keep laughing at me and making woof woof sounds.
I’ve rarely sat through an entire class of anything since 5th Grade. And when I did, I was always day dreaming about being someplace else. I’ve self-studied every industry test (in two separate industries) since the mid-80’s. If you run into a bald guy without sunscreen wandering alone in the desert please point me back toward the pack.
Anyway, see you in the hallways–that is, if I can pull myself out of the pool,
Geno
March 16, 2008 — 6:55 pm
Teri Lussier says:
>I keep telling them I’ll be in classes for two whole days.
I wasn’t a believer until I saw part of the cirriculum. I think we are going to be in classes for two whole days. Classes, Geno!
Seriously, I’m very curious now- it’s not a passive show, it’s learning. My brain’s gonna hurt. 😉
I’m booking extra days. I’m going to need a vacation from this “vacation”.
>If you run into a bald guy without sunscreen wandering alone in the desert please point me back toward the pack.
You got it.
March 16, 2008 — 8:10 pm
DB says:
Terri, you sound like an introvert. 🙂
March 16, 2008 — 8:23 pm
www.thesarasotadeed.com says:
Sitting through these functions can be bring out a sort of cold sweat and “joint locking” feeling in my back and mind.. Its all I have to stay focused on the material.. Good networking though..
March 16, 2008 — 8:30 pm
Greg Swann says:
This is a great post. I wrote abut engenu tonight, but I don’t want to get in your way, so I’ll hold it until the morning.
You’re right about what we have planned. We’ll have cookie breaks and lunch during the day, but we want to cover a great deal of material in the short time that we’ll have together.
Fun is fun, and there will be plenty of that. And new technology is always exciting. But Bloodhounds run down the game. Unchained is about taking all of this stuff — new, old and hybrid — and using it to make money.
No one will be able to do everything we plan to talk about. We certainly can’t! But between the classes, the software, the workbook and the DVDs, you’ll have what you need to implement those tactics that make the best sense to you, step-by-step, over the course of the next year.
What then? Come back for more, of course. 😉
March 16, 2008 — 11:00 pm
Teri Lussier says:
Hi Derek-
>you sound like an introvert
Truth: I score an even 50/50 on the Briggs-Meyers introvert/extrovert.
Which means I’m what? Both? Neither? Oh wait- I think it must make me “strange”…
https://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=2783
March 17, 2008 — 5:26 am
Teri Lussier says:
>Its all I have to stay focused on the material..
Typically, yes! Because typically there isn’t any real material. So imagine my surprise when I saw the email! Hooray for content! I have to pack my thinking cap. 😉
>Good networking though..
Which is the main draw for most of these BUT, Twitter has blown past the walls of email and blogs, so you can network really quickly now. It’s always nice to see someone in person, hear their voice, shake their hand, but I never cared to sit through the spin in order to do that.
March 17, 2008 — 5:34 am
Teri Lussier says:
Greg-
>Unchained is about taking all of this stuff — new, old and hybrid — and using it to make money.
I can see that now.
And since you are scheduling cookie breaks, I think I might manage to stick it out. 😀
March 17, 2008 — 5:40 am
Brad Coy says:
Typical conferences hold little if any room for a workshop type of interactive experience. This is why some of the best stuff happens in the halls or back rooms privately. How’s this for an idea? Hold time for a group of participants and instructor to have a quick workshop after a session. Bringing the idea of true social style interactivity to cap a session. Beyond having take home material to work on after learning through a session, participants and moderator could learn together on the topic from each other while creative ideas are still spinning. This way you are capitalizing on the group intelligence and taking it beyond the basic “Q&A”, which can be helpful, but feels like an inefficient use of time and energy of a group of peer to peer grunts who are already either practicing methods or thinking of how to tweak to fit already.
March 17, 2008 — 11:43 am
Teri Lussier says:
Brad-
Is that what happens? After a seminar folks huddle in the hallways for a recap? That sounds sarcastic, but it isn’t. I’ve not been to nat’l RE conferences, so I really am curious.
Wait. I think I have the answer to your question. I now remember Greg saying something about fishbowl conversations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishbowl_%28conversation%29
Maybe Greg or Brian will weigh in here?
March 17, 2008 — 2:04 pm
Greg Swann says:
I have two hours set aside on the third day for a fishbowl, but I don’t know if that’s going to hold up. We have a lot more content ideas than we have time for. The alternative is to set up something completely unconferency for Sunday, when we’re doing tutorials and breakouts, or for the late afternoons. I’m not a huge fan of the unconference style, but an essential Unchained idea comes to us from Hayek: No one is smarter than everyone. Our space and time windows at the Heard are limited, but if y’all want to put something together, we’ll find a way to put a roof over it.
March 17, 2008 — 2:37 pm
Ken Smith says:
Sounds like you have a great conference set up. Nothing like I would have expected when first reading about it.
March 17, 2008 — 3:39 pm
Brad Coy says:
Teri,
>Is that what happens?
It does, in a way. I speak from having the experience of attending 2 Real Estate/Tech conferences to date. The excitement of learning something new is contagious, right? Especially for geeks.
I will always remember the guy in the room of about 500 people during the Zillow API announcement in 2006. He was sitting next to me and pounding keys on his laptop and shouted out YES! in an otherwise hushed room. At the time, I had no idea what an API was, but thought, that guy does and I would like to hear what he has to say about this. Like minded people connect all the time to expand and build. It’s the organic nature of what we are seeing with the SocNet.
At any rate, it sounds like this type of inclusiveness is something that will happen with what Greg has baked in to the essence of Unchained. Thanks for responding to my thought. Last thing I would expect is to have one chump after another get up during a post session Q&A and use everyone’s time to pimp their new bloggy tool. If this happens, I am getting up to hit the hallways for a pow wow.
March 17, 2008 — 3:53 pm
Brad Coy says:
… and by chumps, I mean the guys who pay their way in just to show up and sell. Not participate. 😛
March 17, 2008 — 3:57 pm
Greg Swann says:
> Last thing I would expect is to have one chump after another get up during a post session Q&A and use everyone’s time to pimp their new bloggy tool.
You’re completely safe, you have my word.
Teri has done us a huge favor. I never thought we would have to counter-market against spammy, vendorcentric expectations. Maybe we should post sergeants-at-arms armed with water balloons, just in case.
March 17, 2008 — 4:17 pm
Greg Swann says:
> Nothing like I would have expected when first reading about it.
Yikes! What did you expect?
March 17, 2008 — 4:19 pm
Chris Johnson says:
It absolutely positively sounds like you’ll be doing an ace job. you’ve got the right ethos, to keep the vendors from cannibalizing the customers. I was expecting the typical conference…where you get almost no value and tedious pitch after tedious pitch.
Sadly, you’ve picked a date too close to make me show up.
March 17, 2008 — 4:21 pm
Chris Johnson says:
–too close to my baby’s birth.
March 17, 2008 — 4:22 pm
Brad Coy says:
When you crack the mold right in half, expectations will be built going forward. This year could be a milestone in setting in a new foundation for learning all things Web RE.
I was going to suggest throwing them out on their suntan lotion, but perhaps balloons could be filled with lotion. Don’t say you weren’t warned. 😉
March 17, 2008 — 4:29 pm
Vance Shutes says:
Teri,
When Unchained was first announced, I signed up. Completely blind about what I was getting into. What intrigued me is that it would involve all the BHB contributors, from whom I might learn A LOT! I’ve been to my State shin-digs, and a couple of NAR annuals, without gaining much more than a new digital camera that was snazzily displayed (I think that was 4 cameras ago). Reading your post, and many of the others here on BHB about Unchained, has only convinced me that I made the right choice, right off the bat.
I can’t wait to meet you, and many of the other BHB contributors!
March 18, 2008 — 1:51 pm
Teri Lussier says:
Hi Vance!
I’m so skeptical about conferences and I had no vision of what could be. I should have known better. 😉
I’m glad you’re going to Unchained. We are going to have to put our heads together and work out some kick butt rustbelt strategies.
March 18, 2008 — 6:40 pm
Teri Lussier says:
Chris Johnson-
Congratulations on the upcoming addition to your family!
March 18, 2008 — 6:44 pm