So it is Thursday morning and the recovery process from yesterday is going a little slow this morning. RE Bar Camp is over and Real Estate Connect is in full swing. I had promised to post daily updates but the wireless connection at the Palace Hotel has been less than stellar. So I have my feet stretched out on my comfortable bed and I thought I would provide some insight on the last two days.

First off, I have to say that the discussions and panels have been outstanding but the networking has been off the chart. It is incredible to have built relationships online and now getting the opportunity to build those relationships offline.

So RE Bar Camp on Tuesday was incredible. Great discussions! Great breakouts! Great people! What more could a guy ask for? I want to give a special thanks to Andy Kaufman who was forward thinking enough to organize the first one. I hope it goes on for many years to come.

After RE Bar Camp, everyone headed next to door to Café Du Nord for Beer with Bloggers. It was great to mingle with everyone at an open bar but man was it hot down in the pit! Big thanks to Zillow for sponsoring the event and letting everyone blow off steam after a long day of using our brains.

After we were abruptly kicked out of Café Du Nord, a group of the RE Bar Camp cronies went to BurgerMeister over on Church Street. Again, there were great discussions and great people but this time there was a little great food thrown in for good measure.

So Wednesday started off with a bang with my attendance of Bloggers Connect. This was my first and I was blown away with the panels and insight to this wacky world of blogging and social media. I did miss the intimacy of RE Bar Camp but the content was fabulous.

After lunch and more sessions it was time to hit the expo floor. Not a huge floor but good stuff all the same. After chatting it up with several vendors and friends from my past life, I saw an obviously exhausted Daniel Rothamel, better known as the Real Estate Zebra, sitting at the Inman News booth putting in his four hours of booth duty. After chatting it up with Daniel for a few minutes, we were honored with the presence of Todd Carpenter (@tcar), Kim Wood (@KimWood), Ginger Wilcox (@gingerw) and the talented Heather Elias (@hthrflynn).

This is where the real fun started as Kim, Ginger, Heather and I jumped in my car and headed over to the Trulia party for some great food (the Jambalaya was off the hook), awesome views of the city and some of the best networking around.   

Onward and upward, we pushed on to the ActiveRain party. Huge turnout in the Bolero Penthouse Suite of the Hotel Adagio. The drinks were flowing as we took in the incredible cityscape.

Last stop of the evening for me was the Redwood Room located in the Clift Hotel. The drinks were very expensive but they sure did not skimp on the alcohol. The ambiance was freaky and cool all rolled up in one package. If you have never had the opportunity to check out this lounge, I would highly recommend it.

So as we closed down the bar and were looking for another venue (good luck trying to have someone let you in at 1:45 AM), Mike Simonsen from Altos Research came to the rescue and took everyone back to his hotel room for an after, after party. Unfortunately I had to drive 45 minutes to my home so I missed out on the festivities. I’m not sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing. I’ll have to get the scoop and fill you in later.

For now, I’m on my way to Day 2 of Real Estate Connect and I know it will just keep on getting better. Look for more updates as they come.

Derek Overbey
Sr. Director of Partnership Strategy
Roost.com
derek.overbey@roost.com or @doverbey on Twitter