My first day back in Orlando after Inman in New York this week. Besides trying to catch up on emails and following up with all the great people that I ran into, I’m trying to find some time for a quick post. First, some outstanding reviews of the conference:

• Inman Connect Highlights by Joel at FoREM
• Check out the Sellsius blog for pictures and video
• Glen at Redfin about the fireworks between him and Alan Dalton

Okay, on to my thoughts about the conference. Because it was in New York, there was a great deal of NY-centric commentary and sessions. For instance, one of my favorite sessions was on blogging, and it had a great panel of bloggers. However, I left wishing that there had been a few non-NY bloggers on the panel.

New York was the focus, as well as technological shifts as they relate to social media and user generated content. Why then was Streeteasy not present on any of the panels as speakers for their product and what they’re doing in New York real estate? They are the epitome of what a niche company can do to embrace real estate professionals, generate user comments and track data within a metro area.

Video was highlighted by Brad Inman as being one of the big things that will have a major impact on the industry this year. Companies like Brad’s Turn Here, Online WalkThru (high-end real estate video) and WellcomeMat (the YouTube of real estate) are poised to make a big difference. Each of these products are going to make a splash this year, and each serve a different demographic. I would have loved to see a panel where they all squared off against each other.

Overall, Inman pulled off an incredible conference, as they always do. The topics were interesting, the panelists were top-notch and the networking phenomenal. That’s what Inman conferences are for, and they do it better than anyone else. I’m already looking forward to the one in San Francisco this summer.

Inman New York is winding down, and I’ve had the time to upload a couple of videos from it. One of my favorite sessions was “Predicting Real Estate’s Future Trends” moderated by Michael Rogers, the New York Times Futurist-in-Residence. I was able to capture his opening comments on the video below:

Real estate is inherently local. When people are running an estimated home valuation, it’s generally done in their own neighborhood or those of friends and family. This week at Inman’s Real Estate Connect in New York we are unveiling a new feature of eppraisal.com that allows real estate professionals to sponsor a zip code.

With eppraisal.com Sponsorships, we are providing a way for real estate professionals to connect with the eppraisal.com users that are eager to understand how much their castle is worth and what to do with it. By sponsoring a zip code, or multiple zip codes, professionals gain exclusive access to members within the area as well as premium advertising opportunities to those targeted zones. Leveraging eppraisal.com Sponsorships, professionals are able to immediately find consumers that are ready to take action on buying, selling or re-financing a home.

Starting next week at Inman, any real estate professional can begin sponsoring a zip code at $20 per month. As always, give it a try and give us your feedback. We’re always looking at ways to improve our service, and your feedback is critical for that to happen.

I just got back from a great get together with a bunch of fellow real estate bloggers, a sort of pre-conference meeting for those of us at Inman New York. It was initiated by Joel from Future of RE Marketing with help from the Sellsius guys. By the way, the place they picked was incredible – the Hudson Hotel in NY is fantastic. I have to admit, I was really looking forward to putting a face to some of the names that I’ve come to know throughout the last year.

The real estate blogosphere has exploded in 2006. I remember starting Realty Thoughts back in April and there were only a handful of others doing the same. Now, Matt Heaton tells me there are 13,000 real estate agents blogging on Active Rain. Bloggers are becoming the “thought leaders” for the industry – especially where real esate meets the web. Writers like Pat Kitano, Mary McKnight, Greg Swann, Kevin Boer and many others are talking about high-level issues that are changing and defining the industry.

So, as we see blogs flourishing, I have to ask, why do we not see a Brad Inman-led panel at this conference strictly about blogging? I see him tackling a number of great issues – Brad is incredibly good at making fireworks happen at his conferences. There are a number of bloggers among those I met tonight who would be great to have on the panel.

Regardless of whether or not blogging gets the attention it deserves from any conference (and there are a couple of good smaller sessions on blogging at Inman), 2007 will continue to see a rapid expansion of real estate agents and other real estate professionals embracing this platform.