The first time I heard the term RE Bar Camp I had no idea what the heck it was so I did what any normal computer user would do, I googled it. Judging by the name “RE Bar Camp”, I expected google to tell me that it was a bar-hopping group of REALTORS® that found their way to a designated campsite to sing late night Kumbaya. Way off! But, at the time google didn’t do a very good job of explaining it so I started asking around. RE Bar Camp’s started in San Francisco the day before the 2008 Inman Conference last June or July. Since then, there have been RE Bar Camps in Orlando, Los Angeles, New York, Virginia, Seattle, and Houston. And now there are scheduled RE Bar Camps in Denver, Boston, Portland, and PHOENIX (<- April 23rd). So what the heck are they and why are they popping up across the entire country?
After watching some explanatory videos and talking to some attendees, here’s what I’ve come up with. (Mind you, I’ve never attended an RE Bar Camp – Phoenix will be my first and I encourage you to make it your first too.) RE Bar Camps are priced with this economy in mind – $FREE.99 – all costs are picked up by sponsors. RE Bar Camps do not have a schedule – they have a start time and an end time. They begin with all attendees together to determine the different learning opportunities that will occur throughout the day. Experts in different arenas come prepared to share their knowledge in small to mid-sized breakout sessions. This is the the only conference that I know of that is completely scheduled by those that attend.
The fact that this conference cost you no money and the fact that this conference has no set schedule probably makes it unlike any real estate conference you’ve ever been to. However, amongst all the differences is one BIG similarity. Learning is only half of the fun – networking is the other half – and sometimes a bigger half. So if you don’t have anything on your table for April 23rd, I hope to see you at your first RE Bar Camp – I’ll be at mine.
RE Bar Camp Phoenix
Scottsdale Stadium
9:00 – 5:00
RSVP
This is the first REBarCamp to be held here in Phoenix! What an exciting time for all of us who are interested in learning more about social media, marketing, technology and growing our businesses! Where else can you you get all of this plus make dynamic connections all for ZERO bucks out of pocket?
Thanks Phil for helping us spread the word and for helping lead the way! You rock!
Phil, thanks so much for helping spread the word about BarCamp. As you know, I truly admire the work you are doing for your agents. I am really looking forward to this great day of learning and sharing information. I feel fortunate to have attended BarCamps in San Francisco and in Seattle where I feel I learned things from some of the best of the best in our industry. With the people we have coming to the Phoenix BarCamp, I believe this will be a great learning opportunity for all of us.
As Calie says…
You rock!
I attended the San Francisco RE Bar Camp and can tell you that I’ve never attended any kind of “conference” like it. The free-flowing, collaborative sharing of information was truly unique and mind expanding. The energy was contagious. I hope that anyone who wants to connect, learn, or share will take advantage of this unique opportunity, in our own backyard!
[...] John Hall & Associates wrote about BarCamp. [...]
[...] That’s the title of a session I got to attend at RE Bar Camp – Phoenix last week. Tyler Hurst lead the discussion and talked about this interesting marketing method I had [...]
[...] first of what looks like many RE Bar Camp’s in Phoenix took place. It attracted hundreds of people from all over the country, facilitated excellent [...]