The Real Estate Tomato

We a thrilled to announce that Tomato Blogger, Ann Marie Clements, of Montgomery County, MD is gracing the cover of this month’s Realtor Magazine (March 2008). The cover article, entitled: Welcome To Real Estate 2.0, discusses how savvy agents are embracing Web 2.0 tools to enhance and improve their real estate careers. Blogs, Wikis, MashUps, Social Networks and Video are the weapons of choice in this brave new Real Estate 2.0 world. We are also proud to mention that our most popular guest blogger, Teresa Boardman and her blog get a lot of attention in the article. Other friends that were interviewed or mentioned in this front page piece: 1000WattConsulting Ardell Dellaloggia Dustin Luther of RainCityGuide Matt Heaton of ActiveRain Brian Wilson of Zolve IncredibleAgents Frances Flynn Thorsen of Realtygram Blogger Jeff Turner of Turner’s Perspective Daniel Rothamel of Real Estate Zebra Blog …and yes… even we got a mention...

This morning, UPS delivered to my door, arguably the most influential annual publication in the Real Estate Industry. Stefan Swanepoel had sent me 2008’s look at the Top 10 Real Estate Trends, hot off the press. Since 1997, Swanepoel has been producing this intriguing report, mapping out what real estate professionals need to be recognizing as major factors that shape the industry in which they aim to strive. The 2008 report illustrates the maturation of last years ground breaking trends such as blogging, social networking, and online communities. But just as interesting, he brings light to the fact that there has been a mostly national shift in the market, and just what needs to be considered to ride on with this change: [Those in the industry] “will have to readjust their DNA and understand that transformation has become mandatory if they wish to be part of the winning side of...

Flattered. Honored. Thrilled. Proud to be listed among such heavyweights on the RE Blogos. Here are Inman's Top 25 Real Estate Bloggers: — Broker and Agent Blogs Teresa Boardman St. Paul Real Estate Blog Ardell Della Loggia Founder, SearchingSeattleBlog Marlow Harris Founder, 360Digest Doug Heddings Founder, TrueGotham Noah Rosenblatt Founder, Urbandigs.com — Community/ Multi-Author Blogs Dustin Luther Founder, Rain City Guide Greg Swann Founder, Bloodhound Blog — Mortgage Blogs Morgan Brown Founder, Blown Mortgage Todd Carpenter Founder, LenderamaCR and Tanta Bloggers, Calculated Risk Paul Jackson Founder, Housing Wire — Housing Economics Jonathan Miller Founder, Matrix — Industry Commentary Kevin Boer Founder, 3Oceans Real Estate Joel Burslem Founder, Future of Real Estate Marketing Patrick Kitano Founder, Transparent Real Estate — Marketing and How-To Jim Cronin Founder, Real Estate Tomato Joseph Ferrara, Rudolph D. Bachraty III Co-Founders, Sellsius Real Estate Blog — Local Blogging Jonathan Butler Founder, Brownstoner Adam Koval Founder, SocketSite...

I was so honored to have been personally called and invited by Keller Williams Chairman, Gary Keller to be a guest speaker at his world renowned event Keller Williams Mega Camp 2007. This year's event will take place from August 20th through August 24th at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX. From the Mega Camp homepage: “Mega Camp 2007 is the exclusive event where top producers and Keller Williams Realty leaders converge for an extraordinary week of learning and networking. Here, you will discover the newest tools and answers to your business challenges presented by fast-moving mastermind panels, top guest speakers and real estate industry leaders, including Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman of the board of Keller Williams Realty International and a New York Times bestselling author.” I have been asked to speak on the topic of Blogging Your Way To Success. (No surprise here) The items I will...

Inman has just announced the 39 real estate, technology and media companies that are competing for the coveted 2007 Inman Innovator Award, and we have been lucky enough to make the short list. We are so honored! Winners are scheduled to be announced during the annual Real Estate Connect Technology Conference, in San Francisco Aug. 1-3. We have been named, along with thirty-nine other real estate, technology and media firms as finalists, including John L. Scott Real Estate, Fidelity National Information Service, the BloodhoundBlog, Trulia and Zillow. An excerpt from the original Inman press release states: The Inman Innovator Awards recognize companies that use technology and innovation to enhance the real estate transaction and experience for consumers and real estate professionals. In addition, one individual who embodies the spirit of innovation in real estate is honored each year. There are 5 categories for which the finalists will be competing: (Finalists...

Paradise, CA – June 15th, 2007 – Jim Cronin, owner of Real Estate Tomato, will be a featured speaker at Real Estate Connect San Francisco 2007 this August 1st, at 11AM. He will speak on “Show Me The Leads”. The complete speaker lineup and program details are available at http://www.realestateconnect.com/sf07. Hosted by Inman News, Real Estate Connect is the premier executive gathering for everything related to real estate, technology and digital media. This year's event will draw upwards of 1500 mega-agents, top brokers, technologists, opinion leaders, entrepreneurs, decision makers, press, analysts and investors from across the country. RE Connect SF ‘07 takes places August 1 – 3 at The Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco. “We pride ourselves on attracting the most dynamic and captivating speakers in the industry, and Jim Cronin certainly fits that description,” said Bradley Inman, Founder and Publisher of Inman News (http://www.inman.com). “Past speakers have included...

Today, at 11AM PST, Inman News and 4 Guest Speakers From Project Blogger will be discussing “Building from the Ground Up. Real Experiences Starting a Real Estate Blog from Scratch.”. The best part, you can join in to the chat and listen in to the call. In advance of the show: Please visit www.talkshoe.com, Sign Up, and Pick a PIN (part of the Sign Up process). It will take about 30 seconds and it's free. (Note: Software download is NOT REQUIRED. Feel free to skip that step unless you want to ask questions by text-chat.) At the time of the show or up to 15 minutes early: Call 724-444-7444 and follow the audio prompts. Enter the Talkcast ID: 32606 Enter your PIN (which you chose at Sign Up -- it's likely your own phone number). So, who’s talking? Hosted and Moderated By: Jessica Swesey – Managing Editor from Inman News...

4:27AM, PST. The phone rings. "I just picked up the paper and you wouldn't believe what's hanging out of it," my mother excitedly states. "What?" I grunt. "I'm sorry to wake you, I thought I was going to get the machine." "You won't believe where the Globe put your logo in the paper, it's hanging right out of the front page!" In what we hope not to be the peak of our mainstream media exposure, this Sunday, The Boston Globe offered a headlining piece on Real Estate Blogging. Paul F. Roberts penned a timely article entitled “Brokers In Blogsville.” You can read the piece in full on Boston.com. The Real Estate Tomato was not only mentioned (and quoted) along with 8 other pillars in the real estate blogosphere, but we also got some pretty nifty brand exposure! Also included in the article: CondoDomain St Paul Real Estate Blog Bring The...

Now that Realtor Magazine recognizes that real estate blogs are worth visiting, it seems we can all lower our “freak flags” and breathe a sigh of relief; we’re on the map. Now let’s take it by storm. This year’s Inman Connect in San Francisco has included a special two day event called the Bloggers Connect. 16 of us have been asked to be part of a Steering Committee where we’ll aim to develop the topics of discussion and workshops for the event. In addition to the serious stuff, there are to be “fun and crazy events being built into the program including the Dive Bar Tour, the Haight Ashbury experience and the blogging romp.” What a blogging romp is, I can’t be sure… I can only hope involves the throwing of tomatoes. In addition to the above, Inman and ActiveRain have sponsored a contest called “Project Blogger”. As many as...

In today’s Chicago Tribune Technology Section there’s an article (subscription required) on the effectiveness of real estate blogging. Featured in the article is our real estate blogging goddess, Teresa Boardman, with a hat tip to the Tomato. Because this article brings in so many relevant points for our audience, and because I can’t be sure that the above link will work forever, here are a few key excerpts from Mary Umberger’s piece: Real Estate Agents Hang Blogging Signs. The subsequent quotes come from the following bloggers: Fran Bailey Joe Zekas Teresa Boardman Dan Green "[Blogging] It's just about the perfect way for a savvy agent to carve out a sustainable marketing pitch," he said. "That immediate way of communicating and providing an audience with perceived value, and showcasing expertise and product knowledge--it just doesn't get any better as a way to build a business." Bailey and other prolific bloggers say...