Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

News from CMLS keeps getting better, Brian Boero added to line up.

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.

Seven Big Wishes: The Vendor Edition

CMLS is just around the corner and it promises to be the most attended in it’s 53 year history. Rob Hahn recently posted “Seven Big Questions ‘The MLS Edition'”, I’m going to riff off that and give my 7 wishes from Real Estate Vendors. Some of these I’ve experienced first hand, some I’ve heard from others. I don’t want the list to sound whiny, and like everything on this site, please take it with a little tongue in cheek (just a little).

1. I want standards. I want to be able to write a killer real estate app and release it everywhere at once. Yes, I know there are “chicken and egg” type issues, and it’s difficult. But, it’s 2010 people, let’s make this happen!

2. I want MLS providers to make decisions quicker. The Internet moves faster than one board meeting a month. How many times have you heard, “Our board meets next week but the agenda is already full, and next months is also full, but I might be able to squeeze you in the following month…maybe”? Lame.

3. Let me compete. For a number of reasons, many MLS providers put up huge walls or policies designed to keep new products from entering in the market. Give your members a choice.

4. Stop the shake down. One MLS provider requires me to pay $1,500 a month to release a CMA app in their market, at another MLS it’s $1,000 a month, at another it’s $600.00 per quarter and at another its $0.00. WTF? As a technology solution provider, I’m pretty well aware of the “costs” of providing data. Instead of making me pay you protection money….

5. ..Let’s be partners. I would much rather do a revenue share where you and I both gain based on performance rather than paying you a “tribute” each month.

6. Let me make a living. You complain about customer service but forget you drilled your vendor so far down on price that you made it impossible for them to perform.

7. I want to advertise (in your magazine, newsletter, or website), sponsor (your event, blog) , and attend trade shows. But, make it worth my while. Don’t just put me in a booth in the middle of nowhere, put my logo on a sign, and expect me to be happy. Be creative! And, don’t charge me an arm and a leg. The longer I’m around, the more money I will have to spend. We need each other, price accordingly.

Did I miss your wish? Let me hear them or your comments.

CMLS is gonna be a monster hit this year!

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!

Inman Connect SF 2010 Recap Part I

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?”

Inman RE Connect Conference, open for business

I’m still buzzing from Inman’s Connect Conference last week. I’ve got a lot of take aways that I’ll be writing about but, I did want to comment on a common thread I heard from a lot of vendors.  The conversation goes something like this…

Me: How did you like the conference this year?

V: Great, but I didn’t get to see hardly any of the sessions.

Me: Why?

V: Too damn busy with all the meetings I booked!

This doesn’t mean nobody attended the sessions.  Quite the contrary, every time I tried get in to the General Session it was standing room only.

It seems to me that Inman has turned the corner and has become more than an industry “networking event”, and now is a great place to meet and clients and get some business done.

This trend is far from new, but what many vendors are beginning to realize is that it’s far easier to conduct business at an event like Inman Connect than it is at NAR Midyear.  I’ve written about this before, but it seems like NAR puts up so many barriers to vendors to actually conduct business at their events.   For example:  You must have a booth to get a Suite,  if you want a Suite in the hotel or a good booth location you have to have spent money with NAR for the past 20 years or so.  And if you don’t follow these rules you’ll get thrown out of the hotel/event.

Will there be a day when vendors stop playing NAR’s “reindeer games” and take their ball somewhere else to play?

Is July the new May?  Is San Francisco the new Washington D.C.?  Only time will tell.

GEEK ALERT! Don’t Miss “ConnectTech” at Inman this Tuesday and the MLS Innovation Track this Wednesday

Dan Woolley

My partner in crime, Dan Woolley, is once again moderating a workshop, dubbed ConnectTech at the Inman Real Estate Connect Conference this week.  It starts at 8:30AM and goes to 12:30PM

Great program this year.  Here’s what you can expect:

TUESDAY, July 13

8:30 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.
HTML5 Is Coming, Are You Ready?

Sasha Aickin, Engineering Manager, Search Team, Redfin @redfin

Josh Sharfman, CTO, California Association of REALTORS® @CAREALTORS

Tantek Çelik , Co-founder, GMPG & microformats.org

9:15 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.
Social Web – implementing FriendConnect, Twitter OAuth, FB Connect

Geoff Cramer, CEO & Founder, SocialMadeSimple, LLC @geoffcramer

Richard Lacy,Site Director, Frontdoor.com @Lacy_Blog

T.A. McCann,, CEO, Gist, Inc. @tamccann

10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
ConnectTech Sprints: Mobile Development Best Practices – Focus on Android

Greg Carpenter,CEO, Boopsie @boopsie

10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
ConnectTech Sprints: Geolocation and the Web – What Are The implications For Real Estate?

Ian White, CEO, Urban Mapping @urbanmapping

10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Creating Augmented Reality Apps for Real Estate

Rob Cross,Director of Distribution, Trulia @trulia

Michael Coutinho, Engineering Manager, Trulia @trulia

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Michael Wurzer

Also don’t miss Mike Wurzer on Wednesday where he will be ably moderating Innovation Track 1: The MLS.

Vendor Alley Tip:

GET THERE EARLY, THIS ONE ALWAYS FILLS UP!

The last session featuring Lauren Emery, Jim Harrison, and Teresa King Kinney talking about RPR, CoreLogic, and Realtor.com looks very interesting

Here’s the program

Wednesday, July 14

2:00 pm – 2:45 pm
The Standards Imperative: How to Create a Meaningful MLS Data Standard in 2010
The world of technology, data and media is changing fast while MLSs remain tangled in a world without true standards. Learn how we can fix that – this year.

Michael Wurzer, CEO, FBS Data Systems, @mwurzer

Robert Overman, CTO and Vice President of New Technology, LPS Real Estate Group, @roverman

Travis Wright, Executive Director, RESO, National Association of REALTORS®, @REALTORS

2:55 pm – 3:40 pm
Naked Crunch: Radical Transparency and MLS Data
Learn how meeting the challenge of consumer empowerment with openness rather than intransigence pays off.

Bob Hale, CEO, Houston Association of Realtors, @BobHale

Justin Lajoie, CEO, Diverse Solutions, @jlajoie

Justin Tracy, CTO, Founder, Real Metric, LLC, @realmetric

3:50 pm – 4:35 pm
What – and Who – You Need to Reboot Your Org
You know you need to change the shape of your organization to meet new realities, but struggle with execution. Learn how to structure your organization for change – and you who need to drive it.

John Heithaus, CMO, MRIS, @MRIS_Real_News

Kevin McQueen, Focus Forward Consulting @kmcqueen

Mark Allen, CEO, Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®, @mplsREALTORS

4:35 pm – 5:00 pm
The RPR/FirstAm/Realtor.com Taste Test
MLS operators who have executed partnerships with the Big Three share the straight dirt on what’s working, what’s not and how they see the future.

Lauren Emery, CEO, IRES, LLC @merylau

Jim Harrison, President and CEO, MLSListings Inc

Teresa King Kinney, CEO, Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beach, @RAMBMiami


Join me at Inman Connect for “Vendor Meet Up”

I’m moderating a Real Estate Tech Vendor Meet Up next week at Inman News’ Real Estate Connect Conference.

According to the Program:

“WEDNESDAY, JULY 14th
1PM to 2:30PM
Continental Parlor 1, Ballroom Level

CONNECT MEET UP

The name says it all: Meet and connect with people from across the country and around the world who share your business interests. Network. Problem solve. Share. Each meetup will be “hosted” by an expert in your market segment to gently guide a discussion led by participants.”

I’m looking forward to meeting new vendors who are just getting started and others looking to change their game.  Should be good chance to share some ideas on how to make a buck in this industry.  Hope to see you there!

Have you voted yet?

Inman News is doing a People’s Choice Innovator Award.  The awards go to a variety of categories.  We’ve got two finalists in the running.

Cloud CMA – Most Innovative Web Service.

Vendor Alley – Most Innovative Blog

Since you can only vote once, I would humbly suggest you use one of your “life lines” and “phone a friend”.

:  )

Inman Innovator Award Finalists Announced

Inman News has posted the list of finalists for their annual Inman Innovator Awards.  You can check out the list here.

I’m very happy to announce that both Vendor Alley and Cloud CMA have been selected as finalists.

Vendor Alley was nominated in the Blog category.  I started Vendor Alley back in 2007 and am continually amazed at the popularity of the site.  Thanks to all Vendor Alley readers who voted to make it a finalist.

I am also super excited about Cloud CMA being nominated in the Web Service category. At W&R Studios we have only launched two products, Dwellicious and Cloud CMA.  Dwellicious was a finalist last year (losing out to Closing.com) and now with Cloud CMA making a list of finalists this year I’m not sure if my partner Dan Woolley can handle the pressure on any new products we create!

We have some stiff competition in both categories so good luck to everyone and thanks again for your support!

The real reason Inman switched hotels this year.

Not sure about you but I’m getting excited about the upcoming Inman Real Estate Connect conference coming up in San Francisco!  It starts next month on July 12.

First off is new leadership.  Tim Smith recently took the CEO position at Inman News and I’m looking forward to see what personal stamp Tim puts on the event.  Also lots of exciting stuff going on in the industry.  The competition is heating up and nothing like Inman Connect to catch up with all the players.

Not sure if there are any hotels rooms left but check here to register for the event.

But two things are radically different this year.

1.  The venue has changed from the Palace Hotel to the Union Square Hilton.

2.  The dates have shifted from ending on Friday to ending on Thursday.

I’m not sure about number 2 but I think I may have found out why Inman has switched venues.

Turns out the beloved House of Shields is closing down.  “Oh the hummanity of it all!!!”

The red glow of the House of Shields was a beacon to Inman attendees as the truly “last call” of the evening.  Godspeed HoS!

For more about the HoS closing click here.

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