I attended my first NAR convention in 1987 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Pity we have outgrown that location. This year’s event was however in a great location, New Orleans. It has been five years since the devastation of Katrina and you can see that the buzz in the French Quarter has returned with the beads, bars and Bourbon Street leading the way.
Here is my snapshot of the highlights of NARdigras 2010:
VIRTUAL BECOMES KING
Both the presence of Gen X and Y as well as various online boomers flexed their muscles to make social media a powerful mainstream addition to the NAR convention. Virtual became reality through events such as REBarCamp, TweetUp, ActiveRain, various NAR scheduled meetings, as well as at the Starbucks and in passages on the convention floor. Congratulations to the many individuals that kept everyone informed including people such as Todd Carpenter (@tcar), Eric Stegemann (@EricStegemann), Daniel Rothamel (@RealEstateZebra), Rob Hahn (@robhahn) Maya Paveza (@mayaREguru), Chris Smith (@TechSavvyAgent), Chris Nichols (@UtahREPro), Reggie Nicholay (@ReggieRPR), Michael McClure (@ProfessionalOne), Ines Hegedus-Garcia (@ines) and of course the ever present Sherry Chris (@SherryChris).
#1 AT NAR
Few technologies have ever grabbed the imagination of our industry as quickly as the huge explosion of mobile and wireless computing. The array of service providers, app providers, and other companies that offered services using iPhones, Blackberry’s, or Droids were everywhere. In less than a decade this device has become the most influential piece of technology in real estate and the potential seems limitless. Read more about the power of mobile technology in our upcoming 2011 Swanepoel TRENDS Report.
LARGEST BOOTH
Wandering where some of your tax dollars went? J Dwarfing all exhibits this year’s were the enormous booths by the financial institutions such as Chase and Wells Fargo. The largest booth, if you could call it a booth was the impressive Home Loans Opportunity Pavilion of Bank of America. Interesting to note is that even with the huge pavilion (larger than Google, HGTV, Homes.com and Rapatoni – combined, times two) that Bank of America still had another booth the size of (Keller Williams Realty and RE/MAX combined) at the other corner of the trade floor as well.
LARGEST AND MOST ANNOYING BUZZ
Unquestionably QR codes. I have been speaking and writing on tagging for about two years now, and obviously I think it’s important. But now it is also the most overrated and annoying product. In the last two weeks, I have also received more QR code spam emails and tweets than any other single product. Slow down everyone, it’s hot, but not the silver bullet to solve everything. Jeez!!
SINGLE BOOTH BUZZ
Garnishing a lot of attention was the Kodak booth this year with ongoing presentations by numerous leading technology trainers such as Nicole Nicholay (@Nik_Nik), Verl Workman (@verlworkman), and Terri Murphy (@terrimurphy). The draw seemed to be the special real estate offerings that included the snazzy Zi8 video camera, the Easyshare and Scanmate.
MOST AMUSING BOOTH
In past conventions I have seen many colorful booth brandings including one of my favorites, “Two Men in a Truck”, however, this year’s “3 Blondes and a Short Sale” may just take the cake as the most amusing branding. These three ladies seek to educate brokerages and agents to list, market and close short sales.
NEWEST BIZ MODELS
Every year we have a few entrepreneurs that espouse a new way of managing a real estate company. Many don’t last long, many stay small, but every now and then we see a new player with potential. The two I liked the most this year were Allison James Estates (@allisonjamesinc) and NextAge Realty (@nextage_realty). In the 2011 edition of my annual Swanepoel TRENDS report we will be detailing the 10 most exciting new business models started since the turn of the century, 10 years ago.
GLARINGLY ABSENT
The number of booths this year was clearly was significantly less this year. Even the isles were widened (12 feet as to 9 feet) to “spread” the booths out and to be more “green.” J Large franchises this year that did not have a booth included EXIT Realty and Real Living (GMAC / Brookfield Residential Property Services). Is that a sign of the tough economy or merely a prudent financial decision? Will be interesting to see if others follow.
MOST DISAPPOINTING
The attendance by international delegates this was down. Clearly the poor housing market is felt across the world. One country even shared that they have experienced a drop from over 100 attendees two years ago to less than five this year. This drop was also reflected in the International Pavilion, the networking center and the overall buzz.
EDUCATIONAL EXCITEMENT
The most exciting new training program this year was the Internet Marketing Specialist Designation (IMSD) created by Ben Kinney (@benkinney), a SEO addict and Social Media Futurist according to Twitter. The course is a hands-on training system that teaches real estate professionals proven techniques to manage an Internet marketing and social media strategy. On that same front, the ePro designation course was also just updated by the Social Media Marketing Institute - Ginger Wilcox (@ginerwilcox) and Bill Lublin (@billlublin). Social media has at last entered real estate education in a big way.
ATTENTION GRABBER
After many years it still ceases to amaze me how enamored people are with celebrities. This year the Guinness Book of World Record’s Most Watched TV Star “The Hoff” (David Hasselhoff) from popular shows Knight Rider, Baywatch and America’s Got Talent, garnished the most attention and the longest lines at the convention.
NAR FOCUS
Last year it was RPR (Realtor® Property Resource). This year is was Home Ownership. This new public awareness campaign is both timely and extremely important as the industry combats the onslaught of negative media.
Smarter Agent snatched the NAR Second Century Ventures Fast Pitch Innovation Contest with a man in blue and red tights and a cool service. You can watch the video clip here: http://bit.ly/NARdigras
As a final note to this year’s convention wrap-up, I want to wish Ron Phipps (see video on Ronnie at http://bit.ly/nardigras2010) the best of luck as he takes over as the new NAR president from outgoing president Vicki Cox Golder. You are now at the head of the 800 pound gorilla every respects and fears. J
Loved your statement: “We need to not merely be the voice of Real Estate but the architects and the engineers of the future of Real Estate.” I think you will be a great president in 2011!
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