It's been a whole 6 days now since I joined the team here at Inman News.  People have been asking lots of questions about why I'm here and what we're "up to" :)  It's been a lot of fun sort of NOT answering the questions directly because there's some secrecy around many of the big changes to come and around some of the exciting stuff that you'll see at Inman Connect NYC (and future events).

The many details about where Inman is going don't matter as much as the understanding about our direction.  Our direction is toward an even more diligent & clear voice for the real estate industry.  Inman News has been one of the strongest voices in real estate for many years now.  That's nothing new. But, we want to be "the" voice - The Voice of Real Estate.

So, here's the twist...

"voice" in our 2.0 world is no longer about one directional megaphones.  It's about community & conversations & shared learning. The direction and intention of Inman News is toward an ever expanding embrace of our amazing real estate community.  From this blog to the larger Inman.com site to our Inman Connect events, we've got renewed focus around connecting all the best information with the right people.

We're asking ourselves questions like those below...

• How do we deliver even more value to our industry?
• What stories and topics does the RE world really care about?
• What does "the very best conference/event in real estate" look like (or how do we make it even better)?
• How do we encourage the true leaders in the real estate community (online and off)?
• What's next in real estate marketing?

The most important answer of all is your answer.  What's your answer?

What's exciting in real estate in "your world"?

I'm the new guy here at Inman News. I joined the team just days ago as VP of Business Development.  A primary focus for my new role here is engaging with lots of great folks in real estate - and launching new relationships based on what I learn.

For me, being on the team at Inman feels like being part of the crew of the USS Enterprise on Star Trek.  I get the feeling that we're on this exploratory mission to seek out new life and new civilizations.  uh, I mean, we're on a mission to seek out the best and the brightest in real estate - and then highlight what they're doing in the news channel as well as at Inman Connect.

There's two main catagories for "people in real estate" - those who in sell real estate for a living (including brokers and franchise) and those who have products or services that support the real estate industry.  In both cases there are amazing new things going on.  If you sell real estate for a living, I'd bet the farm that you've made some big changes lately in your business and in your lifestyle, etc.  If you have a product or service for which real estate people are a primary target market, you've probably noticed that the landscape has changed just a bit in terms of what folks are willing to pay for -- and how much they expect in terms of value.

If you've got a noteworthy business in or around real estate, we'd really like to hear from you.  You can tell us what you're doing by filling out this information or by reaching out to me directly (or just comment below).

Even better...  who do you know that's doing something awesome?  Would you let us know here?

What's your tweet worth?  Well, it could be worth $100, and possibly even more if you're one of the lucky winners of our Twitter contest.

Here's the scoop:

Starting today -- July 1, 2009 -- we're launching the first official Inman News Twitter contest.  The rules are simple.  Just tweet a message that includes a link to this page: http://www.inman.com/events/real-estate-connect-san-francisco-2009 and use the #icsf hashtag so we can track the tweets.  Pretty easy huh?

What's in it for you?

Amazing discounts and prizes galore! The prizes below are listed next to the corresponding winning tweet #. 

10th = $100 off registration to Connect SF

25th = $250 off registration to Connect SF

50th = $500 off registration to Connect SF

100th = Free registration to Connect SF

150th = Two Free Registrations to Connect SF

250th = Two Free registrations and a free dinner at the Palace Hotel (up to $75 value)

500th = Two Free registration for SF and NY plus 1 year Inman News premium subscription

1000th = Five free registrations to Connect SF and lunch with Brad Inman

So, if I'm the 10th person to tweet (following the above rules), I would win $100 off registration to the conference.  Score!

As you can see, the prizes just keep getting better the more people tweet and re-tweet.  Will you be one of the lucky ones?

We'll be announcing the winners on Twitter as they happen so keep an eye out by following us at @inmannews.

We also have a secret prize to give away that we will be announcing later.  I can't tell you what it is, but trust me, it'll make the winner very happy!

Now the fine print:  Free registrations can be transferred to a future event if you've already purchased a pass.  Inman News reserves the right to change contest rules without notice.  If you're still reading this, you're worried too much about the rules.  Get out there and tweet!

Inman News has had a presence on Facebook for quite a while, now.  We recognized that Facebook provides an opportunity for our members and audience to not only keep up with the information and events at Inman News, but to connect and establish relationships with each other, too.  That is why we had established an Inman News Facebook group.

The group worked fine, but it didn't do a lot of the things that we wanted to do.  When Facebook launched pages for businesses and brands, they opened up a lot of the functionality that we originally sought.  That is why we are proud to announce the launch of the Inman News Facebook page.  If you are on Facebook, we would love it if you would become a Fan at our page.  All you have to do is go to http://Facebook.com/InmanNews.  From there, just click on the "become a fan" link.

Once you become a fan, you'll be able to receive updates from us with all of the latest news and information, along with updates on special events and promotions.  What's even better, is that you can join in discussions with your fellow real estate industry colleagues, or even share interesting, relevant information of your own!

The page is always going to be a bit of a work in progress as new features get added, and we receive feedback from our Fans and members as to what they would like to see on the page.

So, if you haven't already done so, become a Fan of Inman News on Facebook.  And if you have done it, we would love it if you would invite your friends, and tell us what you think! 

I know you've probably gotten the emails.  You may have even seen the message on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  But, I don't want to hear ANYONE say they never got the memo on this one...

So, here it is again:

You now have less than 24 hours before the pricing goes up on registration to Connect SF '09.

After the end of the day today (Friday), you'll be paying the full price. So raid the piggy bank, dig under the cushions, do whatever you need to do to make it happen.  Connect SF is the ONE industry event that you shouldn't miss.

Register HERE.

The Virginia Association of Realtors has launched the second annual "VARbuzz National Real Estate Blog Brawl," a single-elimination winner-take-all competition to identify the best Realtor-written blog.

VARbuzz, a blog written by VAR members, volunteer leaders, staff and guest authors, is accepting nominations for the Blog Brawl through Monday, March 16 at 8:59 a.m. EDT.

Prizes include:

·        First place: A free pass to Real Estate Connect SF '09 and a $1000 travel allowance

·        Second place: A free pass to Real Estate Connect SF '09

·        Third and fourth places: Flip HD camcorder

Here’s how the Blog Brawl works:

You can nominate your own blog or someone else’s, but the blog you nominate must be written by a Realtor. VARbuzz will take the top 31 nominees and seed the Blog Brawl bracket in the same manner that the NCAA seeds its "March Madness" tournament bracket.

Why only 31 nominees? It’s called home-court advantage: As the winner of last fall’s Virginia Real Estate Blog Brawl, Heather Elias’s LoCoMusings blog earned the overall number one seed.

Once the field has been determined, throughout the rest of March and into early April VARbuzz will hold five rounds of voting. Your votes determine who moves onto the next round, who goes home weeping, and ultimately the winner.

So get cracking, and see if you have what it takes to earn a free registration to Real Estate Connect SF '09.

This latest Inman News research report is based on a comprehensive survey on real estate compensation, conducted from November 2008 to February 2009. It reveals an industry in transition, with some stark contrasts to results from a previous survey conducted in June 2006.

The report includes a comprehensive examination of commission rates, commission splits, gross commission income, various costs of business including marketing costs and broker fees, and analyses of statistics based on location, experience in the industry and hours worked per week, among other factors.

Inman News Research Report - Real Estate Commissions: 2009

We have also made the survey data available to download for an additional $50 with the purchase of the report. Pay $80 more and get the survey data plus the Real Estate Commissions: 2006 Report.

Click here for purchase options.

Congratulations to Alisha Alway Braatz, a real estate professional in Bend, Oregon, who submitted the winning Roadmap to Recovery essay "Revolutionary thinking for real estate."

Alisha walks away with the $500 check for her efforts.

Licensed in 2006, Alisha Alway Braatz is a sales associate with Cushman & Tebbs Sotheby's International Realty in Bend.

Formerly with Sun River Realty, Alway Braatz briefly worked for a small boutique real estate firm before joining Sotheby's.

To read Alway Braatz's essay along with the other nine finalists, download the Roadmap to Recovery Top 10 special report; which available for free to Inman News Premium Members.

If you're not already an Inman News Premium Member, upgrade your account today!

Over the last few weeks, Inman News has retooled our free headlines e-mails in an effort to highlight our top real estate news stories and content at Inman.com.

We want to know what you think. Your feedback is important: Please email us at readeropinion@inman.com with any comments.

If you're not already registered to receive our headlines e-mails, you need to sign up for a free Inman.com account. Thank you!

A couple weeks ago we launched the "Future of Real Estate Commissions 2009" survey. We had a great response from our readers and would like to thank everyone for their valuable feedback.  As promised, we held a random drawing of the survey participants for a chance to win a $250 Amazon.com gift card.

And the winner is:

Jeanne  Hutchinson - Realtor at RE/MAX New Image in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Jeanne serves Saginaw, Tuscola and Genese Counties and has been in Real Estate since 1995. 

Congratulations Jeanne!