You never know where these things can lead...
For many of us (those of us that are old in Internet years) our first experiences with online communities came from Prodigy, AOL or Compuserve and the forums that they offered. But, except for getting specific information, they never really grabbed my attention.
What hooked me on developing online relationships with people was Usenet, obviously this was long before Google Groups (which is an extension of the old DejaNews Usenet archive) My ISP had their own group and I could get on there to ask questions of other users and the folks that worked there. We developed some off topic repartee... and the next thing you know...I'm hanging out in the Chi. groups (Chicago) as the real estate guy that speaks geek. I picked up a little business and had a lot of fun.... of course this was prior to Usenet becoming the virtual wasteland that it is today.
In the late 90's I got onto RE/MAX Mainstreet after their move from Compuserve to the WWW... it really irritated me that I had to get an inferior service like Compuserve in order to participate in the old forums (so I didn't) It was there that I first became acquainted with Kristal Kraft and I was fortunate enough to be around to watch her take her bicycle around the world which she shared with us via the Internet (a blogger before that word even existed) And also where I got to meet Jim Crawford and exchange some search engine tips... Jim invited me to join a group of like minded (geeky) agents at a meeting in Washington DC and the next thing you know I'm hanging with the CyberProfessionals... which then included some crossover from the CyberStars, and the e-ProTalk list and the RealTalk list. That RealTalk meeting in Chicago at NAR in 2001 was quite a treat! The first time tOMe and Ardell meet... Juan and his camera... *sigh*
It seems that many of my real estate relationships started with me shooting my mouth off about something, and somebody responding. The best part of these relationships is when you get to meet and solidify them. Creating friendships and business opportunities aplenty.
Can't wait for NAR next week.... I'm all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it... We need to take pictures, blog and share.
Moo
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Must say that I now go to NAR more for what goes on outside the conference than inside it - in New Orleans there's the CyberProfessional conference, the Cyberstar dinner, the ActiveRain morning meet, a luxury reception, a FIABCI dinner...and the chance to meet old and new friends and exchange ideas and hugs. We throw in some trade show, and some time in the international center - Who has time to attend educational sessions or the huge NAR parties??