Active Rain and Move.com, Bloodhound Unchained and Zillow, Inman News and…
February 27th, 2008 Categories: 4realz, Active Rain, Inman News, Social Networking, dustin luther, re.net
ActiveRain, I fear, faces a pricey uphill battle against Move.com due to their steadfast commitment
towards a full blown trial. The attorneys must be licking their chops as this looks to be a battle of attrition. Move definitely has the pockets burn and turn this into an expensive endeavor for the guys in Seattle. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pulling for Jon and Matt vs The 800 Pound Gorilla, but the economic (im)practicalities and ramifications of a lawsuit this size cannot be ignored.
One would think that Housevalues recent $2.75M investment in AR must have come with a high degree of comfort considering this pending lawsuit. I don’t know of many investors who put money into a company that is facing potentially expensive litigation. Then again my insight is near-sighted.
In what has to be one of the oddest couplings in recent memory, The Bloodhound crew has announced that Zillow will be the primary sponsor for the Bloodhound Unchained conference in Phoenix May 18th-20th…Nearly spit up my coffee when I read this, I don’t get it, I mean I get it, it is about breaking Benjamins…and Zillow has them to break.
BHB is unapologetically the most in your face, tell you where you can stick it blog community in the re.net space (thanks mainly to it’s proprietor) Greg makes no bones about it. Zillow on the other hand is about as nice and cordial as anyone in this space. They have more customer relations people than I do fingers. I guess I personally expected BHBU to ride the independent route in lieu of going with a corporate sponsorship. Will Zillow take any heat for Gregs public undressings of other influencer’s in the space? In any case, BHBU should be worth the price of admission, if only for pure entertainment value. *Envisioning hecklers and taser guns* ‘Don’t tase me dude!’
Speaking of the conference circuit, it’s really been heating up recently. 4RealzED, Domus Consulting, as well as BHBU have pushed into a crowding arena. I’ve experienced Domus’ enlightenment (which is top notch) and have attended the past three Inman Connects, which are filled with the who’s who of Real Estate 2.0. I’m
looking forward to seeing what the 4Realz and BHB workshops have to offer…can I get a press pass guys? If any of these groups come to a town near you, drop the coin and attend. All parties are brilliantly in tune with whats going on in the future of real estate. Just noticed Zillow is also sponsoring Dustin’s 4RealzED events…hmmm, David G. is a pimp…and his Facebook picture is about 10 years old 
j/k David…
Moving on to Inman’s Beta site.
I’m a contributor to their blog network, so they get automatically get props for this brilliant move (Joel is no dummy). Otherwise, they’ve really evolved the look and feel of their 1998 website, it’s taken on a nice (and BLUE) look and feel…very ‘Web2.0′ My understanding is it’s still a work in progress (hence the beta tag), which explains some of the minor bugginess and slightly cluttered look. I’ve tried to post suggestions to the designated Wiki page, but it won’t save my changes 
Oh X man, you’ve gone and done it now!
Zillow was actually our first choice for the UNCHAINED headline sponsor. We felt it represented the single best company in our Web 2.0 world. While we’ve been critical of Zestimates at BHB, we’ve also praised some of the tools they offer for practitioners to market themselves in the Web 2.0 world.
Let’s not forget that Greg’s public defense of the free Zestimate, on BHB, and the MSM news, was quite risky; his home state was attempting to legislate Zillow out of business! That’s BHB; if we think it’s useless, you’ll hear about it. If we think it’s unjust that someone tries to legislate you out of business, you’ll hear about it.
Enter David G. Few “corporate types” live in our world the way he does. His persistent explanations made the industry stand up and take notice of the value of the Zestimate as a starting point. It’s become useful in my practice because it helps borrowers understand the pressures of a declining market.
UNCHAINED will be worth the price of admission for the very fact that it will be practitioners sharing with practitioners. People who are getting REAL results in Web 2.0 helping the hundreds of thousands of those who aren’t (although we can only hold 350 this year).
You know? Sometimes a plate of popcorn shrimp can go a long way to understanding each other (an inside reference to my first meeting with Jeff, folks). Zillow just bought us all a plate of popcorn shrimp by supporting seminars that discuss best practices.
Congrats on the sponsorship…
You guys definitely ‘keep it real’ and are sure to put on a worthy show…there is something to be said for brutal honesty…not one to shy away from expressing raw opinion myself
I thought we shared popcorn lobster..? Either way it was good food and good company.
Do I get a press pass for BHBU?
Sadly that photo’s only a few years old. This industry will do that to you. You should join us in Phoenix, Jeff!
Hey X.. Don’t forget the chalice.
We missed out in Vegas.
I’m sipping from my pimp cup as I type this