Here is a link for those that don’t know what a blog meme is. 

And here is a link if you don’t know about Pay it Forward.

I was thinking that the concept of Paying it Forward would be a great action to initiate during the holidays, so I am going at it from two different angles. On this post, from the perspective of recognizing people that I have met this past year that inspire me. Over on AgentGenius, I am coming at Pay it Forward more traditionally.

As I was reflecting on 2007, my thoughts turned to a few individuals that I had met this year that really inspired me. I wanted to take the time to acknowledge them, let the world know about them and why they inspire me, and encourage everyone to do the same.

Pay it Fourward 2007 – Tell the world about four people you met in 2007 that inspire you.

Jeff Turner – Jeff is a real gift of a person that just keeps on giving. He turns up in my thoughts in the most astounding ways and at the most surprising times. I’ve been wondering why. It seems to revolve around two words – inspiration and integrity.

I don’t have a clue what it is about Jeff that infuses me with inspiration, but I feel like Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets when I talk to or think about Jeff – “I want to be a better person.”

I met Jeff at Inman’s Blogger Connect in San Francisco in July. Since then, I have had the opportunity to brainstorm a few things with him and in all of the interactions there is an aura of integrity and authenticity that pervades the interaction.

Jeff Turner is a great guy to know. I recommend you do.

Joseph Natividad – Joe is one the year’s best surprises. Here is the story of how I met Joe and here is his interview over on Inman News (subscription required).

Joe is an inspiration to me because he is curious, kind, has an interesting mind, is a typical atypical young adult, and is rather shy and modest. Joe is the kind of guy that gives me hope for tomorrow.

In this age of subpar intelligence and mediocre aspirations, Joe is a breath of fresh air. Follow his writings for a few months just for grins.

Dean Guadagni – I may have actually had the handshake and formal introduction to Dean in late 2006, but I can safely say I didn’t really know Dean until he started writing on his blog – DeansGuide.

Dean boggles my mind. He inspires me to attempt the impossible – to write with as much flair and sensitivity as he does. I’m thinking that maybe a week in a sweatlodge with Dean might result in some form of mystical osmosis vis-a-vis my writing skills.

Dennis Viers – Early in 2007, Dennis and Kris Viers approached me with the idea of forming a strategic partnership with The Harper Team. It’s been one inspiring revelation after another ever since.

Dennis lives about 3 blocks from Craig and Tracey (we had no idea). He’s the chariperson for the San Ramon Planning Commission (community activist). He plays a mean bass guitar!

The inspiration I experience around Dennis seems to revolve around aging gracefully, having fun and all of us being good representatives of our generation. Dennis is just plain fun and good company. Dennis’ picture is in the dictionary under – great guy to hang out with. Be yourself, enjoy yourself, others and life is the message Dennis communicates.

These are the four people who come clearly into my mind when I reflect on inspiring people I have met in 2007.

Pay it Fourward – leave a comment with a link to four inspiring people you have met this year. I’ll drop by to read about them and learn more about you along the way.

We've added a new tool to our marketing efforts - Real Estate Shows. Jeff Turner, owner and president of RES, and his team have created a slick program to help real estate agents promote property listings. I have tested many of the video programs out there and I like this the best - of course, it is not video, but it gives the feel of video.

I can post a property on Real Estate Shows in about 10 minutes. I have been talking to Jeff about ways to expand the usefulness of this tool. I'm recommending this to everyone - even people outside of real estate.

Here are a few examples:

Hundreds of real estate bloggers from around the country are gathering at the Sheraton Palace in downtown San Francisco this week, and I was lucky enough to join in on yesterday’s festivities as a guest of the Harper Team.

I only began blogging this past January and ever since then I’ve been trying to soak up all the information I could to become more successful with my posts. Even though the conference was geared toward real estate professionals, I still found the segments about ”Finding Your Voice” and “Monetizing Your Blog” to be very insightful. Spearheaded by Inman News, BloggersConnect lasted from 8 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon.

I also had the opportunity to attend my first trade show that day. The amount of free stuff they were giving out was mind-blowing. I practically shoved compasses, hats, mousepads and a decade’s supply of ballpoint pens into a giveaway bag I received and simply walked away. One of the kiosks did grab my attention though. Microsoft seems to be showing off its answer to Google Earth with their own version: Virtual Earth.

I can't stop saying that it was quite a day for me. It not too often that I get to brush shoulders with founders and presidents who happen to be some of the biggest bloggers in the real estate industry. My encounters actually made me start to consider the idea of printing out my own business card.

- Joseph Natividad

I was over at the Inman Bloggers Connect in San Francisco yesterday at the Palace Hotel. The Palace is a great venue but one of the main meeting rooms suffered from being adjacent to an alley or loading dock or a construction zone as I kept hearing the beeping of trucks in reverse. Then again, maybe it was all the coffee.

As much as I tried to connect with everyone, I left feeling that I had not connected with as many as I had wished to. So, it was more of a misconnect for me as there were just too many bloggers and too little time to connect with them all.

Joseph Natividad, new guest author for The Harper Team, attended as our guest. He was a great hit with all he met. We are working to get his blog up to speed which should happen this week. It was Joseph’s first conference and trade show. We stopped at everybooth so he could fill his bag with all the free stuff. He now has enough pens to get him through his first two years at UC San Diego where he will be majoring in Economics.

The first person I ran into was Teresa Boardman the evening before at the Thirsty Bear – Zillow’s Bloggers’ Beer event. Teresa is more petite than I had imagined and her half-picture doesn’t do her justice. So, I snapped a quick pic which she immediately objected to. I’ve been threatened with the wrath of God or worse if I publish it. So, to minimize my suffering I only publish the “other half” of Teresa here.

Kevin Boer (3 Oceans Real Estate) and Pat Kitano (TransparentRE) seemed to have the fix in with Inman as they were on stage numerous times throughout the day. Kevin did a great job as moderator of a panel. Here you see the two of them – doing what?? Kevin looks like he’s about to fly away and Pat is going for the free water. Sidekick Dean Guadagni (Dean’s Guide) was suffering a bad cold and looked it, so I burned all pics of him.

Meeting Jeff Turner was great. Unfortunately his wife, Rocky, was not able to make it. Jeff showcased his Real Estate Shows product at a panel on video/image technology for the real estate industry.  My opinion – Real Estate Shows seems like an easier more economical means to showcase homes than the other two video formats presented by the panel.

After speaking on at least one panel if not 6, Real Estate Tomato author Jim Cronin could not restrain himself any longer and stepped to the mic to ask advice from the “Top Bloggers” panel. Just goes to show that even when you’re one of the most recognized authorities on real estate blogging, you may still have a question or two.

The impression I had from the conference was that attendance seemed to about half seasoned bloggers and half new authors. I met many more people than I photographed which makes me wonder why – I usually am much more active with my camera. All that listening must have gotten in the way.