Nine real estate blogs will compete for the Inman Innovator award this year in the Most Innovative Blog category, which recognizes excellence, innovation and success in real estate Weblogging.
The 2007 finalists for blogs include 3 Oceans Real Estate, Bloodhound Blog, Calculated Risk, Mortgage Fraud Blog, Patrick.net, Real Estate Competition and the Law, Real Estate Tomato, Redfin's Sweet Digs, and Transparent Real Estate.
3 Oceans Real Estate blog was started in August, 2006 by Realtor Kevin Boer and covers the San Francisco Bay area and Silicon Valley real estate markets, as well as national industry issues. Contributors include Ana Hays, Chris Iverson, Christine Kani, Bart Marchioni, Ann O'Connell, and David Roberson.
Bloodhound Blog was started in June, 2006 by Greg Swann and Cathleen Collins. Based in Phoenix, Ariz., Bloodhound Blog comments on national industry issues and features contributions from Jeff Kempe, Michael Cook, Allen Butler, Morgan Brown, Lani Anglin, Kris Berg, Brian Brady, Teri Lussier, Russell Shaw, James Hsu, Dan Green, Jeff Brown and Doug Quance.
Written by a retired senior executive and a former bank officer, Calculated Risk focuses on the mortgage industry as well as real estate investing, finance and economics.
Mortgage Fraud Blog is written by Rachel Dollar, an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles fraud recovery litigation for lenders and secondary market investors nationwide. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud.
Patrick.net is one of the foremost “bubble blogs” – a blog that is forecasting and chronicling an impending housing crash. Patrick.net often offers spirited discussion on housing market topics.
Real Estate, Real Competition and the Law blog is written by Michael H. Erdman, a partner at a Chicago law firm and General Counsel of the American Real Estate Broker Alliance (AREBA). The blog chronicles the ongoing challenges and anticompetitive practices taking place in the real estate industry.
The Real Estate Tomato was created by Jim Cronin, a real estate marketing consultant as a destination emarketing tips, internet insight, and reviews of marketing services and products.
Sweet Digs is a daily real estate rundown produced by online brokerage Redfin. The goal is to give readers the inside scoop on past sales, good deals, open houses and what's on the market in your neighborhood. Sweet Digs currently operates in Seattle and San Francisco.
Transparent Real Estate is written by Pat Kitano, co-founder and managing principal of Domus Consulting Group. It focuses on business strategy, new business models, technology and real estate marketing for the real estate community. Transparent Real Estate blog was started in August 2006.
The most innovative real estate and technology companies will be honored at Real Estate Connect, Aug. 1-3, in San Francisco. Real Estate Connect brings together the top leaders from the real estate industry, including mortgage lenders, technology firms, industry analysts and news media.
The Inman Innovator Awards recognize companies that use technology and innovation to enhance the real estate transaction and experience for consumers and real estate professionals. In addition, one individual who embodies the spirit of innovation in real estate is honored each year.
The 2007 Inman Innovator Award finalists in five categories are (in alphabetical order):
Craig Newmark is the soft-spoken man behind the nationwide network of online community sites known as craigslist, which feature back-to-basics, bulletin-style classifieds, as well as community discussion boards.
The sites have made a mark on real estate, with more brokers and
agents using them as another place on the Web to expose their listings,
and more consumers turning to the Internet for real estate information.
Newmark founded the first craigslist site in San Francisco in 1995,
and now serves as chief customer service representative for the online
community.
6. Send an email to Brad@inman.com telling us to stop the Connect marketing emails.
7. If you need a restaurant for a private dinner, call Jack Fallstaff for a reservation. Nice walk back to Palace after a full stomach.
8. If you want to go to a private party the Saturday before Connect in Sonoma, send me an email.
9. Plan a small meet up over a martini at the Big Four on California St.. If you are under 40, meet at the Wish bar on Folsom or Medjool at 2522 Mission St (at 21st) - awesome roof deck bar.
Project Blogger is a blogging competition co-sponsored by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network and Inman News.
12 blogging coaches selected 12 apprentices to mentor and set on the
path towards real estate blogging superstardom. The winning team will
be announced at the Bloggers Connect conference this summer in San Francisco. You can find all the coaches' and apprentices' blogs at Project Blogger Links.
Good news! The price discount for registration has been extended for one more week. That means you have until midnight on Friday, June 22nd, to save $120. If you haven't registered already, don't wait any longer.
If you have any questions about registration or want to book a group of 10 or more, contact registration@inman.com or call 1.800.775.4662, ext. 151.
I'm new to this industry. Real estate, that is. Though I've been in the Internet and technology sector for more than a decade.
I met with two executives recently from a company that provides technology and marketing solutions to realtors, and I offered my newcomer's perspective that (A) there is a much stronger sense of community within real estate than in other sectors of technology, and (B) these are exciting times for the real estate industry.
The two executives backed me up on my first point without a moment's thought. Most companies do seem to play together nicely in the sandbox, they supported, and are careful not to resort to many of the less-than-honorable tactics that are nearly commonplace in other areas of the technology world.
On my second point, that these seem to be exciting times for real estate and technology, the executives wanted to know more about what I meant. I explained that (and again this is all from my newcomer's perspective) it seems like there is finally a critical mass of consumers who have adopted new online tools and technologies, and that marketing to them is fundamentally different than it was maybe just a year or two ago. In this sense real estate is maybe a little behind the curve that other sectors like insurance or financial services were on as early as the late 90s, but it is on that same curve nonetheless.
I may be wrong, but it seems to me like real estate has just recently crossed the chasm, as Geoffrey Moore would put it, or gotten through the dip, as Seth Godin would say, and now we're playing a whole new ballgame, to borrow from Casey Stengel. It's the reason why Zillow gets written about every day, and why Redfin gets exposure on 60 minutes.
After some reflection, the executives agreed that, even though the industry has been exciting to them since they first entered it years ago, the momentum is indeed picking up these days.
The Internet has a history of disrupting and rearranging entire industries -- usually for the betterment of the consumers and to the detriment of those service providers who refuse or are unwilling to adopt. InsWeb.com altered the insurance industry. Expedia.com revolutionized travel. craigslist.org did it to classifieds.
It seems to me like now it's real estate's turn. Am I wrong?
We'll try to answer that question at Real Estate Connect SF. Hopefully you can make it. The feeling around here is that this year's event will be one of the most important ever.
As the subject of hundreds of real estate blog postings, we thought who better to keynote the first Bloggers Connect conference than Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman?
We're happy to announce today that he has agreed to deliver the keynote address for this year's Bloggers Connect.
Since joining Redfin, Glenn has been at the center of a media frenzy. The subject of numerous spirited debates on and offline, the centerpiece of a controversial segment on 60 Minutes and the recipient of a recent fine by a MLS for his company's own blogging efforts; Kelman, perhaps like no one else, can testify to the power of blogs and the emerging battle between new and old media.
We're calling his keynote "Sitting in the Eye of the Storm". Join us in San Francisco this summer for your chance to meet the man behind all the controversy.
Are you linked in? LinkedIn is a popular business social networking site that allows you to connect online with many of your business contacts.
It allows you to create a profile (consider it your resume on the Web) and link up with other people in your field or industry. As an example, check out my LinkedIn profile.
One way to use your LinkedIn profile is to stay in touch with contacts you meet at conferences. To that end, we have created an official Linkedin group for RE Connect 2007. To join the group, just click on the link and follow the prompts - group members are identified by a small Connect logo in their profile and will be able contact each other ahead of the conference in San Francisco. Start the networking early and get a jump on setting up those important business meetings!
If you missed yesterday's call with the Project Blogger (PB) Apprentices and Coaches you can catch it here (Inman News Blog has the details) and download it as a podcast. Some great advice for budding blogging was doled out by the participants.
And in more PB news, David Gibbons from Zillow judged Week 8 and Week #4 of the Carnival of Project Blogger are up at ActiveRain.
Project Blogger is a blogging competition co-sponsored by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network and Inman News.
12 blogging coaches selected 12 apprentices to mentor and set on the
path towards real estate blogging superstardom. The winning team will
be announced at the Bloggers Connect conference this summer in San Francisco. You can find all the coaches' and apprentices' blogs at Project Blogger Links.
Want to stay connected with other attendees, speakers, exhibitors and Inman reps while you're at the show? Join us on Twitter and find out what other participants are doing that's cool, fun and exciting. It's easy to do -- just go to Twitter.com and create an account, then add "SFConnect" as a friend. Periodically go back to Twitter and answer the simple question, "What are you doing now?" It's a fast, fun and easy way to stay connected with your friends, colleagues and other Connect participants.
Mark your Calendars. June
11 at 11am PST - Inman News will be hosting an audio conference call on Project Blogger and how to get a real estate blog started.
Project Blogger is a blogging competition co-sponsored by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network and Inman News. 12 blogging coaches selected 12 apprentices to mentor and set on the path towards real estate blogging superstardom. The winning team will be announced at the Bloggers Connect conference this summer in San Francisco. You can find all the coaches' and apprentices' blogs at Project Blogger Links.
Only 11 more days to get your registrations in before the price increase on June 16!
If you've been humming and hawing about joining us at Connect this summer, you have just under two weeks to pull the trigger. So don't delay any further... Register for Real Estate Connect SF 2007 before next week. Your wallet will thank you.
And if you're joining us for Connect already, why not come on out to Bloggers Connect as well. It's your chance to learn more about the power of real estate blogging from some of the best and brightest in the biz. Don't fish for change, it's only a single Benjamin if you register today.
The Palace Hotel's web site describes the building's inauspicious debut as such: "Inspired by visionary, William Ralston, the Palace Hotel was the result of one man's dream of turning the city from boom town into a booming metropolis, simply by erecting a hotel of timeless elegance and unprecedented luxury... To finance his dream and its $5 million price tag, he exhausted his banking empire. Just weeks before the Palace's grand opening,
he was told the Bank of California would close. The next day, Ralston's body was found
floating in the San Francisco Bay."
Numerous earthquakes, fires and restorations later, The Palace Hotel stands today as one of the most elegant hotels in one of the most elegant cities in the world.
2007 will be the 6th straight year we've held RE Connect at The Palace, and we couldn't think of a better place to have it. Thank you, Mr. Ralston.
The Inman Innovator awards will be presented Aug. 1 at Real Estate Connect in San Francisco.
Craig Newmark 
Want to stay connected with other attendees, speakers, exhibitors and Inman reps while you're at the show? Join us on Twitter and find out what other participants are doing that's cool, fun and exciting. It's easy to do -- just go to 
The Palace Hotel's 
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