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Who are some of your favorite AR Bloggers? (A list of famous, infamous and fun to read little known bloggers)

Okay, we see the big boys and girls on the featured pages all the time. They're the "MEGA" contributors to AR what they write we all like to read. They're well known and well respected for their talents. I've been fortuante enough to grace the featured pages twice but these people have been there hundereds of times.

What I wanted to do is compile a list of little known favorites of ours. The people yet to hit the big time here on AR. I know it's not proper to post links in the commnets section but for this post I'll make an exception.

If you have someone's posts that you enjoy reading please link to their blog and tell us why they're worth giving a read and if you're really self centered or just need a little love you can link to your blog too (although the comments technically already link to your profile you go right ahead).

I'll kick it off with three of my favorites:

Greg Nino "Laugh, Learn, And Share" and he means it. I stop by for a good laugh and a man hug(if needed) daily.

Chistina Ehtridge: What can I say I like her perspective. She writes a lot of local content but when she speaks her mind it's fun to read.

Bob Stewart: I know he's staff and can probably get just about everything he writes featured but he doesn't post often enough in my opinion but when he does you should study up. You're in for a tech overhaul.

So who am I missing? I need some more must reads that I dont' already.

Posted by Brian Brumpton, Boise Idaho Real Estate on 04/10/2009 06:55 PM

Comments (83)

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83 Comments on Who are some of your favorite AR Bloggers? (A list of famous, infamous and fun to read little known bloggers)

APR

Hi Brian, This post is a good idea. I'm sure members get real tired of seeing my mug in the featured column. :)

Just yesterday I stumbled across Sally Dunbar. She left a really good comment on my post that led me over to check out her blog. Very good writer with a great sense of humor and 30 years in the business. Check her out. Tell her BB sent you over.

BB,

How could we ever tire of your seeing your mug? There's a reason you and the others are up there all the time.

Hi Brian...

A few of my favorites are:

Karen Anne Stone - because she is irreverant and funny, she tells it like it is, and shares her knowledge and experience openly...

Pat Kennedy - because her insight into her market and what makes our industry "tick" is always thought provoking, friendly and makes me smile...

and

Carol Culkin... because she seems to find the irony, humor, stupidity in all sorts of situations that I often feel I am the only one who notices.

I guess that a common thread here is that I like people who are not afraid to say that "the emporer has no clothes on" and who are willing to do it an an entertaining way! :)

Steve,

I agree with you about Karen Anne, she calls them like she sees them. I'll have to check the other two out.

Karen Ann definitely.

You can't forget Carole Provenzale

You can't beat the photography of Mike Jones

Hey Brian awesome idea I will be following the responses to get a better idea of all the AR Bloggers out there

Kate - Thanks for sharing.

James - Me too!

OK, I saw this post about two minutes after it was posted and there was yet to be a comment. And I have to be honest, if you wouldn't have used me as one of your examples I probably would have featured it then. That being said, Broker Bryant just led me to a great writer that I hadn't had the pleasure of reading as I don't get to spend as much time going through blogs as I used to.

So I'm going to use this post to feature stuff over the weekend. So come on folks, show me who else is out there just under the surface and let's get some of these hidden gems in our midst the exposure they deserve.

Bob,

Thanks for reconsidering.

ummmm - we'll until I get my list - Brian you are my favorite blogger!!!!!!! Keep up the great work in Boise!!!

Cheers

I love to read anything Geno Petro writes. His life stories remind me of mobsters! LOL

Well... I HAVEN'T hit the big time, yet... so I'll say ME. LOL

I'll be back to check out the gems among the undiscovered.

Hmmm. I haven't been here for a while. I'll have to look around again. Had some family issues to deal with. Great to have a few minutes to be back on the rain.

Good idea for a post though. Been here quite a long time though.

I have several favorites of course- Mary Douglas of Red Feather Lake Colorado, Carole Provenzale (already mentioned) and Jennifer Allen are just a few of my favorite "friends" here. My favorite featured agent - Lenn Harley- I always agree with her!

I've got so many writers that I love to follow, and have so much to learn from -- two of my favs are Melina Tomson whose wit and sarcastic humr always cracks me up and Anne Marie Malfi whose blogs contain so many marketing secrets they are amazing -- we've hired her as well and she does great work!

What a great post! (and the fact that BB mentioned me makes me blush... OK I'm unabashedly screaming for joy!)

Anyway... I'll be back to log in my faves. And thanks BB!... from the bottom of my cotton pickin heart. (OK.. never been south of nuthin, but you know what I mean)

Hey there are so many I don;t keep track on who's the best. You're good if you are telling what your feel and see in your market

Mike Jones, hands down. Rita

There are lots of gems around this place. Some are inspirational, educational, topical, truly unique, and/or totally against the grain. Some already know, but here's a blogger that will put hair on your chest.

There are so many that I could mention, and some of my favs have already been mentioned. But I would like to add a newer member of AR, Amy Zender. She is way cool! And Todd Clark, of course.

Jason; CRAP, that was creepy, man!

I love that this post is bringing my attention to some great bloggers! Thanks for thinking of this!

Jason ~ Very different for sure.

Without a dout: Melina Tomson is a blogger that should be read. I love her.

What a great idea - and what a compliment to the many bloggers mentioned here!

For me my first and all time fav will always be Gary Woltal; after that....I love Alan May, Sheldon Neal, Randy Hooker, Todd Clarke, Stephen L Smith, Charles Buell, ... I love Anne Marie Malfi, Mary Douglas.....oh dear I should go back and find their links shouldn't I ? lol There are so many amazing bloggers - we are so very fortunate to have a site like this! How fun - now I get to go and check out some new discoveries! Thanks !

LMAO @ Sardi for recommending CSD.

This is a great idea to pull out other potential featured post... I will have to check back to see who Bob selects next.

Oh Brian,

You shameless name dropper lol. I thought I'd better Google the phrase "name dropper" before I used it in my comment and here's what Wikipedia has to say.

Name dropping is used to position oneself within a social hierarchy. It is often used to create a sense of superiority by raising one's status. By implying (or directly asserting) a connection to people of high status, the name-dropper hopes to raise his or her own social status to a level closer to that of those whose names he or she has dropped, and thus elevate himself or herself above, or into, present company.

Name dropping can also be used to identify people with a common bond. By indicating the names of people one knows, one makes known his or her social circle, providing an opportunity for others with similar connections to relate.

Too funny - I think it was the second paragraph which was the intent of your post? What a social circle AR is.

There are so many interesting writers and I think depending if you post around the same time of the day, you begin to see and know the "regulars" on your shift. I'm a night hawk so I cruise with the midnight bunch. - Well, that's midnight in my timezone -

Jenny,

I don't know if that's a compliment or insult but hey it's all for the sake of discussion. I thought this post was going to fall off into the great unknown and Bob plucked it back out oblivion for me.

It's been a lot of fun reading the comments and I'm going to be here all weekend trying to read the blogs of all these people that I haven't known about.

And I know this is late but I do owe a thank you to Broker Bryant for lending me some of his street cred to get Bob to take a second look.

What a great post.

Here are some of my favorite in the rain: Bill Gassett as he's always full of great advice. Karen George (I miss you terribly) is someone I would read faithfully. In fact, I find myself going back to her posts on occasion and re-read some of her post. And then there's Marti Garaughty (The Art Of Marketing You). He's full of wisdom and I love his style.

Kathy

There are a few people that I subscribe to and make sure to see what they write... I comment on them a lot as well...

Jessica Horton. Mary McKnight. Ken Cook. Mike Mueller.

I read others, but that is a good start...

Lane,

I check in on Jessica's from time to time when I'm needing a little attitude. She doesn't pull any punches and I like that.

I'll have to check out the others.

What a great idea -- SarahGray Lamm has a heart of gold, is very insightful, genuine and a lot of fun to read.

Brian, I have a few favorites, and most are already listed here...But I have found sometimes it is the Groups that I have choosen that I get great info from. Some folks on here don't blog often, but when we they do...great info! So, I have certain groups I always check while checking on my favorite bloggers.

Brian, I must be closing in on 200 favorites now and love them all but you have to include Susan Mangigian, Liz Moras, and Jo-Anne Smith if you want to learn more than real estate and learn about life!!

Don't forget Len Harley and of course Mirela Monte and Carolyn Tann. Active Rain would not have Club Chaos with C and there would be no Optimist group withour Mirela.

What a great idea! So you first as a great blogger and then my real favorite is Mike Mueller. I will check some of the others out that are listed.

A compliment Brian :) I wouldn't think insults are allowed on AR?

I love reading Roy Peterson. Always good for a laugh or expert advice!-Dinah Lee

Thinking more about it- I guess blogs are like a box of chocolates... You never really know just what you are going to get !) Dinah Lee

Brian, I have so many folks that I like to follow it is just too difficult to narrow to just a few.

Blog Forest! Blog! (only joking Dinah)

oh more fun - its given this evening a whole new take for me! great...:-)

APR

Carwash Guy.

This is GREAT! I am going to check out all of the blogs mentioned that I have not heard of.

Thank you ~

BethAnn in Spokane

Alright. Serious this time. There are many good, and some great bloggers. I enjoy writers. Slightly different breed. The best writer to class up this joint commited ritualistic suicide with his blog, so I'm going to throw out another name that many, but not enough know. You owe it to yourselves to read JMac.

I was going to suggest Sally Dunbar, but someone else beat me to it! She may be a few months into the Rain, but she is going at full speed! Totally entertaining!

Margaret thanks for the mention. You're making me feel bad that I was planning to shoot spit wads at you during your presentation...

Jess, I also appreciate the mention and you know I'm happy to talk about you behind your back with the other mean girls...

I also agree with Paul that JMac is incredible. He is truly a writer.

I also like J.Philip for his cut to the chase/direct/confident attitude, Mark McKenzie for his take on the current economy, Gwen Banta for her humor (she writes the un-real estate piece for agent genuis and she is funny), and Jessica Wynn Horton for her no holds barred attitude.

If you haven't read Jesse Clifton you have to read his posts.

I think if we all harass Al Donohue some more he'll start writing his witty posts again instead of all of his business generating local posts. What's with that by the way? He's acting like he wants to make money off his blogging efforts or something...

Thanks, Melina. The check's in the mail, k? :)

Great names have already been mentioned here... fantastic writers. A couple I didn't see; Richard Weisser for his humor, photography skills and Dear Richard column, JL Booney cuz he's funny as can be and sharp as a marble tack, and one of my all time favorites here in the 'Rain, Margaret Woda.

Hey Brian, I recently subscribed to Lisa Udy's blog. She's always sharing great technical stuff.

Barb Szabo, Todd Clark, Pat Kennedy, Sheldon the british guy, those are the ones I can think of the top of my head. There are many more.

I think the star depends on the day. When you scan the blog buffet of daily offerings, and a headline title hits you as something you were wrestling with that day, that is the daily hero. When the post is so appropiate, filled with helpful links, good imagery and even video, I think thanks. Thank you very much. For video, I think Fred Light is the local authority, the in house expert, the guy I get excited to see has made a new post to read, learn from. Another day, some other void is filled with helpful posts from the AR roulette wheel of experts. It provides what is needed here at AR University. The heroes are the blogger that only has a few but well thought out posts and they really shine in their particular expertise. The number of those candidates won't fit here and all of us have our days when we get the gold star for contribution. Everyone sitting on the bench on the AR team is a winner, valuable and we are glad to have them here to engage/exchange with.

Yeah, JMac is a heck of a writer and even though we often don't agree...he is well worth taking the time to read.

Sally Dunbar is also going to be HUGE in my humble opinion.

I realize both of these have been mentioned, but I would like to second them.

I've already discovered a few new people thanks to this post. Most excellent!

I have to save this page because so many suggestions came in. I have been clicking on cities to find articles and the groups like the Tech and Twitter groups are a terrific way to find out new ideas and insights.

Brian, thanks for the great post. I agree with Barb above ( we Clevelanders think alike ) that Lisa Udy's posts bring tremendous value. I also like Gary Woltal as his posts are very upbeat and positive and always put me in a good mood.

dan

Well that guy Brien Berard he is great, it is as if I am writing the post myself! We are always on the same wavelength.

Seriously, too many to name, but I will mention Katerina and Nestor Gassett. I always find their post so helpful.

Brian Brumpton, of course. I'd have to say he's my favorite for the moment. Have a nice weekend!

Brian - there are lots of great bloggers, I like reading Kat Delong, Kim Kelley, Gary Woltal (always inspiring), Carole Provenzale, Sally Cheeseman, and Brian & Rita Burke just to name a few. I might have to come back and name some others. Great idea, I have already subscribed to new blogs because of this post!

I've seen quite a few favorites already. I'll throw in Chris and Stephanie Somers and Kristin Moran (she is the one who first invited me to Active Rain).

Michael Thornton cracks me up... and inspired the inner hillbilly for my Spring Fresh entry. Love his "Oh Crap" moments.

Marvin de la Vega had me with his surfing realtor bit. Love his humor and viewpoint.

Gary Woltol is our resident "grasshopper". check out his comments. He leaves about 50 a day, and lifts and inspires and supports EVERYONE.

Gwen Banta is wicked funny. Grab a martini and settle in for her posts.

Gabrielle Rhind inspires me as a Mom. I'ld hire her to sell me a house if she would bring her kids along for advise.

Khash SCITHTOEKSGHVISIF (or something) had me in a full nelson with this post

Mary Douglas is commenting EVERYWHERE. And doesn't she have the friendliest, most trustworthy face?

Elizabeth Weintraub is a natural writer. Love her style.

Then Sheldon (I need a graphic of me in a dune buggy, I guess), Paula Swayne (my mentor, pal and referral buddy), Erin Attardi (who got me into AR but got no points for it), love Carolyn Tann, TLW and BB, ........ aint' it fun here?

... and Jessica Horton... I need to spend some serious butt-in-the-chair-eyeballs-glued-to-the-monitor time with your past posts.

@ Jason Sardi....WOW! That's all I can say. Wow. I won't even ask...

@ Lane thank you. You know I enjoy you too, but I was trying to bring attention to some folks that really, really need a little more recognition on here IMO.

@ Brian I can be sweet too! I promise!

@ Melina! Awwwwww. I don't know what I would do if it weren't for backstabbing friends like you that love to sit around and talk about me pray for me! >:)

@ Sally I'm most definitely not for everyone (to read or work with). Not trying to be either. However, I think you are going to blossom into a real thing of beauty. Thank you.

Jessica, Crazy Shark Dude is the bomb. He is a lawsuit waiting to happen, and I want to be around when the feds raid his blog ;)

Just for giggles I checked out Crazy Shark Dude. I couldn't read the post because of the picture...what was that pot of water? Don't tell me, I don't want to know!

Jessica - I know you can. I digg it when you give people lip though.

And enought about Crazy Shark Dude. Believe me you don't want know what was in that pot.

Darn I forgot about Crazy Shark Dude. I have been subscribed to his blog since his first post.

Brian - I like Gren Nino too. He's so funny and has a great sense of humor. I also like Janet Guilbault because she's a fellow mortgage professional and has an incredible writing style.

Brian, Great idea for a post. I think the error I make in my judgment of bloggers is that I assume that the longer someone has been on AR, the better the blogger they are.

What I have realized is that ones experience on AR does not equate to experience with writing and insight. There are a ton of great "new" bloggers on AR.

Cool post Brian. There are so many excellent writers it would be hard to name a favorite. Although if I want to laugh it would have to be Greg Nino.

WoW.. this list is really growing.... Looks like I need to get busy... I don't see my name on the list... LOL

I am not going to even start naming my favorites here on Active Rain because I wont know how to end it. But I will say that "I have learned and still learning from all you great people here on Active Rain". You are all great people. Thanks for teaching what you have taught me. Great post Brian.

Excellent idea Brian. Problem is there are so many great bloggers here on AR. I know that I have not had the pleasure of reading them all of them. I would guess I am lucky if I have hit 25% of the greats. That said, here is my list:

Jason Sardi - just love his style of writing and his take on every situation.

Lenn Harley - one of the masters for sure.

Jeff Belonger - I have watched Jeff since my first day on AR. Always has some great posts that are easily understood.

Steve Hoffacker - whenever I need to some motivation Steve always has some very thoughtful posts.

Roland Woodworth - a local Realtor who is always there to assist and always has great localism posts.

I love reading Lenn Harley - I had the pleasure of serving on the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtor's Grievance Committee with her and she's just as wonderful in real life...

Lisa Udy - my techy guru-hero

Bill Gassett - my Massachusetts fave. GO Sox!

APR

There is so much talent on the Rain new and newly discovered- this post was a great idea

The Shark Dude is ...definately over the top!

I love all the different blogs on AR - This post is helping me find some good new people to explore.

I like reading Larry Easto - he's always got good information to share.

I have REALLY enjoyed getting to know David Patterson. Great, personable, upbeat KW agent in South Carolina (I think). He may not be on your radar screen, he's worth getting to know. Happy Easter!

Hi Brian - Wow - I have so many different people that I like to read for different reasons -there are just too many to list! That said - when I only have time to read just one - the ONE that I read is Joseph O'Saben.

Happy Easter :)

APR

A lot of my favs have been mentioned already. I have about 15 or so that I try to read every day and then some more that post less often that I check in on. It is fun to get to know individuals and how they think.

Here's two of my favorite bloggers (among MANY others!)

Kelly Sibilsky: http://activerain.com/blogs/getmovingwithkelly

Mary Douglas:

http://activerain.com/blogs/mdouglas

JUN

Thank you, Melina - I am flattered, delighted, and broke now that I paid the vig. The next time you send Big Tony Two Fingers to collect a debt, tell him to knock first. (But I do owe you bigtime - thanks!)

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