Please indulge me with a personal post.
The last 36 hours has been awesome. I am in Nanaimo, BC Canada for the Real Estate Webmasters conference. The last 36 hours is my definition of how life should be lived.
Beautiful surroundings.
Nanaimo (and British Columbia in general) is among the most beautiful places I have been. Words cannot do justice to the 2 hour ferry ride that I got to take yesterday. They just can’t. If you get the chance to visit this gorgeous part of the world, PLEASE do yourself a favor and make sure you do. It is amazing.
Amazing Friends.
I got to have dinner last night with about 15 friends. I try not to use the word friend loosely, and I certainly am not here. Morgan Carey (thank you for being a tremendous host. Seriously.). People like Dennis Pease and his lovely wife. Judy Orr, who I have moderated with and yet never met (until now). Knox. Drew. Tim. Tom. Mike Brown. Dave A. Jon Karlen. I am exhausted, and I know I am leaving a few out. (Lack of sleep is an excellent sign of a great last 36 hours!!)
These people aren’t just people. They are like family. Names and Avatars start connecting into an even deeper bunch of relationships that is just plain FUN. More of that will happen today and tomorrow.
This is not networking for me. It is connecting with people that I have known for 3 years online online but finally get to meet. That is what makes this last 36 hours special for me. I wish folks like Ryan and Wayne and Bramlett were here to experience it with me.
One quick point. It is about the relationships. I did not come to Nanaimo for the latest whizbang SEO secret. (A lot of those discussions ARE happening naturally, mind you! And no doubt that is a NICE side benefit!) BUT…I came for the relationships. If you take care of those, your web presence tends to take care of itsself. I am not being flippant. It is the truth.
And of course Cosmic Bowling.
This is one of the “inside” secrets of REW that we get to experience tonight! Every great community, whether online or not has its secretively fun pastimes! Part of a great 36 hours is a LITTLE bit of anticipation of the next 36 hours. But never too much.
Morgan has done a truly outstanding job of making RealEstateWebmasters.com a community of internet savvy REALTORS. Part of that fun is when the community has a block party! It is a chance for members of the community to mingle, share information, have fun, and not take themselves to seriously, while helping each other out.
Now to my point:
So when is the block party for the Bloodhound online community? November. Orlando. I am looking forward to it as well. I look forward to actually connecting names with faces their as well. Teri. Brian. Greg. and the list goes on…More beautiful surroundings. More relationships. More connections with people who read the Bloodhound Blog. More shared information.And likely some of BHB’s equivalent of Cosmic Bowling. (grin).
Like the REW conference, (after I have thought about it and had conversations with a couple of people about whether or not they will go….), yes, learning is a major component, but making lifelong friends that you can pick up the phone and call, or email, or text when you need a little help is PRICELESS. That is why you come.
I look forward to BHBU for that reason. I hope your last 36 hours. (and your next for that matter!) are as splendid as mine have been.
Wayne Long, Columbus GA says:
Hey Eric – glad you guys are having a good time. Wish I was with ya’ll – you probably need a little more southern up there. 🙂 Have some fun for me!
September 16, 2008 — 12:43 pm
Sue says:
Hey Eric, Well your post brougth tears to my eyes. You are so right and I can only imagine the impact of getting to meet everyone that after 3 years of writing. I’m sorry I had to miss this event and hope you all have a great fun time and bonding experience…oh and if you learn some new stuff, that’s good too!
September 16, 2008 — 8:38 pm
Teri Lussier says:
I’m with Sue- a little teary. Quit with that sentimental stuff, will you? How can I convince people I’m a hard ass if you make me blubber. 😉
>BUT…I came for the relationships. If you take care of those, your web presence tends to take care of itsself. I am not being flippant. It is the truth.
Smart man, very smart man.
I’m glad to hear you are going to Orlando! You just made my day, Brother Eric. 🙂
September 16, 2008 — 9:22 pm
Greg Swann says:
This is a beautiful post. I’m a high-D and INTJ — that is, a hard sell on social events. But you paint a gorgeous picture. I’m looking forward to meeting you in person in Orlando.
September 16, 2008 — 10:46 pm
jaybird says:
High D…scary stuff 🙂
totaly jealous, Eric. I remember when REW was in its “early” years just a few years ago compared to now. I called to get a website based on what I’d been reading and concluding even though I had no money. At that time Morgan let me buy a template on credit w/ a payment each month to REW. Gosh what a life changing event. And then the content building began about which I was pretty obsessive since I had no other work to do–haha. Now a team member, another coming in October, and we’re on track to sell 30+ houses even though I follow up with none of the warm leads.
I’ve told many realtors–not in my market–that the best thing to do is buy a blank template website w/ a cutting edge CMS–content management system–and begin adding unique & optimized content to your website about your local RE markets. The REW template is an excellent product and the custome service impeccable even though they’ve gone through massive growing pains besides.
If it wasn’t for my 4 kids 6 and under I’d be there to give a giant handshake to Morgan–or if he’s a “hugger” a hug. Although I would never dream of hugging a high D 🙂
September 17, 2008 — 3:46 am
Eric Blackwell says:
@Sue- It is 2 am after the conference and I am in Vancouver airport. Seriously was a GREAT experience. All that I had hoped for and me.
@Teri- Sentimental is just me. (grin) Looking forward to hanging out w/ you there as well.
@Greg- Likewise. Will be fun!
September 18, 2008 — 2:26 am
Mike Taylor says:
Eric –
It was great to finally meet you. I had never been to one of these conferences so I didn’t really know what to expect. Maybe even more valuable than the conference itself, was creating and reinforcing those relationships that have been and will be invaluable for years to come. It was a long trip, but more than worth it.
September 18, 2008 — 8:18 am
Carolyn Gjerde-Tu says:
Eric, it was great meeting you and spending some time getting to know you at the conference. The outside discussions especially were very eye opening for me and changed how I will view my business. I would agree that this went way beyond networking and was truely relationship building. Thanks for being a part of this.
September 19, 2008 — 8:41 pm
Eric Blackwell says:
@Mike- Really nice to meet you (in person) as well! We only live two hours apart. No need to go all the way to Nanaimo next time! (grin) BTW-Congrats to you and your wife on the baby on the way!
@Carolyn- Likewise! Truly enjoyable to hang out with you and “talk shop”. I made a ton of new friends and connected with many that I had already made.
Best
Eric
September 19, 2008 — 9:17 pm
Sue says:
I will definitely be going to this next year. I am assuming they’ll have another. It sounds really worth while and everyone is talking about going back do Nanaimo maybe even sooner. My passport arrived yesterday!
Eric, you’re too much responding to these comments from the airport, but thank you for that!
September 20, 2008 — 6:53 am
Eric Blackwell says:
@Sue-what else are you gonna do at 2am in Vancouver airport waiting for an early flight…looking at my grammar, (all I had hoped for and MORE-grin), you can TELL it was 2am…hehe
September 20, 2008 — 7:25 am
Sue says:
Hey Eric, guess you’re right about what else to do at that hour in the airport (smiling) … a little “snooze” would be risky. It could end up being time for breakfast before before you know it and still in Vancouver airport.
September 20, 2008 — 8:41 am
Judy Orr says:
I’m late to comment because I’m still trying to catch up after that worthwhile whirlwind trip. In fact, it made me even more interested to possibly attend BHB’s Unchained in Orlando and I was going to ask you if you’re going. My only problem is that my husband and I are traveling in Nov. or Dec. to purchase a condo and I’ve already had a few trips this year. We’ll see…
Being a woman I got to hug almost everyone, including Morgan!
September 22, 2008 — 6:06 pm
Eric Blackwell says:
Hey JudyO!
Yes. and Yes! Please come if you can…Again, I view this as an excellent chance to gain new insight and network. It will be HARD to top REW, but I am up to try…
It was ssssooooo fun to finally meet you.
Best;
Eric
September 22, 2008 — 6:11 pm