Top 10 Reasons NOT to Attend the Fall RESO Conference

I figured I needed an attention-grabbing headline to draw you in. And while this is certainly a tongue-in-cheek top ten list, I'm going to do my best to keep in line with the title.

10. What's there to do in Austin, Texas anyway?

Well, if you don't like drinking good beer and bourbon, eating awesome barbecue or listening to some of the best music in the country...you'd probably do best to stay away.

But I'll be at 6th Street when not at the conference!

9. I'm not into golf, games or free drinks...but especially free drinks. I despise them.

Honestly, I'm kind of a fan of free drinks. And the Zillow party at the last conference was my time to shine. I'd actually prefer if there were fewer people between me and the bar when DynaConnections hosts what will undoubtedly be an awesome party at TopGolf.

8. I'm not really into meeting and networking with smart people. I prefer the underwhelming average types.

RESO Fall Conference is probably not for you. But I'm sure there's a Meetup out there with your name on it! The RESO Plugfest is going to be filled with a bunch of overly smart, smarty smart pants anyway. And who wants to see the latest APIs and get to play around with them for a day?

7. Environment, shmenvironment! Who cares about energy efficiency, clean and renewable energy, saving money or the planet anyway!?

You'd be best to stay away from the special sessions put on by the Home Energy Institute Accelerator at the conference and plugfest. You might just get some crazy ideas on how to leverage energy data to create more opportunities for your clients and partners. And what the heck doe the U.S. Department of Energy possibly know about energy?

6. Real estate data is already so easy to work with.

I think this one speaks for itself. It's not like real estate data ever changes or anything. It's pretty much a constant that it's the most stable data on the planet and there's never been an MLS that sent a message (every other month) with changes to their data. Come on, like that would happen. Why bother standardizing it anyway?

5. The data dictionary isn't like a mandate from the National Association of REALTORS or anything! (is it?)

Um...yup, it is. And perhaps there's a date looming out in the near future of January 2016 for compliance. Or something like that.

4. Certification sounds like a breeze. I have nothing to worry about and plenty of time.

Yeah. Just ask anyone how well they did on their first round of certification tests. Easy breezy!

3. I'd rather let other people figure this stuff out. I find it much more interesting to not be involved and simply accept the outcomes of other people's work. Especially if it means I have to change the way I've been doing things for years. That's the spice of life!

While this is totally an awesome outlook on life, your CFO, COO, CEO and whomever else might have their finger on the pulse of revenues and costs might beg to differ. It's kinda fun to have a seat at the table when decisions are being made.

2. I need to get my house decorated for Halloween!

Unless you're one of these 13 people, I think you can afford a little time away.

1. I already know everything there is to know!

If this is in fact the case, please do show up and impart some of your awesome wisdom on us. We could use your help!

Seriously. I implore you. If you are in any way involved in the real estate industry from a technology or data perspective, please take the time to join us.

Have a look at the agenda. If there was ever a best first time to attend, this is it. The conference will be packed with sessions on the business value of the standards RESO works on in addition to the deeper, technical topics. Plus there's great content to ease first-timers in.

Feel free to reach out to any of the people you see on the agenda as presenters or participants. Reach out to me and ask questions. If you've been before, you know the value. If you haven't, come find out why you need to make it a habit. The worst thing that happens is you spend a few days networking, eating some of the best BBQ on the planet and listening to some presentations that might just change your outlook on the industry (however good or bad that is).

I hope to see you in Austin!

To view the original article, visit the Onboard Informatics blog.