- Image by reeltor99 via Flickr
As I write this, I am in a hotel in Western Pennsylvania, where ReBarCamp Pittsburgh will take place tomorrow.
I’m writing this post because of a few conversations I had recently with friends of mine. It seems that there was a conversation about whether ReBarCamps served any purpose. Concerns were expressed that the ReBarCamps had become hackneyed, that every ReBarCamp featured speakers who were just vendors trying to sell things to people, and that the same group of people kept showing up to talk. There was concern expressed that the ReBarCamps were nothing more than a social gathering for some people in the RE.net who knew each other and who kept to themselves during the events, making them more of an elitist social gathering than an education or sharing event.
I just looked at the RSVPs for this ReBarCamp. it seems that none of the “usual suspects” will be arriving tomorrow. In fact, there are only six people here that I know, and I met two of them this evening, two are past state association Presidents, and two are organizers of the ReBarCamp and they would probably not yet be familiar names to you.
When I heard these statements I was astounded. This will be my 12th ReBarCamp. I have been all over the country attending these events, and each one has had a different flavor. I have experienced them in San Francisco twice, Fredricksburg, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Virginia Beach, Miami,Columbus, helped organize one in Philadelphia and here I am in today in Pittsburgh. During that time, I only remember two sessions that I felt had commercial overtones, and I walked out of one of those sessions, and in the second one told the presenter that they were missing the point of the event. At those events I have presented or moderated sessions with topics like social capital (whuffie), social contracts, selling foreclosures, listing foreclosures, the future of the real estate brokerage, short sales and working with banks on defaulted properties among others. Each time , I had little or no idea what I would talk about until the day of the event. I have also participated in dozens of sessions moderated or presented by others. Most of them were interesting or fun, and the others I walked out of and found another session.
I have really enjoyed seeing many of the more experienced social media presenters at a number of the events, but I am excited to see who the presenters will be today. I’ll probably present a session or two, but the agenda will be new and different because the people are new and different. Even the sponsors for this event are different, though the Social Media Marketing Institute is a “repeat offender” – however as the CEO , I know they will not be pitching a product at the event.
I am friends with the three men who created the first ReBarCamp,Andy Kaufman, Brad Coy, and Todd Carpenter. I don’t think they intended to get rich or famous from the event – they just wanted to try something out and see if people responded. And their creation has become a national event that has educated hundreds upon hundreds of people about social media, real estate, and a variety of topics too eclectic to be listed here.
Anyway, my experience with ReBarCamps tells me that the people that attend today will start the day confused and unsure of what they have gotten themselves into. They will bring with them differing levels of knowledge and different expectations of the days event. By the end of the day some will be confused, some will be disappointed, some will be enlightened, and some will be engaged. But they will all be impacted by a volunteer driven sharing experience. And at the end of the day I think that’s a good thing. SO much so that I look forward to doing it again at ReBarCampDC next week and San Diego next month – where new groups of people will hopefully share and learn and become engaged in an event created by and for the community to benefit its members. People keep voting with their feet, by walking into sessions at ReBarCamps everywhere.
Related articles by Zemanta
- REBarCamp Virginia Beach (movephilly.blogspot.com)
- Real Estate BarCamp – Silicon Valley (retechworld.wordpress.com)
- What the heck is an RE BeerCamp? (activerain.com)
- Are you going? REBarCampSeattle and more… (raincityguide.com)
- Taco Truck at REBarcamp SF! (activerain.com)
- Engaged (activerain.com)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ce2af2a9-fd52-4335-884e-12549e32b96e)
11 responses so far ↓
1 Danielle Daniels // Oct 21, 2009 at 7:27 am
I suppose I can see both sides after planning REBCOhio and hearing others comment on our event and compare it to others. We had few REBC Rock Stars because, honestly, who wants to come to Ohio in August? We didn’t realize it before hand but it worked to our advantage, we got to connect with some of THE agents in our area. People whom I’m sure I would have never conneced with had the event had been riddled with Rock Stars.
During the post events an attendee thanked me for the lack of Rock Star campers, she had been to an REBC previously and felt excluded because it felt more like an RE.net reunion to her.
I think people need to have an open mind when attending, even if they have been to an REBC before. Each event is what you make it, if you want to meet new people then you need to get out of your chair. Great post, good food for thought.
2 Nannette Saunders // Oct 21, 2009 at 7:47 am
We had a little ol’ RE BarCamp in Lynchburg earlier this month and only a couple veterans of RE BarCamp showed up and we had mostly local venders. While I was glad that some of the veterans showed up I like Danielle wasn’t there for the rock stars. We really went out of our way to create an event where EVERYONE was involved and felt a part of. I have been to RE BarCamps that were more of a family reunion of the same people I read about every day. Not saying that is good or bad but I think you will get out of it what you put into it like anything else. RE BarCamp is just an opportunity. You have to make it happen for yourself.
3 Ken Montville - The MD Suburbs of DC // Oct 21, 2009 at 8:14 am
A lot of the appeal of REBAR camps come from the fact that it is NOT the gurus or the vendors making pitches. It’s other agents who have found something that works for them in real life and they are sharing it… for free.
Having said that, there is a lot to be said for seeing some of the same people and some of the people I know only from Twitter, the blogosphere, in general, or Facebook. It’s nice to be able to put the flesh and blood person together with the online persona. Good for networking. Good for referrals (possibly). Good for finding a mentor/teacher/kindred spirit.
I can see where they may very well lose steam after awhile, though. They require a lot of organization, sponsorship and attendance. REBAR camps won’t be the “shiny new penny” after awhile.
4 Bobby Carroll - Dakno Marketing // Oct 21, 2009 at 9:41 am
I admit it, I’m a certifiable REBC junkie! Bill, you nailed it! Having been to a few RE Bar Camps, every one that I have attended (and where possible provided a live stream), has been a different experience. Are topics similar? Sure, but the nature of the RE Bar Camp event is to listen to the needs of the attendees and shape the event according to the needs of the many.
Of the events that I have attended, I can only recall a few occasions where a “vendor” made a pitch. I even abandoned my position “behind the camera” at one event because those who were making their pitch didn’t have a clue it was the wrong place and time to be doing that. Like Bill, you should vote with your two feet and find another session (or better yet, create your own).
Where else can you can you go to learn, share, network, and contribute to a worthy cause (love that aspect) and did I say network with such outstanding people? But don’t take my word for it, get yourself to a real estate bar camp and experience it for yourself!
5 Gina Kay Landis // Oct 21, 2009 at 9:45 am
Though I have attended two PodCamps, this Ohio REBarCamp was my first. As such, I saw a ton of people from my company (high-level folks) and was glad – why? Because there was so much information presented about social media/new media and I felt the presentations helped raise the level of awareness of what social/new media means to the real estate industry for these folks and others.
Part of the great feel of REBarCampOhio was due to the organizers and their dedication and devotion is really appreciated.
I didn’t get a sense of commercialism, and only one of the sessions smacked of stuff I didn’t care for in the attitudes of the presenters (not yours, Bill, your session was fabulous!!). Point being, not everyone will like every session or every presenter. Overall, the sessions were good, convos at lunch and between sessions were fun and informative. An experience I would like to have again, and will!
6 Doug Francis // Oct 21, 2009 at 11:19 am
When I first read about REBC in May, I had the feeling that I wanted to get to one asap. Why? Because I know how these types of gatherings can lose focus… and I didn’t want to miss the true experience. Virginia Beach was my first and you, Bill, really added to the conversation.
At Lynchburg, I had some great conversations. It was a good group with a lot of open discussions.
I’ll be at REBCDC next week and plan on contributing to the conversation again too. Yes, no presentations… just discussions.
7 tony lazzari // Oct 21, 2009 at 11:53 am
Bill – Once again your observations are on track, imho. Am I a barcamp junkie, don’t think so even though I have attended 4 this year from San Francisco to Columbus and am planning on at least 1 more before the year ends. Yes, there is a group of veterans that show up at a lot of these. Yes the vets have a good relationship and are a close (not closed) group.
I believe it comes from the shared values and experiences they have found in this venue. And they share – they travel at their own expense – and they willingly help newbies like me learn how these tools can be employed in this business of real estate.
I have tried engaging one of the “disser’s) of barcamps – and he won’t engage or discuss. His shared experience was one barcamp.
Me, I find value in the experience. As I participate more, I hope others find value in what I share. And I find that the people that do participate and are involved are people that I want to associate with.
If you haven’t gone yet, go to one – experience it – participate. This is not like watching a baseball game. You are on the roster and playing.
8 Rhonda Porter // Oct 21, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Hey Bill–didn’t I just see you in Vegas?
I really enjoy REBarcamps…I was lucky to have gone to the first one in San Francisco, which I’m afraid has made me one of those “purist”. This year, I attended both Seattle events, Chicago’s and I was the organizer for the “mini”/half-day REBC in Bellevue. Since I was the lead organizer in Bellevue, I did everything I could to encourage more “peer to peer” sharing/learning vs. the “planned speakers/tracks” or commercial toned presentations.
We did not have a sponsored lunch and sponsors were featured on the REBC/bellevue site and could leave bling on a designated table.
It did take some “management” to make this happen. The last Seattle event had more of a “commercial” tone IMO since they were trying to provide more value to sponsors and provide booths along the border of the main room. There were also “speakers” there with planned sessions…
I think each REBC will have it’s own flavor depending on who’s planning and who shows up. I always encourge participation.
9 Brian Block // Oct 24, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Bill,
Well, next week I’m going to my 4th REBarCamp here on my home turf in D.C. (or rather Northern Virginia). I’ve been to the two in San Francisco and went down to the Lynchburg one earlier this month.
I’ve found the experiences, the sharing, and the learning that goes on at these events exciting and invigorating and unlike what happens at most conferences where you are “spoken at” or “spoken to”
The tools of social media allow people to join the conversation. My favorite quote from the Twitter Conference I went to this past week was “You no longer have to yell at your television, now you can tweet about it.” Similarly, at an REBarCamp, the participants are NOT the audience, but rather active contributors to the conversation.
On a personal note, I’m looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday.
10 Brian Block // Oct 24, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Interestingly enough… while I was off doing other things and then commenting here, you were on my Active Rain post commenting about coming to REBarCamp DC!
Oh, and I did mention myself (I was first alphabetically!)
11 The More We Talk About Change in Real Estate The More It Seems The Same // Apr 25, 2010 at 3:03 pm
[...] The Great ReBarCamp Controversy? (rereflections.com) [...]
Leave a Comment