On Monday night, I drove up to my mom's house near Dallas and spent the night in anticipation of the Raincamp event the next day. Surprisingly, there was still several inches of snow on the ground when I arrived, although the roads were clear. Since we didn't get any snow at all at my house, I was a little disappointed that my kids weren't there to see it.
This was the very first night I spent away from my wife and kids since May of 1998, when my son was a few months old. He had an emergency surgery (intestinal blockage) the night before my grandfather's funeral. I was there for both "events". When I was at Raincamp, I mistakenly thought that it was the very first time I'd been away from them. Still, it takes a lot to get me away from my family. I was looking forward to Raincamp for weeks.
But I digress...
Raincamp was a terrific event! It was incredibly valuable from a networking standpoint, since it allowed me to finally connect in person with many of my friends from AR that I have known for years online. Additionally, I learned some great techniques with regard to lead conversion and generation. I hope to implement some of the real estate ideas right away at my company. Big thanks to Ben Kinney, Bob Stewart, and Brad Andersohn for putting together such a cool day of learning. I have a list several pages long of sites to check out.
After lunch, I was asked to sit on a social media panel with my good friend Debe Maxwell of Charlotte and Josh Hartley of Dallas. It was a lot of fun to answer questions from Brad and Ben and a few from the audience as well. Here's a picture that Lori Cain of Tulsa took of us:
Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend getting to one of these events if you have a chance. You will learn some tips, tricks and techniques that will help your business to grow, regardless of your level of expertise. They covered a broad array of information in one day, and I am frankly not that easy to impress. I won't claim that I learned something during every part of the event, since I also teach social media and blogging, but I will say that it was well worth my time to attend.
Ben has a very laidback presenting style, but hearing some of his sales techniques was motivational to me as a broker. It stimulated me to work on our own lead conversion, since we have tons of leads coming to our site, yet not that many sales to show for it most months.
I think Bob mentioned that the next Raincamp will be held in Denver. If you have a chance to make it, GO! Maybe I can convince them to fly me in. Kidding.
P.S. I wasn't really kidding in my title, by the way. I spent so much time talking that I really didn't make a point to take pictures, and I even ended up with a hoarse voice the next day. I was hoping that many of the photos that were taken with me in them would appear on posts and on Facebook. I wasn't disappointed, since I saw a bunch of them in earlier AR posts, but I didn't see any of them make it to FB. If you have any to share, feel free to post them in the comments below. :)
If you enjoyed this post, why not connect with me elsewhere?
If you're looking for a home in the Austin area, you can visit my primary Austin real estate website at www.austintexashomes.com. If you're interested in social media training, visit 210 Consulting. Thanks!
Sounds like everyone had a great time at this even...I am going to go check and see if there is anything coming to Nj or NYC..
Sure would like to see a virtual camp some time soon. Do they have any planned Jason?
Tara - I think they recently had one in NYC, actually. Not sure if they're planning to return anytime soon.
Douglas - I don't know if they have plans for that or not. Great idea, though. I know there's a Virtual RE Barcamp event.
I am so close and still couldn't make it. Priorities. But man I will make one of these one day.
Wendy - I was hoping to meet you that day! Are you coming to the RE Barcamp in Austin next month?
Hey Jason, sounds like a fantastic time. Any chance they'll ever have a Raincamp in Alberta Canada?
Bill
It was great to see all the Austin area agents at the Dallas Raincamp! The social media panel discussion was very informative. Many thanks to Jason for participating in the discussion panel!
Jason it was such a pleasure meeting you. It's nice to put a face to a name. Your a wealth of knowledge for us newbys.
Bill - I don't know, actually. I guess it would be quicker to ask Bob or Brad.
Steve - Thanks! Glad you found it helpful. Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet that day. Let me know if I can ever be of help!
Jason,
What are the criteria used to bring Rain Camp to a city?
I don't think that We have had one here in minnesota. If so, I some how missed it. I am out of town a lot. Hopefully we will soon.
C Lloyd - Not sure on that. Probably a lot of it has to do with the number of AR members nearby?
Bill - I would recommend letting them know at AR. Maybe they'll plan a trip!
Hey Jason, it was so great to meet you in person and share the lunch table with you. I felt like I was among the AR celebrities between you, Debe and Loreena =)
Jason, that sounds like a great event! I would love to attend in Denver... When might that be?
Karen - I enjoyed meeting you, too! Your reaction was funny to me. You were so surprised that I was sitting there at the table with you. :)
Don - I think it's March 9th.
No pictures!!? Now there's just no excuse for that! =p I hope that one day I'll be able to attend some type of AR event. I just need for them to get their butts back to Central Florida! >=I
Events like this are worth it just to meet everyone in real life. And sometimes the best learning takes place in the hallways or at lunch!
Lisa - Knowing how much you enjoy video and pictures, I am truly sorry to have disappointed you. If you want to see a lot of good pictures, check out Donna Harris' and Loreena Yeo's posts from earlier. :)
John - I agree on both points. I would attend strictly for the networking.
Jason - I just saw Brad's post about Denver - I can't miss that one!!!! WooHoo. ~Rita
The snow on the drive up was awesome! Starting in Waxahachie, my daughter was holding up Elmo and her puppy saying, "Look Elmo, snow over there. Do you see it? Look Puppy, snow on that side too. Do you see it?" It was so cute! She had never seen snow sticking on the ground before!
I was thinking about posting on FB, so I guess I will. Have to go to TAR tomorrow, but if they have Wifi, I'll do it there!
Jason, I'm hoping they come to Nashville. That would be awesome.
Rita - I know that you'll have a great day!
Donna - Sounds like a blast. My son is 11 and he's only seen snow "stick" one time (about 6 years ago, I think). I actually lived in Waxahachie for 3 years of high school after my mom remarried. It's a nice little town. Post your pics on FB - it's another great way to connect with people, too.
Tammie - That seems like a logical destination to me. :)
Jason it was a pleasure meeing you ... here is a pic I took of you and Lori Cain of Tulsa
I have posted a few more pictures on my blog: RainCamp Dallas
With smiles,
Bo in Yukon
Jason - I can't wait to go to one of these RainCamps when it comes to my area (Orlando, FL?? Please???) Sounds like a blast!
Hope you had a good birthday! :)
Hey Jason,
wish I could have gone. Thanks for sharing your experience. :(
Bo - Looks like you caught a picture of me asking Bob Haywood to plug in my laptop cord. :)
Coleen - That also seems like a very logical location for one. :) It was actually my "half birthday" yesterday. My birthday is August 17th. It's a big one!
Greg - It was a great day. Donna said she thinks you're taller. Perhaps she's right, but it's close. :)
I am just like you.. I brought my camera and even took a few pics with my iphone. They were not good enough to post though. It was a fantastic event.
John - It was indeed. I hope you make it to the Austin Barcamp, too!
Hi Jason... I agree with you! I took a few pics, mostly at lunch, but was so busy visiting with other Campers that there just wasn't time for many pics! It was good to see you again!
It was great! I sat in the back; spent lunch on the phone because I had a new listing from the day before and the phone rang so much I left not long after you were up there for the panel. I would go again only premium for sure!
Raincamp Dallas sounds like another winner. It would have been fun to hear your pannel - what a terrific group of bloggers. Did anyone do anty streaming?
Jeff
Jason, I'll bet it was wonderful! I'm so glad everyone had such a great time and learned so much.
Jason,
I agree RainCamp was awesome. I have some pictures that I'll put up sometime this weekend. Nothing fancy though. I was surprised at how few pictures I actually shot considering I had three mid-level digital cameras with me. I was too busy paying attention and networking.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge during the panel session!
I am registered for RebarCamp in Austin, hopefully there won't be any scheduling conflicts.
Steve - Good seeing you again, too! I'm sure our paths will cross several times in the upcoming months. Hope you can make it to the Austin RE Barcamp in a few weeks.
Teral - Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet face-to-face!
Jeff - I thought the panel was a blast. Made me want to do more of them. :)
Carole - It really was a great time. I was happy to meet so many of my friends "in real life" for the first time.
Marcus - Do you know who had a Flip camera at your table? I could have sworn someone was taping the panel discussion. :) Either way, hope to see you next month.
Hi Jason! What a GREAT time had by ALL! As I've said many times since Tuesday, what a treat to meet everyone and put those faces with the blogs and phone conversations--you especially! I wish we had been able to have two days though--one day to learn and one day to network (or maybe even two networking days!)!
I left you a photo on my blog (I think it may be better--feel free to use either one of them) but, here's another one too:
OH, I got it--a third day just for a photo op!! Maybe that would help us--I didn't get enough snapshots either!
Debe - Thanks for the picture! I'll go check out your blog to see the other one, too. I appreciate it. You rock!
Sounds like a fun event. Great information. I can't till Raincamp comes to California.
From the desk of David Dee,
Jason, it was a pleasure meeting you! Oh wait, I'm speaking from the future. :D Hopefully, there will be one coming here soon. Looks like a great event to participate in from the blogs that's been written about the Rain Camp.
Niema - I would highly recommend going when they come to your area.
David - You caught me offguard for a second. :) I bet they will be in California at some point soon.
I am hoping someone posts information on best ten tech tools like they often do but I have not seen a post yet.
So far I have only attended a virtual bar camp but I hope the real deal comes to Cleveland soon!
Hi Jason,
Sounds like it was a very successful event and your sitting on the panel was stellar as always!
I was over at Debe's blog looking at all the photos and it looked like a fantastic time!
Looks like you all had a great time. I saw Debe Maxwell's post with all the photos.
Jason, one of the highlights of my day was meeting you! I appreciated your insight and willingness to talk to everyone who wanted to visit with you! I'll be in touch regarding our potential project we discussed.
PS - Thank you for the ride! The walk around the parking garage was hilarious!
Hi Jason,
What a great Time at the RainCamp Dallas 2010. So much Great Information, energy and meeting professional and creative people. It was a real pleasure to meet you in person,
Truly a great event ...
I ended up sitting next to Pat Zaby, my original mentor in real estate from about 17 years ago. Pat was the creator of Prep Software, the Top Producer of its day and my first database management software. Pat is still active with his Dallas based company and it added another layer of comprehension having him as a MS Office Expert coming to a Raincamp about social media.
It was great event. We should convice Bob to set it up as a 2 or 3 days event. It was nice meeting you here.
Hi Jason I just wanted to add that along with the others you gave a great presentation in a very knowledgeable and articulate way. Excellent work and the entire event was worth the price of admission many times over!
Not the best photo Jason sorry, but thanks for this post and for your time and expertise on our panel.
You did a great job and it was really nice to see you again. :-)
Caught this candid shot of the surprise panelist. Nobody does SEO like Buscemi.
Paul - You got that right! Mr. Buscemi (that's what he makes me call him) knows his stuff! You can find him on Twitter - he's @creepycharacteractor.
Dude is so good that he gets Google juice from platforms he's never visited.
Jason: Debe had a bunch of pictures of you on her blog today. So, I think you can still make a scrapbook if you want.
Sounds like so much fun. I am excited for the Denver event!
Jason, don't wimp out on the pictures. Teasing.
Thanks for reminding us like some of the others why we need to be there.
I'm so jealous that I missed it. I'll see you all in DC.
Jason,
Was tons of fun getting to meet you! I really enjoyed your candid thoughts about AR and how to be yourself and share.
Still surprised at how tall you are (and how short I am!).
Also, still laughing at our eerie elevator ride that took us to nowhere!
See you at REBAR.
Yep, I see three of you sitting on a panel. And I'm hoping one of the other RainCampers has a post out there about what you said!
Hey Jason!
I was at the NYC RainCamp...great event!
We didn't have Steve Buscemi, though...hmmmph!
All the best!
One can never learn enough about lead generation, esp. in this market, so I'm glad everyone learned more about that.
Jason - I would have loved the opportunity to hear the panel with you and Debe on it and am looking forward to my next Rain Camp.
Jason - The truth was you forgot your camera. LOL.
Loreena - Thanks for the additional pictures! I really appreciate that. By the way, the real truth was that I didn't want to bring my camera because it's a bit bulky, and I don't usually like the quality of iPhone pictures.
Jason - I really enjoyed meeting you as well. You did a terrific job on the panel. I was sorry to have to miss the afterparty, but hopefully this meeting was a first of many! Oh, and sorry - no pics.
Jason, would love to make RE bar in Austin. Now whether I do or not...no excuses really. Just my youngest has so many things going on with graduation this year and her dance stuff. I will miss those days as she goes off to college. But I guess the good news is that I will have all the time in the world for real estate in the very near future!