CMLS 2011 – What a week!

It’s taking me a little longer to recover from CMLS last week. I think it mostly had to do with one of the best lobby bars I been to in recent blurry memory (open till 2AM!). You have all heard by now that is was the largest CMLS ever with over 500 people in attendance. Which is very impressive since it was a bit of the beaten path. Wes Wiggins had originally committed to hosting the conference prior to him taking the top spot at RMLS- Florida. Phil Tedesco is a class act and he and his team did an excellent job of putting together a great conference along with Sarah Carlton and the CMLS board of directors.

A few highlights:

I enjoyed the “What keeps me awake at night” segments. The lights dimmed, and a single spotlight shown upon the speaker. My favs were Curt Beardsley and Mark Lesswing. If anyone has video of either please forward to me so I can post. Just great stuff.

The send off of Peter Shuttleworth (who is retiring) was also fun and Peter is a good sport.

Congrats to Jim Harrison who was elected in to the CMLS Board of Directors.

I also enjoyed the videos shot of non-industry people who were asked questions like “What is an MLS?”

Brian Boero , of 1000watt Consulting gave a talk about implementing what he called an MLS “data socket”. This concept has been talked about before, but Brian put the idea in to focus.

The booth placement for vendors made for lively conversations and a few bumps as people made the gauntlet down “vendor alley”. Which brings me to my announcement of “Best Booth of CMLS 2011″. The honor goes to 10K Research. Great signage, marketing materials and spot on messaging made it my favorite. Great job to the 10K team!

10K Research-Best Booth of CMLS 2011

I wasn’t too thrilled at the Old Tucson Studios “Hootenanny’”. After a 50 minutes bus ride you were treated to a park full of “killer clowns with chainsaws” sneaking up on you. But I digess…

The last session was also fun. Executive Trainer Brian Taylor asked for a “Lone Nut” to come up on stage and ask the audience to follow him on a big bold idea. It was no big surprise when Russ Bergeron stood up to applause and took the stage committing to supporting RESO‘s effort for real estate data standards. He then asked everyone to join him in this pledge. I have a video of what happened next below (sorry for the screen orientation issues):

You should also check out Matt Cohen’s blog post on the event here.

I’ve lost count on how many CMLS conferences I’ve attended ( I think it’s 12) and they just keep getting better. It’s the perfect blend of education, networking and a good time.

I took a few photos which you can check out at the Vendor Alley Flickr Photostream by clicking this link

Next stop Boston, where MLSPIN will be our host of CMLS 2012. See you there!

Like many of you I’m heading up to San Francisco next week for the Data Summit and Real Estate Connect conference, both hosted by Inman News. So here’s a prelude to some of the things I’m looking forward to and thinking about:

I will be attending Inman’s Data Summit. The event will be hosted by Gahlord DeWald and Rob Hahn. I always enjoy getting together with Gahlord, he is a smart guy and I always learn something so it will be interesting to hear he perspective on the data issues plaguing the MLS/Real Estate Industry. Rob Hahn, aka “The Bard of the Long Form Post”, will be hosting too. Rob is always good at making me re-think my current assumptions or at least giving an interesting perspective.

Dan Woolley will be moderating the “Connect Tech” session once again this year and I’m sure he won’t disappoint. Traditionally a geek fest Dan always seems to bring together great minds for interesting conversation about XML and whatnot. The Connect Tech sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, July 27 and start at 8:30AM and end at 12:00PM.

This year Mike Wurzer takes a break from moderating The MLS Innovation Track (Brian Boero will ably take on the task) on Thursday July 28th, starting at 2:00PM. I’ll be on a panel entitled “Managing Your Distribution Channel and Vendor Relationships Profitably and Responsibly”. On the panel with me will be Curt Beardsley of Move, Inc. So please join me as I try not to look stupid sitting next to Curt.

I’m also a big fan of Brad Inman‘s Welcome Address. This year he will be speaking of “The Post-PC World”. But a lot of the hosting duties appear to be taken over by Chris Smith, Inman’s newly hired “Chief Evangelist”. I’ve seen Chris speak at an Agent Reboot Conference and just sat in on a webinar he hosted yesterday. Chris is the real deal, and a very talented speaker who really knows his stuff. The question remains can he go deeper to the the larger issues involving the real estate industry and not just do a presentation on “The Top 10…..”, I think he can, but as an “evangelist” does he even have to?

I’m also look forward to hearing from Joe Bebbia of Airbnb, which for some reason really fascinates me. It will be good to get Ron Conway’s perspective on things and I think David Pogue will be a good draw as well.

But the “Belle of the Ball” might just be Zillow. After a being valued at just about a Billion dollars these guys have to be pumped, and what a perfect conference to strut their stuff. But don’t think the other guys will be sitting still, word on the street is that there will be at least 1 big announcement next week ( I know, I’m a big tease).

Plus doesn’t it seem like there is a lot more parties this year? Almost every night there are one or two parties to go to. I sure hope my liver is ready.

Parties aside to me the next big issue, which we are already having to face, is the advent of these patent lawsuits. As an independent software developer I can tell you that its a big issue that I’m afraid is only going to get worse. It’s not just a real estate issue, this post by Craig Hockenberry spells it out best.

I arrive Sunday evening. I hope to catch up with everyone. And remember Vendor Alley’s first rule of conferences….Never, And I Mean Never, Go Big On The First Night!

See you there!!

I wanted to put down a few thoughts and observations about last week’s MLS Cloud Conference hosted by Bob Hale and the Houston Association of REALTORS.

Additionally I uploaded a bunch of photos from the event. You can see them at the Vendor Alley Flickr Photo Stream

When I first got there I did hear a few of the attendees muttering if they would gain anything by attending a conference held so closely to NAR Midyear meetings in Washington D.C. That combined with it being held the week after Memorial Day seemed to heighten the crowds expectations. But from what I could tell those expectations were soon met.

NAMLS
Bob Hale came up first to set the tone. Bob does a great job of honing in on the important issues and serving up some plausible solutions to these issues. He spoke about giving consumers what they want and about how the MLS needs to engage with NAR and others. But I can’t confirm or deny I heard him speak about forming a “National Association of MLS.” : )
To me a key measurement of a good speaker is how many other speakers reference them in future talks and in the hallways of the ballrooms. By that measure Bob was king.

This business would be great if it weren’t for the damn customers.

Brad Inman was the first keynote and talked about the “post PC” world we are living in. He told us to all get an iPad and kiss our towers and notebook computers goodbye. He had some interesting observations about the employees of his new company, Vook. Apparently nobody at his company likes to sit at a desk anymore, they like to stand, and not eat meat apparently. Although I thought one of the funniest moments (unintentionally) was when Brad made a remark of how he didn’t like the way that some NAR staff talked down about their membership. To me was pretty ironic since MLS execs (and vendors) behave in the same way, if not worse!

I D Mess

I think a lot of people thought the conference would only focus on MLS public facing websites but the topics were much broader in scope. I was kind of hoping for a throwdown between Alex Perriello, CEO of Realogy and Joe Horring of Realty Alliance. Joe was more bombastic but sadly no pile drivers or fisticuffs.

Vendor Love

Another thing that I enjoyed was that they had a lot of vendor love going on. Bob freely put up a lot of vendors to showcase their products and services. Some of the vendors did a great job of talking about a broader message and weaving their products in to that message, but sadly most were just doing a 15 minute long commercial.

Schmooze and booze

On the hospitality side things were great. The hotel was centrally located so you could walk to a lot of restaruants. The HAR staff was very helpful and any hosted bar that serves Tanqueray Ten is number one in my book! Here’s a quick tip if the event is held at the same hotel next year. Mo’s, walking distance from the hotel, has bar doesn’t close until 1AM. Just sayin….

Errol’s Comet

Other highlights were presentations by Errol Samuelson and Curt Beardsley from MOVE. Really great presenters. Errol used this insane picture of a view from a beach with fireworks, a comet and lightning storm to symbolize the state of the industry (You had to be there.) I heard more than one comment on John Heithaus’s presentation and his ability to use a Glengarry Glen Ross clip without swear words.

Lust

Some other random stuff I thought was cool. Channing Dawson of HGTV used the term “Home Lust” or “House Lust” a lot (can’t remember which one of these terms he used). A really great piece of jargon I had never heard before. It appears that someone else was paying attention because Robert Drummer of iMapp when he heard the term immediately went online to check to see if the domain was available. It was. And now HomeLust.com belongs to him! Classic.

Best Audience Question

The best question asked at the conference came from David Charron during Ann Bailey’s update on the CIVIX settlement.

David Charron: Is RPR going to help pay for the CIVIX settlement?

Ann Bailey: MLS providers should contact their RPR reps directly to work out details.

and so without further delay…
Vendor Alley Public Service Announcement

I think its great that RPR is willing to help out with this effort so in the interest of public service here are the names and contact information of all RPR reps that MLS providers should call and request cash assistance with CIVIX:

Ohan Antebian
Email: ohan@narrpr.com
 Phone: 949.910.6285

Ernie Bottom -East
Email: ernie@narrpr.com
 Phone: 262.785.0633

Kristen Carr – Southeast
Email: kcarr@narrpr.com
 Phone: 561.441.9494

Ron France
Email: ron@narrpr.com 
Phone 315.559.5238

Kristen Hernandez – West
Email: kristen@narrpr.com
Phone: 214.471.3795

A full list can be found at http://blog.narrpr.com/about/industry-relations. You’re welcome.

Compelling content, great speakers make this event a must attend. My congrats to Bob Hale and his team plus a special thanks goes out to Sam Scott, Rene Galvan and Shawn Dauphine for their wonderful Texas hospitality See you next year!

[Cupcake Photo Credit: Lisa Herrin]

I came a couple days early to the Clareity MLS Executive Workshop. As part of the conference I’m going to be moderating a panel on Thursday at 1PM entitled; “3rd Party Innovation”.  The panel includes Michael Hayes from eNeighborhoods, Michael Lane from ShowingTime, Joe Kazzoun of Instanet Solutions and Mike Barnett of Property Panorama.

Should be fun and hoping for some great discussion.

It was a grueling flight back from NYC to Los Angeles on Friday. Not sure if it was because of the long night before (or do you call that an early morning?) in “K-Town” with a notorious cast of characters (did I really sing “Endless Love” at a Karaoke bar…..twice?) or was I just fried. Most likely a bit of both.

The event started with some intrepidpation. The weather had caused a lot of travel related issues and many speakers were calling to say they were unable to make it. I saw the the Inman News crew at the Marriott lobby bar Tuesday evening (the night before everything was set to begin), including the man himself, and they looked a bit blindsided. Mother Nature was not something they planned on. But just like an veteran producer Tim Smith (CEO of Inman News), rallied his talented troupe of performers, because this was Broadway damn it, and as the saying goes “the show must go on!”

While the first day attendance was a bit down most of keynotes were down right packed. I sat in on Dan Woolley’s ConnectTech session and it was wall to wall geeks. Maybe they hacked in to the airline computer systems and took all the early flights!

I really enjoyed Brad’s interview with David Carr, The New York Times‘ Media And Culture Columnist. Mr. Carr reflected on his life, told a few stories. The crowd was drawn in. Magic.

The MLS Session, moderated by the dependable Michael Wurzer was also very good. Highlighted by Bob Hale‘s list of the industry’s lost battles and Curt Beardsley’s original idea of a “dual listing input form”. I sure hope they release the video of this session. Lots of great ideas and commentary.

But this was New York, and the city beckoned. I had dinner the first night in Brooklyn at Peter Lugers (awesome!) and went to the see the new Spiderman musical (nobody got hurt). I was also luckily enough to see a Rangers game (they won!) at Madison Square Garden (my first time there).

Which brings me back to Thursday night at the W lobby bar where it seemed that everyone from Orange County and LA was hanging out. Here’s just a few…
Stacey Harmon, Eric Stegemann, Rachel Rusnak, Jim Marks, Devesh Khare, John Hensley, Prem Luthra, Shiraz Varanian, Laura Buser. And one San Diegan, Julie Han, thrown in the mix.

But isn’t that the point of a good conference? Good content, better conversations and great cocktails?

See in San Francisco!

CMLS is just a couple days away so I thought I would put together a quick check list for those of you attending:

1.  Check out http://CouncilofMLS.com.  It’s the official website of CMLS and has been recently updated with new content. Plans are to have the discussions at CMLS conference to be continued at the website afterwards.

2.  iPad.  While I’m still carrying my laptop I’m finding my iPad to be indespensible when attending conferences of this type.  It always on, easy to carry, allows me to check my e-mail, as well as an impromptu demo device.

3.  If your rocking your iPad than having a Verizon MiFi or something similar is a must. Hotel internet connections in meeting rooms are notoriously flakey.  Plus you have the costs of in-room internet access.  Trust me, its worth it.

4.  Get your Twitter on!  Follow the conference at http://Twitter.com/CMLSConference and don’t forget the hashtag #cmls2010

5.  Be ready to engage.  The best sessions are those that our interactive.

Oh, and an extra liver, if you have one!

I arrive tomorrow.  See you there!

gr

It’s no secret we are big fans of 1000watt Consulting. Looking forward to hearing what Brian has to say. Full Press Release below.

Extra Credit: What do you think of MRED’s new logo?
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Sep 13, 2010 14:16 ET
1000watt Consulting’s Brian Boero Speaking at CMLS 2010 Conference
LISLE, IL–(Marketwire – September 13, 2010) – We all look forward to hearing from the speaker who shows us something we have never seen before or do not know about, but should. This year’s CMLS 2010 Conference, hosted by Midwest Real Estate Data, includes a presentation delivered by 1000watt Consulting’s Brian Boero, someone who, coincidentally, is an industry expert in Internet sites we have never seen before or do not know about, but should.
Taking place September 29th through October 1st at the Westin River North in Chicago, CMLS 2010 will be the Multiple Listing Service meeting of the year, with representatives from around the country descending on the Windy City for an agenda packed with the latest industry information. On Friday, September 30th, attendees will be treated to Brian’s presentation, titled “Sites That You Have Never Heard Of, But . . .”
Brian is well qualified to discuss this subject at the Conference. He is a technology evangelist and Internet expert, having spent eight years working at Inman News, where he served as executive producer of ten Real Estate Connect conferences and managed their editorial staff. He was also part of a team that launched Inman’s ClientDirect™ e-Newsletter product. After Inman, he was CEO of VREO, Inc., where he created and marketed Real Estate Dashboard®, a software application that addresses paperless, mobile real estate.
We would like to give a detailed preview of Brian’s presentation, but we do not know about any of the sites he will be talking about — yet. To find out, you will need to attend the CMLS 2010 Conference. Those interested in more information about CMLS 2010 are directed to www.cmls2010.com or to Gayle Ludemann at gayle.ludemann@mredllc.com or 630-955-2768.
Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) is the premier forum and resource for Multiple Listing Service associations.
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is a real estate data aggregator and distributor that provides the largest multiple listing service in the country (by listing volume) to over 40,000 customers, with property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana.

I’m not sure my liver will be able to handled this…

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CMLS 2010 – THE Multiple Listing Service Conference of the Year

LISLE (August 19, 2010) – When the Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) scheduled its annual conference for this fall, they had no idea how big a conference it would turn out to be.

A little background first. Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is this year’s host, and CMLS 2010 is being held at the Westin River North in downtown Chicago, Illinois.

Whether it is the attraction of a great city, the central US location, or the number of hot issues in the industry today, registration and sponsor/exhibitor participation has gone through the roof! This will be the largest attended multiple listing service organization conference of the year, and the largest CMLS conference ever.

CMLS 2010 will be held Wednesday, September 29th through Friday, October 1st. Registrations are still being taken, and additional hotel rooms have been blocked. Sponsors and exhibitors stepped up so early that by the end of July all the available slots had been filled.

Headlining the event will be noted speakers such as futurist and prolific real estate trends author Stefan Swanepoel, technology evangelist Brian Boero of 100watt Consulting and Rob Hahn aka blogger extraordinaire Notorious R.O.B. Interspersed throughout the conference will be interactive panels and cutting edge information sharing sure to make the trip to Chicago well worth anybody’s time.

Those interested in more information about CMLS 2010, including registration, are directed to www.cmls2010.com, or please contact Gayle at 630-955-2768.

Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) is the premier forum and resource for Multiple Listing Service associations.

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is a real estate data aggregator and distributor that provides the largest multiple listing service in the country (by listing volume) to over 40,000 customers, with property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana.

Russ Bergeron has taken over the effort of MRED, LLC hosting the CMLS Conference in Chicago this year due to Bud Fogel’s departure. And the event is shaping up to be one of, if not the largest CMLS conferences ever!

Attendance is way, way, up! The conference hotel (The Westin) is sold out of rooms. All sponsorship tables are sold out. And it’s only July!

So if you haven’t already paid your CMLS member dues or signed up for the conference I suggest you do so….now.

Details can be found at the new Council of MLS website.

Hope to see you there!

I’ve been remiss to offer my insights on last week’s Inman Connect SF.  Too damn busy.  Brian Boero from 1000Watt Consulting summed up things pretty well, you should go read his “fuzzy notions” recap.  I have to agree with Brian, it was truly one of the best Inman RE Connect conferences I’ve attended.

And I’m not just saying that because the Premium Member Lounge (Brilliant Tim, brilliant!)    : )

"The Twins"

I didn’t get to catch too many sessions (see this post) but one I did get a chance to see ( and from the front row) was the “debate” on the main stage titled, “Is the MLS System Broken“.

I’m going to focus on 3 people at that session.

Mike Wurzer

Michael “Invisible Hand” Wurzer.  Mike is a good friend, so I might have some bias here (duh!)  but I really can’t help but thinking what a great asset he is to our industry and I’m not just talking about vendors.  His arguments were clear, concise, and he didn’t pull any punches.  I talked to some people that thought the suggestion that the market will decide when to “fix” the MLS industry was “pollyanna”, but Michael lives and breathes these issues everyday.  So if you got a better solution, prove it.

Joel Singer

Joel “Fail Forward” Singer.  I’ve been very critical of Joel’s organization, the California Association of REALTORS®, and their efforts to start a statewide MLS system (calREDD) in California.  On stage he was a bit light on details but you just got to respect a guy who goes up there in front of all his industry colleagues, after the rough two years he’s had, and still comes out swinging.

Brian Boero

And lastly I come back to where I started.  Brian Boero.  Brian’s “geek chic” vibe is like Steve Allen and Ira Glass had a baby.  Stay with me here… Brian is able to capture the essence of the conversation, ask great follow up questions, shut up when he needs to, and always get the biggest laughs.  It’s a remarkable thing to stand in front of 1,000 people and accomplish this, and Brian makes it look effortless.  Bravo.

Stay tuned for Part II of my Inman Connect SF recap in which I ask, “Inman Innovator Awards WTF?”