A couple reasons to go

[Discover Davis Homes]

Last year at the conference I kept hearing what happens in Nanaimo, stays in Nanaimo, so for the really good stuff well...you'll just have to see for yourself.

A couple of key things made this really worthwhile to me -

1. Got the confidence to build pages on my own - I know how to create a page from the title all the way to the footer. Title tag, meta tags, Htags - I know what all of these mean now - couldn't say that before.

2. Have a good sense of what type of content should be on a page and how a site should be organized (and why that is important).

3. The creating a diverse linking portfolio session - I've read Morgan's notes so many times that I end up quoting from them sometimes here on the forum, even when I don't realize it. A couple of times I've re-read something I've posted and thought - wow - that sounded just like the link post.

4. How the entire conference made me realize there are very few agents that focus on building our real estate business in this way (w/ focus on lead generation) and that created an instant bond with many of us. Some people had known each other online for a long time so for them it was also about meeting old friends - but even for someone like me who they didn't know as well - people were very generous with their knowledge and time. For this reason alone was well worth the trip.

5. Nanaimo - don't think the conference would have been the same in someplace like Vegas - the hotel, restaurants conference center and even REW's office were just within a couple of blocks from each other. There is a great park along the water and was very peaceful watching all the different types of boats, ferries and planes come in and out of the bay.

OK - so what else do you want to know or how can some of us talk YOU into going this year.

[OCTeam]

The sharing and individual discussions at the Keg were worth the trip. Really an eye opener to what others are doing, and willing to share. Just awesome.

[Discover Davis Homes]

Here are a few photos from last year - for some reason my camera never made it with me - so these are only from my phone - these are up at facebook but should be set to public:

Nanaimo Photos, September 2008

[AugustaREGroup]

Looks like the start of a blog post to me. Good reasons.

[SEO Nick]

5. Nanaimo - don't think the conference would have been the same in someplace like Vegas - the hotel, restaurants conference center and even REW's office were just within a couple of blocks from each other. There is a great park along the water and was very peaceful watching all the different types of boats, ferries and planes come in and out of the bay.

You make our little town look pretty damn nice with those photos!

The conference is a great place to do some face to face networking. It was definitely cool meeting you all in person, as well.

You know, a lot of you, I have never seen your faces. I remember last year someone pointed out Jim Olenbush to me. For the longest time, until that moment, I thought he was in his sixties. I think a lot of it had to do with his forum avatar.. and maybe just the overall classiness of his site -

I was definitely surprised to see he was a young guy. (No offense, Jim!)

I also hear Boris might show up there, this year.

[Discover Davis Homes]

@Augusta Yeah would have made a good blog post but now it could be considered dup. content - so I'll have to blog about other things.
I think anyone who spends time here would think the conference was well worth the effort - I met Nick last year but really looking forward to meeting Boris - he was a no show.

[RESteve]

I'm really trying to make arrangements to go this year. It'll be tough though.

PS. My avatar really is me. No, seriously.

[Discover Davis Homes]

Thanks Steve - my avatar on twitter is really me.

Seriously, it is probably tough for a lot of people - but there is a lot to learn just from the other REW people let alone the information in the conference.