Needless to say, there will be a whole lot of networking going on at Connect SF '08. That is a very good thing. It also means that you should come prepared with as many business cards as you can muster. Jay Thompson gave us a little sneak peak of the amount of cards you can expect to come away with, and all of those cards lead to potential relationships:

I know that I had a similar experience to Jay. Not only did a gain a lot of cards, but I gave away a whole bunch, too. This, however, posed a bit of a difficulty for me. I can only carry so many business cards on me at any given time. I don't particularly want to lug around a big brick of business cards with a rubber-band around them. That's not cool.

But then, what do I do when my finite supply of cards is exhausted at the end of the day (or long night), and I meet someone that I would like to give my card to? I don't want to pass up the opportunity to have a fruitful relationship with someone just because I ran out of cards. That's not cool, either.

SOLUTION: DropCard

What DropCard does is very cool. It allows you send your contact inforamtion (virtual business card) to anyone's email address. Okay, so that might not be anything new. What makes DropCard different and valuable is that it allows you to send your information as a text message from your cell phone.

Now we're talking.

This is perfect if you don't have any business cards on you. All you have to do is sign up for DropCard and fill out your profile. Then, when someone asks for your information, simply send a text message to DropCard with the person's email address. BAM! DropCard will email your info to the person you just met. Very cool.

This is also useful if you have already exchanged info with someone you have just met, and you just want to follow-up with them to make sure they have all of your correct information. And since you can update your profile at any time, your contact information always stays current. No need for costly reprints!

Oh, and did I mention that the service is free?

I learned all about DropCard from a blog post by Joe Ferarra at Sellsius. Joe gave DropCard a full review, complete with screen shots. In case you want to get Joe to drop a card into your email, you can meet him at Connect SF '08, since he is on the fabulous roster of speakers.

So, I hope that you will bring plenty of business cards with you to Connect. And I also hope that you will meet so many people that you completely exhaust your supply. When you do, DropCard will be there to help.

See you in San Francisco!

Wow -- who would think of marketing title/closing services with a cartoon ad on Sunday morning TV? Diane Cipa of Ligonier, Penn.-based The Closing Specialists says she's been doing it for years, so it must be working.

Not sure how I got on their e-mail list (maybe I gave them my address when taking a listings site for a test drive?) but the Prudential Home Services Center Team seems to think I'm in the market to buy a home. Thought these questions they posed about what makes a good agent would interest InmanBlog readers:

"Dear Matt,

Some sellers list a home with an agent after a brief meeting or phone call. Be sure to ask questions about an agent's experience and level of knowledge:

1. Do you work as a full-time agent?

2. How many properties have you sold in the past year?

3. How many years of experience do you have?

4. How many sellers are you assisting now?

5. Do you have a reliable assistant?

6. How accessible are you?

7. What is your marketing plan for my home?

8. Do you have a list of references that I may contact?

Of course, there are other questions, such as those about online search engines, financing, pricing and negotiating strategies, agent and buyer networking, etc., but this will give you a good start."

Obviously, the folks at Prudential think their agents have good answers to all these questions, but I wonder if some of these questions could have more than one right answer.

I assume they are thinking that you don't want somebody who does not work as a full-time agent to represent you. But are their instances when you might -- somebody with years of experience in the field who wants to work part time rather than retiring, perhaps?

If an agent hasn't sold any properties in the past year, should that be a deal breaker, considering how tough some markets are right now?

If somebody is assisting a lot of sellers, is that bad? Doesn't it mean they are in demand?

Do I care if somebody has a reliable assistant (question 5) if they are accessible (question 6)?

Do you think of Yelp.com as the place to go to find out what people are saying about that new restaurant down the street? Yelp also wants to be thought of as a tool for finding real estate professionals..

In Silicon Valley -- which, you would think would be Yelp's dream market -- it's not really happening.

In San Jose and surrounding communities, Yelp's got reviews of businesses in about two dozen broad categories, but restaurants still dominate with 1,948 entries. Real estate has grown to become the 12th largest category, with 174 entries, generating more interest than, say, education (135) or religous organizations (30).

There are reviews of a couple dozen real estate agents in the region, and perhaps many more property managers and mortgage brokers. I say perhaps, because one businesses can be listed in several categories. If you search for "property management," for example you get more than 200 entries, but a lot them are for another category, "apartments" -- the actual complexes, and the reviews talk about what they're like to live in and how they're run.

Same for the category "mortgage brokers." A lot of the entries are actually "banks & credit unions," with reviewers covering mundane details about branch operations ("There are three ATM machines at this location, and all of them are 'out of order,' " one reviewer complains. "I know San Jose is the technology capital of the world, but don't the bank have a maintenance worker to immediately attend the problem?")

Search for "real estate agents" and that's pretty much what you get, but many of the agents only have one or two "reviews" -- some written by agents themselves. There are a couple of exceptions, including an agent in Cambell, Calif. who has 22 reviews from clients and colleagues. All but one are all laudatory -- wonder if she makes a point of asking folks to plug her?

As usual with these kinds of Web 2.0 sites, there are "reputation management" concerns. How much do you want to bet this agent doesn't know she has a Yelp profile -- complete with her address phone number, and a single, three-word review from a presumably disgruntled former client describing her as "Unprofessional and dishonest"?

The anonymous user who left that review -- "Apple M." (Yelp doesn't provide last names)-- got online one day in February, trashed three businesses, and hasn't been heard from since.

Yelp says it rarely yanks such reviews, so it's up to you to rebut them (although they caution you not to "lash out" at reviewers).

If Yelp is having a hard time insinuating itself into every corner of peoples' lives in Silicon Valley, it may have even farther to go in a place like Detroit, where the lone review in the real estate category is for a downtown loft (written by somebody who no longer lives there).

Want to try marketing yourself this way -- or see whether people are talking about you? Sites where consumers can review agents include Homethinking, Agentopolis, IncredibleAgents, MyAgentReview, JudysBook, and AngiesList.

You may be surprised that you're already listed on some of these sites, which may launch will a million or more names purchased from a vendor.

St. Paul, Minn.-based real estate broker Teresa Boardman made a splash last week with her first column for Inman News, by proclaiming that she was "Not buying into the 'green' movement."

Boardman's point wasn't that she's against green builders who use "materials and methods that are kinder to the environment, and design buildings and homes that consume less energy." They should be applauded, she said.

But Boardman wondered if the green movement has become little more than a marketing gimmick. A TV ad for bottled water that's supposed to be better for the environment because the bottle uses less plastic got her thinking: how can anybody be hawking bottled water as "green," when it's probably better for the environment to drink tap water?

That got Boardman ruminating about whether it would be better to "recycle" existing homes, instead of building "green" homes in the suburbs that are twice as big and use more energy. She questioned "green" realtors who drive "large vehicles great distances" to show homes.

"I am not a 'green' Realtor, which is nice because I don't have to drive somewhere to buy bottled water, or purchase a more energy-efficient home in the 'burbs," Boardman wrote -- although she looks for ways to reduce her own carbon footprint to increase her profits.

Boardman's point is well taken -- how many grass-roots movements aren't co-opted by marketers? You have to wonder what role, if any, realtors can play in creating a less resource-hungry planet.

If you're a car salesman, you sell whatever rolls off the assembly line in Detroit, or Tokyo, or Seoul, right? My first take was if you want more green buildings, talk to architects, developers, builders and your local planning commission and city council.

Boardman's column was still fresh in my mind when a press release from Tahoe-Reno broker Chase International arrived in my Inbox with an entirely different perspective:

"Going green has evolved from a trend to a lifestyle as Americans have moved beyond simply recycling to pursing alternative energy sources and incorporating eco-savvy practices into a myriad of daily tasks," the press release said. "Now the real estate world is stepping up to accommodate this environmentally minded market and Chase International agents are at the forefront of advancing earth-friendly practices."

Five Chase International agents have become certified EcoBrokers, the press release said. Heading over to the Web site of EcoBroker International reveals that you, too can earn the EcoBroker designation -- by completing the required courses and paying the $395 up front costs. Keeping the designation will cost another $129 a year in renewals and a four-hour refresher course.

Why would you want to do that? Well, the reasons listed by EcoBroker International are all quite practical, and might apply to any professional designation: "Differentiate yourself," "Learn how to reduce your liabilities and those of your clients," "Create more deals," "Expand your professional referral network..."

Some of the curriculum is more about environmental health than the environment. What EcoBroker means by reducing your liabilities is teaching you to deal with issues like radon, asbestos, lead, water, and mold that can derail a closing.

But EcoBroker also promises to help realtors learn about the latest energy efficiency technologies and sustainable energy options, and show buyers how to finance energy-saving improvements into their mortgage.

“It’s not just about new construction," agent Valerie Forte says in Chase International's press release. "We have the local resources to give all homes green energy audits. My goal is to offer clients the information they need to make intelligent decisions.”

This is where my worry that a "green" realtor is just as implausible as a "green" car salesman perhaps breaks down. While it's pretty easy for a consumer to suss the environmental impacts of a car on their own -- "How many miles per gallon does it get?" -- there's a lot more that goes into analyzing whether a home is "green."

There's the environmental impact of a house's location (are we losing farm land or wildlife habitat?), the sustainability of the materials used to build it (old growth rainforest?), the resources that its occupants will consume during the home's lifetime (gas, electricity, water), the waste they will produce (greenhouse gases, wastewater), and many other factors.

Boardman, for example, wonders if anyone ever considers the environmental impacts of a big lawn that's got to be watered, mowed and fertilized? Well, yes, they do. Some local governments are adopting rating standards for new homes developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that take such factors into account.

While green realtors can't force developers to use those standards or other environmentally-friendly building techniques, they can help buyers who are interested in a house that was built with the environment in mind find such homes. They can also help those who aren't "green" for the sake of being green realize the benefits that may come with owning such a home -- creating more demand for environmentally-friendly developments in the future.

A homebuyer might like the idea of saving hundreds of dollars on heating and cooling every year because an architect knew enough to orient their home properly to the sun. Or they may be glad when a green realtor saves them the trouble of having to pull all the grass out of their yard and replacing it with native plants because their water bill is out of hand. As Boardman says, "Reducing my own carbon footprint translates into higher profits."

Is it going too far to claim green realtors will be at "the forefront of advancing earth-friendly practices?" Maybe. But there's certainly an argument to be made that realtors have a role to play -- whether they have a professional designation or not.

If sponsoring an event for dog lovers is a sophisticated way to drum up business for real estate agents (see post below), this Washington Times story suggests the perils of a more blunt marketing technique: spamming.

Seems a mortgage originator recently made the mistake of e-mailing FDIC chairwoman Sheila Bair a pop-up ad offering her $400 monthly payments on a $175,000 loan. The article doesn't say say whether the offer was legit or whether the originator is in hot water, but does a nice job of exploring whether lax regulatory standards helped create the "dry forest" that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson recently told lawmakers ignited into the mortgage meltdown.

Why is San Francisco Bay Area luxury real estate firm Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate sponsoring "Save Your Dog Day" -- an event where dog owners can get a microchip implanted in Fido and a "rabies shot and amnesty" for unlicensed pooches?

Well, it's "a fun and helpful community event that brings people and their pets together" and Pacific Union is proud to be the sponsor, the company says in a press release.

Given the hassles pet owners often face as renters and the location of the June 14 event -- Danville, an upscale suburb east of San Francisco -- it's safe to say most of the people showing up will probably be home owners, and potential clients.

Pacific Union, which has offices in six Bay Area counties, obviously knows a thing or two about drumming up business to keep its agents busy.

Some real estate agents and brokers are going to great lengths to boost business these days in searching for overseas buyers.

Any stories you care to share about efforts to market properties and services internationally? What is the state of foreign demand for U.S. property in your market area?

Coldwell Banker's latest ad campaign lets its founders do the talking -- at least through voiceovers that accompany still portraits of the company's deceased originators, Benjamin Arthur Banker and Colbert Coldwell.

The campaign features a series of video ads with dialog between the founders' portraits. Perhaps following the lead of lawn gnome vacation photos, Coldwell Banker is taking these portraits on the road as part of the campaign -- the company unveiled some images of the portraits on a San Francisco cable car, at a rodeo, and at the Grand Canyon, as examples (see image).

The ads feature some chitchatty conversations between the company founders' portraits, such as mention of the 1947 company Christmas party or engaging in staring contests.

Some media folks who got a sneak peak at the marketing campaign questioned why the ad campaign seems to bypass mention of the current state of the housing market. Charlie Young, Coldwell Banker chief operating officer, explained that local housing markets vary widely, and some markets are faring much better than others. "We looked past the current situation in the real estate market, and what the press and the national media is propagating, and looked more at what consumer needs are," he said.

The lips on the founders' portraits do not move, and there are no plans to turn the founders into animated mascots, Young said, adding that the intent is to "keep the integrity of the portraits as is."

A Web site accompanies the "Portraits" campaign, at www.coldwellbanker.com/founders.

The founders' portraits even appear at the Facebook social networking site -- not sure who is doing the "talking" for them there.

Young said company sales associates were engaged and supportive in the development of the campaign. Wondering how Advertising Age might react, given the scathing review of the latest series of National Association of Realtors ads (see related Inman Blog post).

Bill Banker, grandson of Benjamin Arthur Banker and senior vice president of Cornish & Carey Commercial real estate, said he did have an opportunity to preview the Coldwell Banker campaign and said it's "sort of a unique approach."

Here's a commentary from Inman's Joel Burslem on the campaign at his Future of Real Estate Marketing blog site.

With so much bad marketing advice out there for Realtors, Dustin Luther of 4Realz Consulting says he's hoping to counter the sales pitch with a course that's designed to be purely educational.

Luther, who is taking his Web smarts on the road in Southern California this spring, told Inman News he's designed his day-long course to attract agents who are interested in technology and in learning how to implement a successful online presence and online marketing campaigns.

The course will cover blogging, engaging in social networks, how to attract leads, track where leads came from, and implement systems for effectively communicating with clients and closing business. After the course, Luther will set agents on a path to engaging in online communities and blogs with a 15-minutes-a-day exercise he'll offer up daily.

Luther gained recognition for his understanding of online marketing when he created the Rain City Guide blog in Seattle, and went on to work with Move Inc.

He has teamed up with Jim Marks, founder and president of Virtual Results, who will teach agents what a real estate Web site will look like in 2008 and beyond, as well as ways to measure their progress in Internet marketing.

The duo will have guest speakers as well, and are slated for the following cities next month:

Los Angeles, March 6
San Diego, March 19
Orange County, March 31

More info about the course is at 4RealzEd.com.