My trip to Inman Real Estate Connect NYC ‘08 stretched my brain in all kinds of unexpected ways. The first day was filled mostly with the BloggersConnect panel sessions (one of which featured yours truly). After day 1, my head was filled with all kinds of thoughts about technology and how it intersects with the practice of real estate. I was also struck by the difference between Inman Connect and the NAR conference and expo. The overall feel of the two conferences was noticeably different.
With all of this banging around in my brain, I decided to take a minute (in Times Square, of all places) and put it to video. This is what I came up with:
Almost a week later, my opinion hasn’t changed. In fact, after attending the rest of Inman Connect, and having some time to think about it all, my opinion is even stronger than before. The two main points that I took away from day 1, and two of the most important points of the whole experience are:
1) You don’t have to implement every new technology in order to be effective. The Web 2.0 world can be a confusing, and even overwhelming, one. There are so many different tools and technologies out there from which to choose, that sometimes you can be paralyzed and choose to do nothing. That is not the right choice. Neither, however, is choosing to do them all. The point is to pick-and-choose. Give at least a look to whatever you can. You will know pretty quickly if it is something that you can use to your benefit. If it isn’t, let it go. Just because I’m doing something doesn’t mean you have to do it, too. There is also the issue of varying the use of these tools. The way I might implement a tool or technology might not be the same way you would do it, and that’s okay.
2) If you are going to go to a conference like Inman, don’t get too caught up in the sessions at the expense of ignoring other opportunities for learning. Some of the most valuable insights I gained came from stopping to talk with people either after the sessions or at the informal gatherings that take place throughout the conference. The amount of time that you have to learn during the sessions is strictly limited by the conference schedule. Why not take the opportunity to increase your learning by engaging with others. Collaborative learning can be a lot of fun, and you never know who you might meet.
All in all, Inman was a very valuable experience for a number of reasons, many of which I will talk about over the next few posts. The two that I talked about in the video happen to be the ones that I kept coming back to throughout the week.
