“Community is conversation and conversation is opportunity”…

Here’s your opportunity to join in…

RE Barcamp is going to be held in the Northwest Rooms at the Seattle Center on March 19, 2010. A great in city location right next to the Key Arena with plenty of parking, hotels, and restaurants within walking distance.

Looking from the Northwest Rooms SE over the Key Arena.

Click for: Seattle Center Map… (#2 on the map)

At Warren Ave N and Republican St, Seattle WA 98109

Join the RE Barcamp Seattle Facebook page for the latest information.

I think this has all the cyber-markings of a fantastic RE Barcamp. The location is perfect. The volunteer planning committee walked through the Northwest Rooms back on January 14^th and we were all immediately excited about the possibilities. There’s a lot of flexibility in the way the spaces can be used. All rooms have built in sound systems and the acoustics are wonderful with no room reverberation. Great for breakouts, we’ll be able to hear everyone very well.

Don’t forget that the day before, March 18, is the 2010 Pacific Housing Summit. It’s exciting to have both of these events back to back in the same location, a wonderful opportunity to attend both events. We have a lot of thanks for the Summit sponsors also, without this great collaboration none of these events would be possible.

Looking west down the Northwest Rooms hallway.

Join the NW Housing Summit Facebook page for the latest information.

What I love about RE Barcamp is the spontaneous energy one gets caught up in from being around 100’s of like minded curious people roaming around a shared space (in no seemly organized fashion) all seeking conversations to participate in about everything internet, technology, marketing, and social media.

This is one of those special events where all we need to do to qualify is simply possess a thirst for knowledge, show up, and share; we check our attitudes at the door, and participate. It isn’t about the stars of Social Media, it’s about you.

We’ve all been to workshops and have been talked at by an expert who pontificates about what we should be doing to be successful like them.

This is not one of those events. This ain’t no classroom lecture.

This is an event about the many to the many. I value what you think and hope you’ll show up and contribute. I need your help too, so I can do better in the future.

People talk here about their life, work, and play online. All of us are in some kind of related real estate field. We’ve done things that have created business and want to share what works, what doesn’t, and have plenty of questions to ask others doing the same.

It’s a day of discovery and opportunity. What could be cooler than asking one of your peers you follow on Twitter why they do what they do, and how that works for them? Or to hear someone share how they got a ton of Google Juice by linking their blog pictures to Flickr, or how writing Yelp reviews enhanced their web presence by 20%. Or how they discovered the power of Delicious and Stumbled Upon to direct more traffic to their blog, or how market statistics really made an impact on their blog readership and it led to deals.

The RE Barcamp volunteer planning committee, I had a little fun with the digital paintbrush...

Here’s your opportunity to be in person, rub elbows, and be in those conversations. Talk, exchange, ask 100 questions and reap the rewards.

This will be a truly UBERTASTICAL event, especially if you show up!

You can RSVP here:REBarcamp.com/Seattle

I was thinking the other day about the technology in my life and how it has shaped me. That took longer than I thought; several days in fact. I became fascinated (actually obsessed) about the lineage of electronic devices I’ve owned over the years and that prompted me to ask,

“What was the very first personal technology I owned?”

My quest had a simple premise:

1. It had to have something to do with the electronic medium and connected me to the world in some way.

2. It had to be mine. I owned it.

In the summer of 1958 our family moved across town to Earlington, a neighborhood on the west side of Renton. I was 8 years old. That Christmas I received a present from Santa that I’ve never forgotten. I didn’t realize until now that it was my very first personal technology.

The HearEver Germanium Crystal Rocket Radio – 1958

I can’t begin to express what a revealing process this was. I traced a line of technology from now directly back to this beginning. It all began here with my very own crystal rocket radio. This is where technology and I hooked up. As I recall, I could only get 3 or 4 radio stations, the strongest signal was KJR AM Seattle. I listened to a lot of Doo-Wop, Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Everly Brothers, and other top 100 hits of 1958.

The important thing to me, while peeling my life’s glass onion, is making the connection to a larger world and the role technology played. It’s not about the toy or the gizmo; it’s about what they represent, what we use them for and how that influences us.  I spent a lot of evenings lying in my bed at night (when I should have been sleeping) with my imagination a blaze. I didn’t understand how it worked. It just did, it was mine, and somehow I was more a part of everything by having it.

What an awesome piece of technology when you think about it. The crystal radio uses no tubes or transistors, nor does it have a separate power source. They are passive receivers and run on the energy they get from the radio waves themselves.

Now that’s what I’m talking about… crystal power!

Looking backward or forward in time is often a funny thing. It can be full of surprises and discovery.  I was walking through our new Renton Uwajimaya store yesterday past the inside BECU branch. They have a PC just off the lobby for online banking.  A dad was sitting there trying to keep his 3 small children from scattering while his wife was in line. As I walked pass them I noticed his attention was full on two of them. But, unseen and behind dad was the youngest, 14 months at the very most in training pants. He was stretching with all his might, pounding the keyboard with his tiny little hands, staring up at the monitor with wide eyes and great expectation.

I juxtaposed thoughts about my life and his life with technology and the news, “Will Apple’s iPad kill the Kindle?” What an amazing time to begin the journey.

“What was the very first personal technology you owned?”

Tis the Season...
Enjoy the Holidays with family and friends, and a Happy and Prosperous New Year...

I'm putting an old computer to rest and recently purchased a new laptop... I've been going through all my photos on 'Old Moe', my (finally retiring) old HP Vectra P-III. I had a 2nd hard drive on it with about 80 gigs of pictures. What a tedious undertaking and sometimes a pain. Yet, on occasion, you run across a gem or two.

This was taken a while back at the Puyallup Fair and was a delightful photo accident. I was headed somewhere else and just stopped for 2 seconds, clicked a couple, and walked on. As it turns out, this is one of my favorites... I love the small boy on the left looking up at the concessionaire...

Western Washington State Fair Puyallup, Washington

 

Small Boy and Rubber Duckies Puyallup Fair, Washington

 To play off the well-known and oft-repeated first sentence from Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that any company in possession of goods or services, must be in want of customer."

Bubble on Deck

wordless Wednesday, December 2, 2009

(when will the bubble burst?)

Having fun with the kids blowing bubbles on the deck... If I'm correct, my youngest daughter Paige did this one, but Jeff and Shannon may chime in to claim the 'biggest bubble' on the deck prize!

René Fabre, ARFCO Media, an Audiorium Enterprise...

From: Off My Deck ~ 11/25/09...

A few days ago Active Rainer Jim Lee shared a few word clouds he created on wordle.net... I couldn't resist and had to play with a few of my blogs to see what they'd look like...

In social media we use the term ubiquity to describe a philosophy of online involvement. We accomplish visibility and opportunity by participating in a wide array of communities and conversation.

Big Clouds, Blue Sky...

Stormy fronts moved in yesterday afternoon, but the action really gets started just before the sun was about to set. We're looking west from my deck over Renton, Washington. I love the moody skies this time of year. The colors are great with the yellow and red leaves to these dark clouds highlighted with the sun low before it sets over the hills. Soon it will be shades of mostly gray...

René Fabre is well known for his innovative marketing programs. He is a sought after speaker and motivator known for his knowledge, keen interest, and insightful approach to contemporary marketing ideas and technologies. His obvious passion for the subject is well known and contagious. He frequently gives workshops and round table conversations on Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and Lead Generation.

Google announced real estate on Google Maps this morning...

In Google Maps type a "city state" and/or a "zip code". Just to the right of the "Search Maps" button,

click "show search options" and select real estate in the drop down...

You can search homes for sale, rentals, and foreclosures. Filter your results by price range, bedrooms, and building square feet. This comes with all the usual Google Map functions like pop-up pictures with links to the listing source.

This will certainly bring a larger audience and exposure to your local real estate market...

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