There was  a time when the hard working Realtor® knocked on doors, did some cold calling (”Sorry to interrupt your dinner, Sir.  Do you know anyone interested in buying or selling a house?”), got involved in their Chamber of Commerce and various neighborhood groups in order to become better known in their marketplace.

Times have changed.

Nowadays, even (maybe, especially) Boomer are wired into the Web and Social Media.  Sure. They may pretend it’s just to keep an eye on the kids but it doesn’t take much to become enthralled with ways to connect with lots of different people in all parts of the world.  Of course, it goes without saying that anyone under the age of 35 is already wired into the Web 2.0.

That’s where the Real Estate REBAR Camp movement comes in. This “un-conference” pops up in different cities, small and large, wherever organizers have the energy to put on together.  Recently, we had one right across the river in beautiful Herndon, VA at the offices of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors®.  It was a great venue — lots of room to spread out with you laptop, lots of goodies to eat (tons of Halloween candy) and lots of Realtors® and other real estate professionals and people who knew the Web and Social Media and how to use it.

The beauty of the DC area REBAR Camp (#rebcdc) was that it gave me the chance to get face-to-face with lots of other people who are using Social Media and the Web to connect with clients and prospective clients.  Whether is was developing Facebook Fan Pages as a way to enable my Facebook friends search for homes and market trends or using video to enhance my listing presentations or creating an authentic online presence that attracts people to my blog and website…it was there and it was being shared by people who are using it in their own business every day.  These folks were not “gurus’ who haven’t sold real esttae in twenty years but can still pack an auditorium.

I also got to meet — face-to-face — people I read on their own blogs, see their tweets on Twitter and friend on Facebook.  That, in and of itself, makes the experience something not to be missed. The people that attended are the givers in the real estate profession. I’m just plain glad I went!