No doubt state REALTOR conventions are happening where you live, practice, hone your skills.
The
Maine Association Of REALTORS annual meeting is next week Oct 6-8 at the Samoset Resort in Rockland ME. Year after year as brokers and agents trek to the real estate mecca, you go in ready to absorb new ideas, and to gain knowledge to apply in an ever changing market we are knee deep in. The continuing credit educational courses are super, the motivational and break out speakers are stellar. But one of the best aspects you bring home to apply is the shifting, sorting thru the neat lively conversations you have around the meal tables. You get to ask a broker in Portland, Lewiston Auburn, Bangor, Bar Harbor, Maine how they handle this or that.
Oh yeah, we talk shop with a little how are the kids, etc. chatter. We are all in the real estate trenches, same successes, set backs, rigmarole. It gets noisy at those tables but you seek out the top of the industry that is good at this or that, and make sure to break the break and put on the feed bag with them. We are all agents, brokers, real estate listers, marketers, peddlers. But like a diamond, a precious jewel, we all have points of light, brilliance that makes us all special, unique. On the way to and from, you realize another year has passed and what are you going to contribute and what are you bringing back from the three day MAR meeting.
Last year AR's Matt Ferrara talked about how we need to get on the stick and not just join, but feed, 
create material on a regular basis for the social media outlets or be left behind in the real estate dust.
He highlighted Active Rain as a pretty neat vehicle to join, partner with and then he brought it up on the overhead screen the size of Rhode Island.
I felt a little squirmy in my seat as ta da, moi's blog entry done just before I set sail for Rockland Maine came up as big as life and twice as frightening.
It was a post with embedded video and we watched it, and everyone around me said, "hey, that's you!" Others whispered, "hey that's real video, hear the loons, look at the size of that fish" and "feel like I am actually riding in to and at the property" talk. For the rest of the meeting, I had folks stopping me in the hall, whispering to me before and during meetings and talking it up at the hospitality parties given by the sponsors. They wanted to know about AR, doing real estate video, and I felt that was what I brought in the real estate picnic basket to leave at the MAR convention. What I brought back was reconnection to network thru out the state. Resources to be able to pick up the phone, shoot an email to whoever when a question comes up that I need to do a "shout out" in the Maine real estate audience. See you at the convention and tell us about your state's conclave.
Maine- Your Heart's Here, Help The Rest Of You Catch Up, Get Here. Maine Real Estate Listings For Sale.
Have a good convention. Hopefully it is more info than sales pitches.
The vendors do enough of that. But it's Joe and Jane Broker eating together where you listen, add to and learn a lot. That alone is worth the price of admission.
Yes, our CAR convention is coming up next week. They can be stimulating events; even if we come away with 1 new idea and a couple of new networking friends, they are great. I'm glad you were featured at yours--your incorporation of videos on so many of your posts is great. I love my FlipCam, but haven't gotten in the habit of using it routinely. I should follow your example.
Thanks Lottie. Will keep posting them! Get your flip flitting!