Have you ever been in a room with over 100 people who were DYING to share every ounce of information and knowledge they have with YOU? Who put a pause on their own learning to bring you up to speed with what they’ve already learned and have proven are successful techniques? If not, you’ve clearly never been to REBAR Camp.

There’s a community that exists in the real estate world that you should be a part of. It’s a family of people who have a different way of thinking, of communicating, of existing, and of growing a business. We’re like-minded. We like information fast, like our consumers. We crave new relationships, like our clients. We respond quickly when made fun of in a tweet (@DerekMassey…Go Yankees!).

As a Gen-Y-er, people often assume I innately know how to use any kind of technology – whether it’s teaching them to turn on the computer or using social media for their real estate business. Well, let me tell you…while you can stalk me all day long on:

Tuesday proved to me that I’ve only scratched the surface of the infinite possibilities out there, and that I better get back to work!

Heather Elias & Danilo Bogdanovic both are active agents and bloggers in Loudoun County, Virginia. But they do it their own ways. They’re both successful…for being exactly who they are, using their own voices to tell their own stories.

Jennifer Klaussen, Frank Llosa, and I are all agents and bloggers in Arlington County, Virginia. But guess what? We all have VERY different ways of talking about our local real estate market (and the kicker is that I live 1 block from Frank!).

Daniel Rothamel, The Real Estate Zebra, has taken personal branding and reinvented the concept. Who would have thought an animal could be so quickly associated with a real estate agent (or his lil’ gal baking in the oven). From the Zebra’s blog you get an idea of what he’ll be like if you call him up and say “I want to buy a house.” He is in person, who he appears to be online.

Why does this work? Because we’re all individuals, with different backgrounds, different experiences, different voices. We’re all different people. We have different things to say. So as a result, we attract different types of clients. And that’s ok!!!

The point of social media is to cultivate and enhance relationships, take your cyber friends and make them In-Real-Life friends, face to face. Build your network of fellow agents, attorneys, lenders, inspectors, etc. and bring that to the table when you meet new clients. Draw from their experiences to make YOU better.

#REBCDC was a full day of meeting cyber friends, who are actually people! People who are willing to teach you everything they know, to help make you better.

Some Takeaways:

For those of you who think Twitter is the equivalent of Acid Wash Jeans, cool now, but fading fast…you don’t get it (BTW- acid wash jeans were a fad I was never a part of, hello…I was born in 1984, by the time they were no longer cool, I was just learning how to dress myself). It’s a new way to share information quickly, engage in conversation, enhance relationships, and learn. If you’re not learning and growing, you’re dying, right?

Facebook is Google for stalkers. Meet a new agent you admire? Friend them. Stalk them. (Meet a rich/tall/dark/handsome man and want to know if he’s single? Friend him too. #justsayin…I digress.) But guess what? The person who gets your name from a friend, or finds you online, or sees your sign post in a yard – they’re going to want to know more about you too, without feeling pressured by yet another sales-y real estate agent.

Posterous is your life in pictures. Ever have one of those “I wish someone was here to see this” moments? Now all of your 1,000 followers and readers can be, with a simple email. This was one of my “to-do” items thanks to Derek Massey.

Pay it forward. Whether it’s helping to raise $1,000 for DC Central Kitchen, or teaching someone a profitable tip you just learned, helping someone else reach their goals will help you in the end. Ziglar said “I believe you can get everything in life you want, if you will just help enough people get what they want.”

And with that…I wish ALL of the sponsors (especially @TechChix for organizing), teachers, and friends I made at REBAR Camp DC the very best. A big THANK YOU!