BrokerIPTV: We are at Inman Connect San Francisco 2008. I am with Keith Garner and Keith is with the National Association of Realtors and welcome Keith.

Keith Garner: Yes. Thank you for having me.

BrokerIPTV: Maybe you could go over real quickly the difference between say NAR and realtor.com and move.com and homestore and you got any other brands we need to know about?

Keith Garner: Well, let's see. Homestore turned into move.com; it kind of evolved like a Pokemon. It just... one day just changed, but now realtor.com is owned by NAR and it is run on our behalf by move.com. You know they are a dot com focused on making this national listing portal and it has been a great partnership between both of our groups to provide a service for our members and it has been good. I mean unfortunately I don't know a lot about the day-to-day operations because that is outside it. You know I focus really on directly on our members and how our members work as part of the Center for Realtor Technology.

BrokerIPTV: What is your position with NAR then?

Keith Garner: I am the Managing Director for the Center for Realtor Technology. So, I run a department that is more or less an R&D kind of department for the industry. So, we look at... as opposed to like our IT department, our IT department keeps the association running, what I do and my department does is we look at how our members do their business and how we can educate our members and how we can bring interesting open source projects to help them on a day-to-day basis.

BrokerIPTV: I think what I am starting to see just from the conversation is the agenda is management... very sophisticated management of your social media.

Keith Garner: And I think... well, I think that is starting to happen... that is happening by pressure outside of our market because everyone is starting to have that problem. You know Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, Twitter, how many sites do I have to visit everyday to do anything? So, people are starting to use sites that either aggregate all those together like Friendster or [Inaudible] or some of the other ones.

BrokerIPTV: Tube Mogul... Tube Mogul is a good one. You know about Tube Mogul, right?

Keith Garner: Sure, yeah.

BrokerIPTV: [laughs]

Keith Garner: Not want [Inaudible] everyday unfortunately, but...

BrokerIPTV: Well, hey, we really appreciate your time Keith. Good to see you here again. I think the first time we interviewed you was up at the... couple of years ago at the NAR bloggers lounge, right?

Keith Garner: Yeah. Yeah, that was it and yeah, we will be doing that again. That seems to be every year, get more crowded and more crowded and in... at annual last year, it seemed like the place to meet and hopefully, this year we are going to be better located. We actually fought to be closer to the expo floor where more of the bloggers will actually be and we will be able to you know probably still be a good meeting center and everything.

BrokerIPTV: How about some big bandwidth for God's sakes?

Keith Garner: Yeah, we are working on that too. Part of it's up to the venue, but we are trying. We are trying.

BrokerIPTV: You know bandwidth, we've got all these Web 2.0 things, all these Internet things, bandwidth is terrible.

Keith Garner: The only other thing is at a place like you know where this conference is in the Palace, you are kind of stuck with the whim of what the hotel provides. The hotels haven't caught up to the conferences. So, conferences need to turn around and scream. So....

BrokerIPTV: Well, thanks Keith. Appreciate it.

Keith Garner: No problem.

Posted in Headlines, National Association Of Realtors, Inman Real Estate Connect, Web 2.0 Marketing

Michael Russer, Mr. Internet Says there are 2 Things To Make 2008 A Success. Michael Russer, known as mr. internet is well spoken in real estate business solutions and is a in demand real estate speaker as well as a professional speaker and offers many real estate tips

Thing #1- Choose the target market your passionate about and become the absolute expert

Hi, I am Michael Russer otherwise known as Mr. Internet and I have been speaking all over North American, in fact the world in the 2007 and I know there has been a lot of change and challenge in a market, but I want to tell you something, 2008 is going to be the year of opportunities, because while everybody else is going to hurdle in the corner and the struggling up into pedal position. This is an opportunity for you to stand out and the way you stand out is certainly by not being like everybody else. The key to standing out is to choose the target market your passionate about and become the absolute expert of their target markets.

Thing #2- Learn Geek Speak and quit trying to control people

Another strategy also is to learn a language of the internet in power consumers. You have been taught to work with people faced to face and on the phone and you are very good at that. If you try to apply those kinds of principles online, you in fact, going to push them away. So, the point here is that learns the language, learn the fact that these people that you can see, you cant shake their hands, you cant look them in the eye, can here the sound of their voice? Well, you can actually turn things around, so that they develop a strong relationship with you, if you speak their language and that language means simply acknowledging that they are in control, not you that they want information and that they need to trust you, and understand that you have the skills necessary to get the job done.

You do that and you are going to find that instead of being a big pain with all these online leased, you are going to be a youth source of new business for 2008.

Posted in Headlines, Internet Marketing, Blogging, National Association Of Realtors

Mark Lesswing and the "Information Free Radicals" Theory at Inman Connect NYC 2008

BrokerIPTV: I am with Mark Lesswing, he is the CTO for the National Association of Realtors, from heard Inman connect 2008, New York city, and I know Mark you are a, I dont know if you on stage the other day when Brad inman was talking about some past subjects and ideas of day through, this year's them being the market, I am just curious what the Chief Technology Officer for the National Association of Realtors is thinking in regards to 2008, where we are going with our technology there?

Mark Lesswing : Mark, thanks, the great question by the way. So if you look at where the technology is going and the impact on the market that we have had, all though the but connecting with the consumer here and the slow down is really with me so we don't erode confidence of the consumers. So less in engaged in this conversation it keep in the conversation as the market comes back. So technology have come forward such as a social media phenomenon of videos engaged the consumer. Even the main happy to buy right now or sell right now they are engaged, so the more we engage them, then we can weather the storm as a market turns around they are going to turn right back to the real estate professional.

BrokerIPTV: What are we doing at move.com or realtor.com as far as trying to put Realtors move in the transparent mode?

Mark Lesswing: I think you have seen in the last 6 months, more tools they are really engaged the consumer. You want to get engaged consumers they feel empowered. If you look at some of the great thinkers and the early partisans like Marshall McLuhan and some basic marketing things of mediums of message and the users of context. You are seeing the [inaudible] move to the uses the context, they feel empowered of with new tools it, search techniques build a map communities skip it, then involve so the website about them so they uses the context, it is not about the listings that are there. The listings are the basis they with drawl, but you must engage the consumers.

BrokerIPTV: Right, exactly, I guess what you may be move, realtor.com and we have the out side third parties where are there be the Trulia's of the world the Zillow's, I think we see may be some out side third party pressure moving towards realtor.com to make it be the best, stay on top, do you find that out side pressure is making realtor.com have to be more competitive to stay up there.

Mark Lesswing : Oh, absolutely, it has be have a competitive market it is good for all the players, even the top player. So competition is good, when you don't have competition you get in the situation is no body pushing you. Okay, so a player will really start to connect with consumer that way who really good for realtor.com. So make sure that they are going to keep on the top edge.

BrokerIPTV : I think so a things were seeing out there at least my own feeling is lot the information on the trulia of the world and zillows of the world is not the all the information. It is not all the homes for sale, it is lots of the homes for sale that have been off the market, not on the market for 30, 60 days... is not policed as much, perhaps because it is fully not direct MLS feeds. So I think I that maybe we will turn to the subject of information free radicals, give us some of your thoughts on that concept.

Mark Lesswing: Sure conceptually information free radicals is information that itself erodes trust, just as free radicals pass by and cause cancer, you don't want to have cancer that infects the relationship and trust between the consumer and the real estate professionals. So as we have information out here that is not accurate, not timely, which you kind of doing is eroding the trust is to we had the get back and I call that concept on information free radicals.

BrokerIPTV: That is excellent concept that I think ultimately the consumers are going to make the choice regardless of what site it is who is putting it up in that very mode right there and as far as having all the information and relevant information, so very important. Well, thank you very much and I will let you get back to your interview up on stage here. Thanks Mark.

Mark Lesswing: Okay Mark.

Posted in Headlines, National Association Of Realtors, Real Estate Industry, Real Estate Industry Trends, Inman Real Estate Connect, Technology And YOU

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BrokerIPTV : We are talking with Kay Watson today from Metro Brokers and Kay we love always talking with you. You have got so much going on in your involved with so many communities and boards and particularly you work with National Association of Realtors, so that where I would like the start. How does what happens politically with the National Association of Realtors benefit me on this tree?

Kay Watson: I think there are two things that first come to my mind. I am an independent contractor and that's one of the privileges as a realtor. We can work as an independent contractor that seems to be threatened on the hill over and over and if it was not for work the National Association of Realtors and their political activity in Washington DC, we stand a chance that, that could go away any day and I think that would the way we work and if we could not be independent contractors the whole structure would have to change, and I don't want that ever have to change. I think the other thing is mortgage interest deduction and we think of that affecting the consumer, yes. But it also affects me, myself as a realtor, because if that mortgage interest deduction goes away and then what's going to be the incentive for home ownership. Because that is the one tax deduction and any time, we have a deficit in the government. They always are looking for a way and that's one of the first places they always look.

BrokerIPTV : You started in this business and your are selling homes in just like every other broker making your away, but at some point you got involved, I mean heavily involved, national level, local level committees, standards. Why is it that you when kind of above and beyond what the regular realtor would do?

Kay Watson: I have always had the philosophy that I needed to give back and when I realized the opportunity that being a realtor and being a member of the National Association of realtors, my local in-state associations, what that afforded me. I wanted to give back and the more I got involved the more, I wanted to get involved and I can tell you that I did my involvement has just been an incredible experience. I have gained so much more than I have ever given back and the benefit the bi-product of that is, when I need to send a referral to some one on the east coast, I have met enough people that I can either get a contact, so I can send a personal referral knowing that my clients are going to be handled the way I would want them to be handled and then the another bi-product is, I do get referrals. I never have gotten involved thinking about the bottom line in the business. Because my philosophy is, if you are looking at the dollar sign, when you wakeup in the morning, you need to get out of the business. Because it is a service business and we are here to serve our clients and to work as well as we can with our peers.

BrokerIPTV : Kay, thanks so much, I love the philosophy, great meeting you, thanks for being a part of the program.

Kay Watson: Thank you.

Posted in Headlines, Metro Brokers, Colorado Association Of Realtors, National Association Of Realtors

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BrokersIPTV : Today, we are talking with Metro Brokers Kay Watson and Kay thanks for being with us, nice to have you here. One of the reasons we want to talk with you is, you do a tremendous amount of voluntary work in various committees and organizations and so forth and that's appreciated more than you know and I wanted to talk about some of the big hard issues, for 2008 that you are involved in discussing on both the local and national level, so fire way.

Kay Watson: Ok, I think one thing that is kind of surfaced in our last meetings at the National Association of Realtors was Broker visitability [phonetic], now that's a word that does not even spell check, but visitability is being able to have the ability to host a disabled person in your home and this was an legislation that was introduced at the end of the session last year in Washington DC and it was basically very new for the concern that NAR had was what does that do to affect affordability of housing.

BrokersIPTV : So, you are saying as a home owner, I would have to make my house handicapped or specially it is accessible.

Kay Watson: If there was a mandate that was that could happen but I think that, that was big big picture and once it drills down there are some builders are already doing it. There are just it's market driven, the demographics call for because of the aging population, wanting to make sure that they are in a house where if there is a need for wheel chair, it can be accessible.

BrokersIPTV : Well that's an issue we will keep an eye on, it is all about disciplinary action. Now versus in the past, what's been happy in with that?

Kay Watson: I talked with the people at Colorado Association Of Realtors, just the kind of get up a [inaudible] on even though I am involved in professional standards and grievance committee and ethics committee, but basically there is not been a lot of change.

BrokersIPTV : Oh, really.

Kay Watson: Now I think we are seeing more complaints because the market has slowed down a little bit, so realtors have more time to file those complaints, so I think that has some thing to do with it.

BrokersIPTV : How about the realtor awareness ad campaign, what been the response?

Kay Watson: Fabulous.

BrokersIPTV : Really. Kay Watson: Very good, it is $30 a year, it is an assessment that's the share, now the Board of Directors at National meeting in Las Vegas voted, that it will increase to $35 next year for the next two years. The reason for the increase is just the cost and to make sure that we have prime time that we are still doing it the full year not just 8 months out of the year like we have done in the past.

BrokersIPTV : Kay fantastic information, great meeting you, thanks so much for your service. Appreciate it. Kay Watson: Thank you.

Posted in Headlines, Metro Brokers, National Association Of Realtors, Real Estate Industry