About Us

"No bar. No camp. But great people, great conversations and great learning."
- Rob Hahn

What's a BarCamp?

A BarCamp is an informal, free, and participatory event where the content is provided by the participants; kind of like a conference, but less...corporate. BarCamps were born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. They have been popping up in major cities across the county and are open to anyone who'd like to come along. BarCamp is defined by Wikipedia as follows:

"...an international network of user generated conferences - open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants - often focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats."

What's RE BarCamp Indiana all about?

Real Estate BarCamp Indiana is a one day social media marketing, technolgy, and educational "un-conference" of some of the smartest and strategic thinking minds in the real estate industry. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees, determined and led by the attendees. The BarCamp experience places a heavy focus on the practical use of emerging social technologies (ex: Twitter, FaceBook, Blogging, etc.) and strategies that those in the real estate community use to generate real results. The crowd will range from novices wanting to learn, experts willing to share, marketing leaders, business developers, "social media newbies" and " tech geeks" from all over.

Never been to a BarCamp?  First, throw out all preconceived notions about real estate education or school, in general. These events are open, meaning there is no set schedule.  Real estate industry professionals arrive the day of, suggest discussion topics for placement on the agenda (which is kept on a large whiteboard or screen outside of the rooms) and then proceed to join whichever discussion they want. Discussions are mostly centered on social media and technologies to grow your business.
 
Sound scary?  If you prefer a traditional learning environment and aren’t comfortable with suggesting or starting a discussion, that’s okay.  Just watch the evolving agenda, join the discussion(s) of your choice and remember the law of two feet – if you aren’t learning something or don’t feel as though you can add to the discussion, use your two feet and walk to another room.  Or, perhaps you want to take a discussion offline (a.k.a. into the hallway or down to the coffee shop) – no problem!  It’s really that open.

Who Should Attend?

Anyone with a desire to better understand how on-line and social media marketing can be used to grow their business will benefit from this conference. No one is an expert at REBarCamps...we all are learning together. Even the facilitators who are the best and brightest in the real estate social media and techonology industry come to learn and network with one another.

BarCamp Indiana welcomes real estate industry related professionals, including: Residential and Commercial Real Estate Agents, Broker/Owners, Mortgage Originators, Title Companies, Escrow Professionals, Appraisers, Inspectors, Virtual Assistants, Home Stagers, Interior Decorators/Designers, Marketing Directors and Media Managers.

In summary, anyone in real estate with an interest in improving their business through social media, marketing, education and technology implementation in a freely collaborative environment is welcome.

Who's Speaking at Barcamp Indiana?

BarCamp isn’t just a Web 2.0 conference. It’s an unconference. What does that mean, exactly? That’s up to you.

Rather than having a predictable slate of scheduled speakers/presenters, and their associated topics, the agenda for the RE BarCamp isn't necessarily known until the morning of the event. As people show up, those who want to present/teach a session can reserve a spot for the preferred time slot and classroom location up on the ad hoc schedule board, and promote their particular session/topic. So obviously, the nature and extent of your event topics/content will vary, depending on who shows up. The crowds are full of independent agents, managers, and broker/owners.

Some BarCamp sessions from January's event include:

• Legalities of Social Media Marketing with Matt Griffith
•  Blogging for Business, Mike Reynolds
•  Does it Matter How Many Followers You Have, Collin Clark
•  Four Basic Principles of Building Social Capital, David Patterson
•  How to Start Video Blogging, Greg Cooper
•  The Local Brand Theory, Lincoln Crum
•  Social Media Q&A, Amy Stark and Kathy Sipple

But at BarCamp Indiana, YOU will decide what you want to talk about, so be there early or fill our our online form and tell us what sessions interest you.

Keynote Luncheon: "Secrets of Social Networking" presented by Matthew Ferrara

BarCamp's companion event – the Indiana Association of REALTORS® annual Fall Conference – has a lot to offer including a special keynote luncheon the same day as BarCamp.  Matthew Ferrara will present his “Secrets of Social Networking”.  Just $20.  Register for lunch using the Indiana Associaton of REALTORS® online registration portal.

Unlike other social media courses, this program isn’t about “what to click” but why to connect with consumers online. Discover how to use  social networking for target-prospecting. Leverage opportunities to influence your sphere of influence. And finally create a customer-for-life experience that focuses on relationship management, not advertising listings.

Secrets of Social Networking can help agents, managers and staff unlock the relationship-building, marketing and leads management elements of social networks. Even if you have built your profiles online, our workshop helps you move from “updating what you’re doing” to integrating social media into a comprehensive sales and relationship management strategy for modern real estate sales.

BarCamp After Party
5 O'Clock Somewhere Networking Reception

Wrap up BarCamp with complimentary cocktails and time with colleagues at the Five O'Clock Somewhere reception.  The party will be at the Marriott Hotel so there will be no need to worry about parking.  The reception will also serve as a celebration to kickoff the Indiana Chapter of the Young Professionals Network (YPN).  Tables will be reserved for new members to brainstorm upcoming YPN events.

If anyone can deliver a session, won't some of the presentations be terrible?

Possibly, but it is not typical. Some of the best and brightest minds attend these events. They lead sessions and they sit in on sessions. REBarCamp sessions are group sessions. They are not meant to be presentations by a single individual. Because the audience participates, sessions that may start out a little rocky often adjust and get redirected by the participation and collaboration of the audience. If a session is really bad and your participation can't turn it around, practice the rule of two feet- get up and walk to another session.

How much does it Cost?

This year BarCamp attendees have three choices to make:

1. Register for BarCamp only (free)
RE BarCamp Indiana is free.  However, we do ask you to register in advance for space planning purposes.
 
2.  Register for BarCamp with lunch ($20)
Its companion event – the Indiana Association of REALTORS® annual Fall Conference – has a lot to offer including a special keynote luncheon the same day as BarCamp.  Matthew Ferrara will present his “Secrets of Social Networking”.  Just $20.  To register for lunch use IAR's online registration portal.
 
3. Register for Fall Conference ($99)
Receive 2 Elective CE Credits for Matthew Ferrara's Keynote Luncheon with conference registration!
Register for the entire Fall Conference and you’ll be added to the BarCamp head count, get a ticket to the special keynote luncheon with Matthew Ferrara, get a ticket to the Recognition Luncheon (Thursday) and be able to attend any Conference event, including other CE classes.  Just $99. Register for Fall Conference by visiting IAR's online registration portal. 

Additional Event Details

For information on parking and accomodations click here.

Check out other events and educational development opportunities taking place during IAR's Fall Conference

Still have questions? E-mail one of our volunteers or check out our blog.