BrokerIPTV:  We are at San Francisco at Inman Real Estate Connect 2008 and I have the privilege to be with Merlin Mann and Merlin was the introductory speaker today and he was talking about basically how to declutter[phonetic] our digital mess that we are in is personal slaves to our devices and great talk by the way. 

Merlin Mann:  Oh, thanks a lot Mark, appreciate it.

BrokerIPTV:  I know this is a short interview, but is there something you can give our viewers out there as far as a short synopsis of what we can do to kind of manage lives in this new digital age?

Merlin Mann:  Sure.  Give up.  Yeah.  No, it is all over.  There is no point, you will never catch up.  You are going to die behind on email.  Yeah, feasibly it is kind of the case.  I mean [Inaudible] joke, but the truth of the matter is that people are trying to act that they can keep up with the huge influx of stuff that is coming into their life and I think a lot of us are basically trying to like put new buckets under our roof rather than trying to fix the holes at the top.  So, the strategy I already... I always try to get people is to get in there and kind of limit the number of inputs that you allow in and then be very careful about the time that you spend on the stuff that you do allow them.

BrokerIPTV:  So, 43folders.com.  Tell me about that and what can I see when I go there.  Do you have books that are [Inaudible], things I can buy, things that can help me?

Merlin Mann:  43folders is a site about personal productivity.  It is very focused at [Inaudible] workers, you know people like computer folks, designers, writers, but in a way very much still relevant to real estate folks.  The theme of the site is really kind of dealing with modern overload and trying to come up with some kind of a system for keeping it together and actually focusing on the stuff that is important to you and exclusion of the junk which just wants to steal your time.

BrokerIPTV:  Yeah exactly.  What I am really seeing here is because of all the social media, what we are really seeing I think is an enhancement of social media and the fact that we have to learn how to manage all the social media pieces and email and responses and posts and things like that are all part of that mess.  So, I found your talk to be very alluring.  Have you been to Inman before?

Merlin Mann:  Year 2000, I was here as part of the industry.  I was here on the inside.  I had a badge, a paid badge and everything.

BrokerIPTV:  So, what is your take on this year's event?  What are you gleaning out of this?  What is your feeling about the event?

Merlin Mann:  It seems well... it seems like it is kind of like it is always kind of the same stuff.  I mean for good reason.  I mean the struggles that people have regardless of the technology, I mean this is all really the same kinds of issues and I guess the technology evolves and the marketing of that stuff evolves, but it seems like it is kind of the same problems people have faced for 50 years you know.  It is how do I get the maximum return on investment for the time I put into what I do and I think that technology for that is kind of interesting.

BrokerIPTV:  Well, thank you for speaking with us Merlin.  Once again, that is Merlin Mann, 43folders.com.

Posted in Headlines, Inman Real Estate Connect, Technology And YOU

BrokerIPTV: Welcome to Metro Brokers TV and we are on the Pied Piper Bar here at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco at the real estate Connect 2008 in San Francisco, produced by Brad Inman and today we are talking with Kirby Smith and Kirby, welcome.

Kirby Smith: Thank you.

BrokerIPTV: I understand you were just up in your room writing a contract and some of our digital CTM eContracts that Metro Brokers uses.

Kirby Smith: Yeah, that's right. No matter where we go, if you are a Metro Broker you can sign your... you could write your contracts online, sign them, send them off, didn't print a single piece of paper and I put a nice property on the contract this afternoon.

BrokerIPTV: Excellent. So, anything you are picking up here after a full day at Inman you can talk about?

Kirby Smith: Well, certainly what I get is that we at Metro Brokers are right on track, whether it be blogging, map search technology, electronic contracts, we are there... we are there. We are right out in front.

BrokerIPTV: So, Kirby, what are you seeing in the future and I think a lot of our talk here has been on markets and I think what we are seeing mostly in our markets is real localism and really what is your take on the Denver markets?

Kirby Smith: Well, I think the Denver market, you know, I am an optimist and I think we have... I think we have turned the corner. I think we are headed upwards. We never suffered like the rest of the nation.

BrokerIPTV: I mean really I was in one session today and they are talking about certain parts of the country we are going to see 30% or 40% price reductions they think before it shakes out.

Kirby Smith: Yeah.

BrokerIPTV: I don't know if you [Voice Cross Over] about them.

Kirby Smith: I was not there. That's... well, that's a load isn't it? I mean that would be a heavy load. I don't think we are... we are not facing that in Denver.

BrokerIPTV: Well, once again Kirby, it has been great talking with you. I appreciate your input and I hope to see you later today.

Kirby Smith: Thanks

Posted in Headlines, Inman Real Estate Connect, Technology And YOU

BrokerIPTV: We are at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco at Brad Inman's Real Estate Connect 2008 and I am with Sigrid Meier and Sigrid is with Metro Brokers and welcome Sigrid.

Sigrid Meier: Thank you. Good to be here.

BrokerIPTV: So, which company you are with? You have your own. You are a shareholder in Metro Brokers?

Sigrid Meier: That is correct. Have been with Metro for about 14 years I believe it is.

BrokerIPTV: And your company name is?

Sigrid Meier: Metro Brokers Nationwide Real Estate.

BrokerIPTV: Oh, great. So, I guess this is your second time here at Inman. You were here a year ago in San Francisco. Anything you picked up as far as technology this time?

Sigrid Meier: You know what? Last year when I was here blogging was the greatest thing and this year, again, you know after last year I went home, I said, "You know what, I got to do this." I looked into it, kind of started and then I said, "Oh, okay, I will do it," but never got around to it. So, this year again blogging and video blogging and what have... it is really there. So, when I get home this time, I promised myself that I will get into that a lot more because there was such great ideas out there in regards to blogging, how you can use it and implement it. It is fantastic. I think it is very, very beneficial to do that, you know take the little time and perseverance.

BrokerIPTV: We talked to a lot of Metro Brokers out here and I think what they really verified is Metro Brokers as a company although our membership may not know that back in Denver in Colorado is very much on track with what the good trends are, mapping trends, technology trends, blogging, CTM online contracts; it is all here. We are doing all these things.

Sigrid Meier: Absolutely and I think if we can find a way to make it more known to the members of Metro Brokers, I think it would be beneficial to everybody.

BrokerIPTV: Great. Well, thank you very much Sigrid. I am glad you were here again and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and views.

Sigrid Meier: Thank you so much. It has been a pleasurep

Posted in Headlines, Blogging, Inman Real Estate Connect

BrokerIPTV: We are at Inman Connect San Francisco 2008. I have Mike Bradley and Mike is the chair person for Metro Brokers Technology Committee and Mike, what are you seeing out here at this forward thinking conference?

Mike Bradley: I always find it real interesting to see what new technology is coming on the horizon. Today's topic was heavily on the cell phones, iPhone platform, and Metro Brokers is really pushing that already with our Terabitz interface with the iPhone, something that nobody in Colorado has right now.

BrokerIPTV: So, Terabitz does have a place here at... down at the vendor floor?

Mike Bradley: Yeah, Terabitz has a booth and Ash Munshi is speaking tomorrow at Leaders in Real Estate. So, that will be exciting to hear what he has to say.

BrokerIPTV: Yeah, I think... yeah, I want to meet the leaders, I think there is like a dozen of them that are coming in to speak.

Mike Bradley: Yeah and it is great. We are already a partner and have been for several months with one of those leaders.

BrokerIPTV: Oh, excellent. Well, it is good to see Metro Brokers kind of really starting to step out in the technology world. What about some of the other social media and video and have you been to any other seminars?

Mike Bradley: Well, there is lots of talk on Facebook, Linkedin, and all those other social media sites. Now, that has been going on for years and Metro Brokers, you know, we've been leading the pack. So, it is not news. It is just interesting to see where they are going with all that stuff.

BrokerIPTV: Yeah, I think we are just maybe seeing a little more integration into everyone's lives including consumers.

Mike Bradley: Yeah, definitely. It is not unusual to get leads through those sites now in the X generation, in the Y generation, and the millennium generation, that's where they will be getting business. It is not who you know in the real world, it is who you know in the online world and that's the future of referrals.

BrokerIPTV: Yeah, the digital footprint. Well, hey, we appreciate your interview and giving us and sharing your thoughts and time today.

Mike Bradley: Thank you very much.

Posted in Headlines, Inman Real Estate Connect, Web 2.0 Marketing

BrokerIPTV: Hi. We are in the lobby of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco and we are at Inman Real Estate Connect 2008 and I have Kirby Smith and welcome Kirby with Metro Brokers Cherry Tree Properties.

Kirby Smith: Thank you.

BrokerIPTV: So, what is your take so far here on Inman?

Kirby Smith: Well, I haven't seen anything. We had something of a three hour delay in our flights and so I actually arrived too late to even attend the... attend anything today, but I look forward to the next two days.

BrokerIPTV: Great. Well, I understand you are the President Elect here for Metro Brokers and any thoughts on where our company is going?

Kirby Smith: Well, you know we have over 20 people attending the conference here and this is the most forward thinking conference at that... and technologically speaking, this is the place to be and with 20 plus agents here, it is just amazing. It is incredibly exciting for me.

BrokerIPTV: Yeah, kind of no matter where I went today or what I was doing, somebody was here from Metro Brokers.

Kirby Smith: Yeah, I am not surprised at all and President Moe Giroux and I will add two more, which you will see tomorrow. We were on the same flight.

BrokerIPTV: Oh, yeah. Okay. So, what do you kind of... usually, you come here looking for something. Is there a favorite thing you look for when you come here?

Kirby Smith: Well yeah and in fact I missed it today. It was Brian Boero top 50 things and places where you can advertise on the web. Fortunately, I have been here twice before and I know that they will email that to me. So, I couldn't be more excited about that and that is probably the... besides just the... just being here and all the excitement about it, that might be the most useful... it is certainly to me... it is the most exciting part of the entire conference besides of course meeting all the people.

BrokerIPTV: Well, tell you what Kirby, I am looking forward to getting an interview with you after next day or two and see what kind of information you really glean out of the Inman Connect here.

Kirby Smith: I would love to talk to you again about. Thank you.

BrokerIPTV: Right. Thank you.

Posted in Inman Real Estate Connect, Web 2.0 Marketing