The answer is that they will both be sharing the secrets of their networking successes at the 13th Annual Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference which will be hosted at The RItz-Carlton in Philadelphia during October 11-14th

Unique Homes reports that “The Brain Trust,” the most prominent all-women organization in the luxury real estate industry will be sharing their secrets at the conference.

Through our discussion at the Fall Conference, we hope to demonstrate that even though we are competitors, as real-estate agents, we are missing the boat by not tapping into each other’s experience and knowledge base. It is incredibly important to have ongoing mentors, no matter how long you might have been in the business.” Anita Head

The Brain Trust consists of seven luxury real estate industry leaders who own their own companies:

• Shari Chase, president/CEO of Chase International Distinctive Properties in Lake Tahoe, Nev.
• Anita Head, partner/president of Paragon Real Estate Group in San Francisco.
• Patricia Petersen, president/CEO of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty in Huntington, Long Island, N.Y.
• Jenny Pruitt, CEO/founder of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty.
• Michael Saunders, CEO/founder of Michael Saunders & Company in Sarasota, Fla.
• Lois Schneider, president/founder of Lois Schneider Realtor in Summit, N.J.
• Martha Turner, president/founder of Martha Turner Properties in Houston, Texas.

By pooling their knowledge, experience and honest feedback, firms can stay on the cutting edge and remain financially savvy when sharing best practices. We will share how the Brain Trust operates and will be happy to cover how we, individually, are handling social networking, the international market and our tips for surviving in a challenging market. Anita Head

The Brain Trust was formed in 1997 by Petersen, Pruitt and Schneider to share secrets to their success and growth, while enjoying some well-deserved spa time, says Unique Homes.

“These women came together to share best practices, strategize and advise each other on problematic issues and interesting opportunities, and absolutely improve and grow their real estate companies in a way that was right for their individual markets,” Head says. “Essentially, it was formed so that they could help each other in a safe and trusting environment with no judgments, other than some pretty strong opinions. The only rules were that you had to be a woman, agree to confidentiality, and to have ownership in the company. The bonus is the deep friendships that have developed along the way.” More details plus photo and story credit - Unique Homes Blog

Also sharing his secrets will be Jim Walberg, co-owner/broker of The Bay Area Team, the most-successful team at Keller Williams Realty in Danville, Calif. Mr. Walberg began blogging as an experiment, his first site being Caribbean Islands Realty.

I have spent over 35 years in the Caribbean as a sailor and as a Realtor so I know this region of the world very well. I never expected there would be any lead-generation results from my experiment. I was just experimenting. And after two years of blogging, it has been confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that my vision of creating an Internet system, which allows people from all over the world to participate in real estate, is possible. Jim Walberg

Jim would appear to be a man after my own heart, and after much consideration of the two current Presidential candidates has decided to run for the office of President of the United States himself as a fifth alternative. Go Jim !

Now it is not often you get the opportunity to get up close and personal with a candidate for President, so take it while you can. And if you should be successful in your bid Jim, please don’t forget your supporters. For myself, I would think something like “Ambassador to Barbados,” or similar would be in order………

During its infancy the internet was like watching a black and white sunset. While it was surely something new, its functionality was dreadfully boring and bland. It was not dynamic. It was slow; like watching a snail wade through peanut butter. In short, it didn’t create an experience. Web 2.0, the new generation of internet, is changing all that.

So what is Web 2.0? Wikipedia

 

 

Aggregation: Search engines and various aggregator sites are emphasizing vertical search methodologies. Such search and aggregation reflect the need to make things more specialized, local, and topical. Websites aggregate data to make things easier and more convenient for users to find. Some examples include: Google Base, Trulia, and LuxuryProperty.com

 

 

Blogging: How could something with such a silly name become such a revolution? It’s simple. Blogs are freedom of speech. They are like online editorials. Some blogs are complex and others elegantly simple. Blogs can be about anything: humor, technology, personal reflection, information and of course real estate. ActiveRain is the tycoon of the real estate blogosphere (blogging community), while other notables include: The Sellsius Blog, The Real Estate Tomato, and the BloodHound Blog.

 

 

Mapping: Mapping is intuitive. It is easy for users to understand, and provides a wealth of immediate information. Mapping features are typically used in conjunction with other technologies to enhance a user’s experience on a website. For example, Zillow puts home evaluations on satellite maps and Trulia

 

 

Reviews: These sites allow online buyers the ability to rate and review a plethora of products, services, people, and places. Such sites provide users quick, useful information to assist with purchases. Cnet.com (technology) and Yelp.com (general) are two examples of growing review sites. Real estate review sites include: Homethinking (customer and listing performance reviews), Realty Baron (provides rankings based on professional experience), and IncredibleAgents

 

 

Social Networking: Social Networking is the foundation of Web 2.0. Myspace, Facebook, and LinkedIn lead the pack. Users create profiles then add friends and contacts to create their social network. Well, that is the cliff notes version. Social networking giants have even spawned specialized industry sites. ActiveRain is undoubtedly the MySpace

 

 

Widgets: A widget is a piece of code that is portable and can be installed within any separate HTML- based web page by an end use. It does not require any additional compilation. They are similar to plugins or extensions in desktop applications. The best way to understand widgets is to use them. Check out these sites to see how they work: Netvibes, Pageflakes and Flikr.

Wikis: If Blogs don’t get the prize for ‘most ridiculous Web 2.0 name” then the winner should be Wikis. A wiki is a web application designed to allow multiple authors the ability to add, remove, and edit content. Kind of like when you edit and rewrite a paragraph in one of your children’s homework assignments. The multiple author capability of wikis make them effective tools for mass collaborative authoring. The 600 pound gorilla of wikis is of course Wikipedia.

 

 

Video: Video defines user generated content. Video and Blogs are the beating heart of Web 2.0. With the right equipment, anyone can shoot a video. Please continue reading to see why video is the future of luxury real estate marketing.

 

 

 

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that is changing the way people research and learn. With its spectrum of general to esoteric topics Wikipedia has made finding and searching for information incredibly easy. However, a degree of skepticism should always be exercised with Wikipedia information. Anyone can edit anything as long as someone agrees with it. Yes, before you know it the Boxer Rebellion will have been led by Muhammad Ali and the Boston Tea Party will be just another party south of Fenway.

 

of real estate.

 

(helps ‘incredible agents’ shine).

 

uses heat maps to show real estate pricing trends.

 

Blogs enable luxury real estate professionals the opportunity to showcase their unique knowledge, experience, and authenticity. It provides a platform for luxury real estate professionals to build trust with their readers. All things that define one’s success in today’s competitive market.

 

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calls it the perceived ongoing transition on the web from a collection of static websites to a full-fledged computing platform serving web applications to end users. Say what? Well, it means the web is beginning to resemble a platform that connects people more fully by creating an online community of users. It does this through various technologies which rely on users to help them develop and thrive. It’s not what can the internet do for you, but what can you and the internet do together. Here are some of the technologies and players that are adding the color to that sunset.