Couldn't make it out to San Francisco last week? Missed any of the sessions because you were caught up in meetings?

I'm pretty excited to announce you can now watch videos of Real Estate Connect sessions online.

We've built a brand new video section on Inman.com where you can access all the Connect videos from Connect SF2008 and past events. Just click on the 'Video' tab in navigation and it'll bring you right there. Not so fast though...

Real Estate Connect videos are only available to Premium Members on Inman.com. If you hold a current Premium Membership, please make sure you are logged in to your account.

Not a Premium Member? Think about joining today to gain instant access to our library of Real Estate Connect Videos.

For your viewing pleasure: "The Porter," a winner of The Chase Legacy of Homeownership Film Challenge, a competition for aspiring filmmakers.

According to a synopsis of the film, by Vincent Singleton, it's a "character study examining a family's three generational struggle to become homeowners. A Pullman Porter is faced with eviction from the company property that his family calls home. He passes on the importance of home ownership to his son, who grows and tries to buy his own home. However, Chicago in the 1970's has segregating communities down to a science and the son is forced to once again pass on the dream. Finally, in the present, the grandson of the Porter is able to purchase a home, though the significance of the moment is lost on him."

In a press release, Chase said it worked with HBO and Blackfilm.com "to discover emerging filmmakers in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and New York to share their vision of legacy preservation through homeownership within the African-American community."

Chase and parent company JPMorgan Chase & Co. are among 17 major lenders that were sued last year by the NAACP, which claimed in a press release publicizing demonstrations this month that "African American borrowers were given loans with higher interest rates and other poor terms solely because of their race."

The NAACP cited data collected under the authority of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act that shows blacks and Hispanics are more likely to take out higher cost loans than whites. There's some debate whether minorities are targeted for such loans or if other criteria lenders use in making underwriting decisions -- such as credit scores, loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios -- are also factors (see stories).

Participate in an Inman News Poll.

Participate in a new Inman News Poll: "What are the chances that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must tap into their new, temporary line of credit to the government?"

An earlier poll, "Which type of real estate transaction is most difficult to close in your market area these days?" found that short sales are typically the toughest real transactions to close.

The results to date:

48% Short sale
19% REO (real estate owned or bank-owned properties)
13% Luxury home sale
10% New home sale
10% Entry-level resale home sale

I finally made it home and had some time to process at least some of the information that I learned at Inman Connect San Francisco 2008.  Needless to say, there was a lot of it.  Between the actual panel discussions, and all of the conversations that I had with folks, my brain and my notebook were filled with issues that I want to think about in greater depth.

The great thing is that if you are feeling the same way, the Inman Community is the perfect place to do it.  Bill Wendel was at Connect SF '08, and he did an incredible job of live-blogging his way through the sessions and the conference.  He shared his thoughts and analysis as group topics in the Connect SF '08 group.  Take a look at some of the topics he brought up, and add to the discussion that is going on there.  

One of the great things about Connect is that it does raise a lot of very important issues in the real estate industry.  One of the great things about the Inman Community is that it provides the perfect place to continue that discussion with the professionals on the ground who have first-hand experience with all of these issues. 

Come see what issues were the hot topics at Connect SF '08, and feel free to add your own!

Bloggers Connect 2008

Bloggers Connect kicked off yesterday to a full house at the Palace Hotel. Over 200 people crowded in to the Gold Ballroom to hear how blogging has evolved as a marketing tool for brokers, lenders, vendors and agents. 

The conversation was spirited at times, but tempered too. A much different vibe than last year at Connect, when the room could barely contain its enthusiasm for this new medium.

I think what I felt is that many people are now taking a much harder look at the business return of blogging. The novelty has worn off - and the question is can this tool work for me in my business and deliver me real leads, real clients, real customers?

I think the general consensus was yes. With caveats.

A few observations I took away...

Photos. Many of the panelists felt that was the easiest way to quickly get content and that consumers/readers respond very positively to that type of content. So has the written word worn off? Are we going to see the rise of the Realtor photoblog instead? 

Use a social media marketing strategy to leave a trail of comments around the web and through social networks. David Gibbons outlined this strategy by explaining how you can reach a much wider audience than just waiting for people to come to your blog. The key is finding the right communities online to reach out to - so find your niche and go talk to them.

The legal concerns around blogging merited a whole discussion unto itself. The rule of thumb seemed to be; when writing on your real estate blog, speak in generalities. Don't name names. And as Todd Carpenter put it "You're not John Stossel..." - leave the investigative journalism to the pros. If you find something awry - bring in the local media, your job is to sell homes.

Finally, move beyond writing your blog for other Realtors. Get away from your computer. Get outside and engage real people. The best way to build an audience for your real estate blog is out in the real world not online. Jeff Turner coined the term YEO (You Engaging Others) to encompass this idea. It's time real estate bloggers move beyond writing for the search engines and start writing for people.

So what else did you learn?

The first day of Connect SF '08 was jammed full with action and information.  From the opening of the workshops and Bloggers Connect, to the final words of general session, much was shared, even more was learned, and relationships were fostered.  A lot of people who are here might wish that they could be multiple places at the same time, and those of you who are not here might wish that you were.  Either way, we can help.

Inman Member Bill Wendel did an incredible and extensive job live-blogging his way through the first day of Connect SF '08.  He shared his notes from the sessions he attended, along with many of the highlights, in the Connect SF '08 Group in the Community section of Inman.com.  If you go there right now and join the group, you can participate in the discussion around many of the topics being discussed right now at Connect.  It is something that you won't want to miss, and it is a place where you can not only get caught up on sessions that you couldn't attend, but also extend the learning and sharing that you might have already done.  Bill will be doing more of the same throughout the rest of Connect, so check back frequently for more updates.  

The Connect SF '08 Group is also where you can find the live Twitterstream of all the Twitter folks who are attending Connect.  I encourage you to not only read the current stream, but click the "more" button so that you can actually go back and view the posts from throughout the day.  There, you will find all kinds of tremendous insights from the folks who were at Connect and were sharing their thoughts as the events were happening.  

The fun, excitement, sharing and learning that has taken place through the first day of Connect SF '08 has been great, and it is sure to get even better for the rest of the event.  Inman.com and the Inman Community is the place to go if you want to keep up with everything and extend your experience even further.  

San Francisco is the home of Trulia. Their official amabsassadors, the Marker Men, wanted to introduce themselves, and welcome everyone to San Francisco for Connect SF '08:

Two more video introductions came in over the weekend.  The first is from Diane Cohn, a REALTOR in Reno, NV.  The next is our first international entry, and comes from Petra, who is from Australia.  Take a look. . .

After announcing the #ConnectSF08 tag last week, it quickly became apparent that the tag might be a bit too long, especially for a service like Twitter (hey, when you've only got 140 characters, each one is precious).  So, here is an alternative tag you can use for Twitter:

#ICSF

That is only 4 characters, much easier on the thumbs.  If you want, feel free to use the other one as well, and it is still good for things like Technorati and Flickr, too.  The stream for both tags will be displayed on the Twitterstream page in the Inman Community section.  

What about photos from Connect?

Ines Hegedus-Garcia is a REALTOR and blogger in Miami.  She is coming to Connect SF '08 and had the great idea of starting a Flickr group. If you have a Flickr account, all you have to do is join the San Francisco Connectism group, and then upload all your photos from Connect.  You can also check out the photo blog that she set up.  

A lot of the folks going to Connect are also quite good photographers, so the group will prove to be quite interesting.  If you've got a camera and a Flickr account, join in!

Connect SF '08 is just around the corner.  You can be sure that many of the folks there will be covering everything that goes on live on their blogs, and on Twitter.  Many people have already made it known that they will be Tweeting away. 

So, with all these folks tweeting and blogging about Connect SF '08, how will you be able to keep up with it all?

Simple-  with the official #ConnectSF08 hashtag, and our Connect SF '08 Twitterstream.

For everyone tweeting and blogging about Connect, make sure that you tag all your posts, pictures, etc. with the official tag for Connect:  ConnectSF08.  When you tweet, be sure to use the hashtag #ConnectSF08.  When you do, all of the tweets will be aggregated and we will be displaying the stream of Connect-related tweets in the Connect SF '08 Community group.  If you joing the group, you can even comment on what is going on.

The Connect SF '08 Twitterstream is updated hourly, and it is sure to be filled with all kinds of interesting tweets and comments from attendees and members alike.  Check it out!