Phoenix Real Estate BarCamp 2

Coming April 9!

By Jay Thompson

Arizona REALTOR® Magazine - March 2010

On April 9, 2010 at Scottsdale Stadium, hundreds of real estate agents and brokers—along with real estate industry participants like association executives, title and escrow companies, lenders, appraisers, inspectors and more—will gather to participate in the second annual Phoenix Real Estate BarCamp.

What is a Real Estate BarCamp, you may be asking.

A reasonable question…and sort of tricky to explain.

“BarCamps” (which have nothing to do with draft beer, pool tables and loud music) are “unconferences” where people with similar interests gather and share information, ideas and thoughts on a wide variety of subjects.

An “unconference” is basically a conference with no pre-set agenda or speakers. The agenda is developed on the morning of the event based on input from the attendees on what they want to hear and who is willing to facilitate sessions. While the idea of having a conference in a baseball stadium may seem odd, it is the perfect environment for a BarCamp. There will be multiple breakout areas for simultaneous sessions (typically about an hour in length), which means that throughout the day, there will always be something of interest for everyone.

Past RE BarCamps have included sessions on social media, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, transaction management, search engine optimization, data use and analysis, broker issues like office management, agent recruiting and retention and much more.

Already people from all across Arizona have RSVPed to attend Phoenix RE BarCamp 2 – Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Lake Havasu City and more will be represented. And it doesn't stop there! We've got people from Florida, Texas, California, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that are among the 93 already signed up to attend.

This will truly be a collection of some of the best and brightest minds in real estate from across the country. But wait, there is more! In addition to real estate attendees, we've got several people from the local area social media community to share their expertise.

BarCamps aren't like any traditional conference or training class you've attended. There aren't really any lectures. The sessions are open and collaborative – every attendee is encouraged to participate and add to the conversation.

Without fail, every person I've spoken with that has participated in a Real Estate BarCamp has enjoyed the experience, learned new things and met great new people.

So what does this amazing experience cost? How about absolutely nothing? Yep, it's free to attend. If we can get enough sponsors, you'll even get lunch and a t-shirt. But you will certainly get useful information and enjoy a very enriching experience, which is sure to help you in your business and in life.

For more information, or to RSVP for the event, please go to http://rebarcamp.com/phoenix/.

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Jay Thompson is the designated broker and a co-owner of Thompson’s Realty — an independent real estate brokerage based in Phoenix. A self-professed “man with a blogging problem,” Jay founded the real estate blog Phoenix Real Estate Guy in May 2005 and has developed it into one of the most widely read real estate blogs in the country.