One of the major benefits of attending Real Estate Connect is the opportunity to meet with and learn from the brightest minds in the real estate industry.  Real Estate Connect is, and always has been, about connecting with other professionals. 

Your first opportunity to connect with others at Connect is at Beer with Bloggers, Sponsored by Zillow.  Join everyone for networking on Tuesday, January 6th from 6-8pm in the Marriott Marquis Atrium Lounge.  There is sure to be plenty of great conversation, so don't miss out on this opportunity to get your Connect NYC '09 experience started on the right foot.  

So, don't forget:

Beer with Bloggers, Sponsored by Zillow

6-8pm Marriott Marquis Atrium Lounge (8th floor)

 And don't worry if you don't consider yourself a blogger.  You still like beer and good conversation, don't you?  

The nature of Inman Connect events is that not only are they great learning opportunities, but they are very social events.  There is a lot of meeting, greeting, networking, and discussing that goes on.  One of the great things about the emergence of new media is that it allows just about anyone to participate in all of this social activity.  Whether you are there meeting people and shaking hands, or back at the home or office, there is no reason to feel left out.  Here are some of the great ways you can use the power of new media to "connect with Connect:"

Facebook:  For those of you using Facebook, there is a very active group of folks in the Inman News Facebook Group.  There are sure to be lots of wall posts and pictures during Connect NYC '09, so be sure to stop by and check things out.  

LinkedIn:  There is actually an Inman group on LinkedIn specifically for networking before, during, and after Connect.  The group is called Real Estate Connect.  With thousands of members, you are sure to make some valuable new connections.  

Flickr: There is now a group for Real Estate Connect photos on Flickr.  Since so many folks take great pictures while attending the Connect events, it seemed like a good idea to have a central place for all of the pics.  The Flickr group is that place.  All you have to do is upload your Connect pics to Flickr, become a member of the group, and then submit the pics to the group.  

Twitter: There is bound to be plenty of Twitter activity around Connect NYC '09.  If you want to follow the action on Twitter, one of the best things you can do is to use hashtags.  The official tag for Connect NYC '09 is:  #icny  For those of you who are tweeting, please tag your Connect-related posts accordingly.  If you are just trying to follow along, you can go to search.twitter.com, and then enter a search for #icny.  That will show you the latest Connect-related tweets.  

There are sure to be tons of Connect-related blog posts during and after Connect NYC '09 as well.  Technorati should be able to help you find some of them, and if people use the "icny" tag on their blog posts, it will make it even easier.  The same holds true for photos.  The more people use the tag, the easier it is to connect with the right content.  

So those are the main ways you can connect with Connect this January.  So if you are going to be joining us in Times Square in January, these are great ways to catch up on anything that you might have missed, and if you aren't going to be able to join us, these are great ways to live vicariously.  

See you in Times Square!

Flickr photo by Unhindered by Talent.

Inman News is hiring a reporter/researcher. Find out more.

About a month ago, I put out a call for folks to send me their video introductions for Connect NYC '09.  Stacey Harmon was the first to take me up on the offer.  It is pretty obvious that Stacey must be excited to meet and learn from the brightest minds in the real estate industry at Connect NYC '09-- why else would she leave the beautiful beaches of Southern California to fly across the country? 

 So, if you are going to Connect NYC '09, make sure to say hello to Stacey if you see her around.  And if you want folks to be able to say hello to you when they see you, send me a link to your video introduction:  daniel.rothamel@inman.com

For the last couple weeks, part of our promotion for Real Estate Connect NYC included the chance to win 3 nights at the Marriott Marquis where Connect is being held.  Anyone who registered between December 8th and December 21st was entered into the drawing.  So this morning, I received the list, jumped online where I then googled "random number picker" and the rest is history.

So, without further adiue... 

I present to you lucky # 39: Derek Overbey!  Derek is the Senior Director of Marketing and Social Media at Roost.com.

Congratulations Derek, we'll see you in NY! 

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!

If you did, not to worry. You can now listen to it on Inman.com.

Our Roadmap to Recovery Audio Townhall is now available exclusively for Inman Premium Members. This 60-minute call is packed full of great information and features Inman News publisher Brad Inman, Inman News columnist Kris Berg, Patrick Stone of the Stone Group, Cyberhomes GM Marty Frame and Pam O'Connor from the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.

To listen; log in to your Premium Member Account and click on the link above, or click on our Podcasts section to find it and other great podcasts.

An Inman Premium Membership costs just $149.95 a year and gives you access to our entire Podcast library; as well as event videos from past Connects and much more. 

Sign up today!

Click here to view full-size graphic.

The blog for money management site Mint.com carries a graphic suggesting who ultimately may foot the bill for the $700 billion federal "bailout" spending plan.

About half of the money is already accounted for, and there are reports that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson may ask Congress for the second half of the money.

The Mint.com site had earlier posted the original "Visual Guide to the Financial Crisis" that focused on actions leading to the economic boondoggle. Both illustrations were designed by WallStats.com.

Maureen Francis!

The members of the Inman Community went above and beyond, giving us over two dozen submissions to have their blogs made-over live on stage at Bloggers Connect NYC '09.  All of the submissions were carefully considered by the top-notch lineup of Bloggers Connect presenters, along with myself, Joel Burslem, and Jim Cronin and his team at The Real Estate Tomato.  

The voting was done Heisman-style.  Every judge submitted their top 3 choices.  A first-place vote was worth 3 points, second-place worth 2 points, and third-place 1 point.  When all the votes were in, and all the points tallied, Maureen came out on top, in a very close race.  

Here is the submission that Maureen made that will put her on stage at Bloggers Connect (she even added a celebrity endorsement from one of Detroit's most recognizable personalities):

Maureen did an awesome job with her submission, as did everyone else who participated.  The judging was very difficult, but it proved one thing-- the members of the Inman Community are dedicated to what they do, and are always looking for ways to improve.  That's a good thing, because that is exactly what Inman Connect, Bloggers Connect, and the Blog Makeover are designed to help them achieve.  

So, we'll be seeing Maureen at Bloggers Connect, where she will submit herself and her blog to the collective knowledge and expertise of not only the presenters, but the insightful attendees as well.  Together, we should all be able to help not only Maureen in her blogging efforts, but everyone else in attendance is sure to pick up a tip or two.  

If you haven't registered for Bloggers Connect or Inman Connect NYC '09 just yet, don't worry, you've still got time.  Right now, we're even offering a holiday special--  you'll get a 1-year Premium Membership, a pass to Inman Connect NYC '09, and a pass to one of the workshops (Bloggers Connect sounds perfect).  All of that is worth almost $1000, but this holiday season, you can get it all for $599 if you register before January 1, 2009.  Get the details here, and take advantage of this special today!

I know I'll see Maureen in Times Square, and I hope I'll see you there, too!

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!