Dear Good Guy from New York,

Remember when I was brand new to blogging? When I didn't know my Active Rain Associates from a hole in the blog?

Remember when you wrote and asked me for help on how to improve the "hit count" on your blogs?  And I wasn't very helpful because I was still so new?  And still in shock over the fact that people were actually reading and commenting on the crap I wrote?  

Well, I haven't forgotten you.  I hope you'll forgive me for not writing back sooner.  But here I am and I hope this letter finds you well - even though it appears you gave up your quest of becoming an active blogger. 

When you asked for my help, back in November of 2008, I suggested that you write about your passion.   The thing you enjoy, the thing that is most real to you and is honestly "yours." 

We never saw or heard from you again.  That's sad.  It makes me feel guilty.  Maybe if I had given you a better answer you'd still be with us, rocking our world with your blogs.  The truth is, I'm still haunted by the fact that I didn't take the time to get you fired up and back into the blogging game here on Active Rain.  

So, here we go.  I hope you're still out there and I hope there's still a flicker of "I want to write, dammit!" in you.  Go get your blogging shoes on and let's boogy!  Here's my revised answer to your plea for help.

Ditch the boring, "industry info" crap you were regurgitating from your company news feed.  It sucked.  No one comes to Active Rain for boring.  And no one will bother commenting on it, no matter how cute you are or how much people like you. We get enough of "boring" in the office, from our clients and on TV.

Tell us, in your own words, who you are and what you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and what you HATE, HATE, HATE.  What pisses you off about your customers?  What did that lady have on who came to your office to bitch about the price of her home-owner's policy?  Did she have alcohol on her breath?  Was her hair dyed?  Did her husband have a glass eye? 

And what about the booger-eating dork who insists that monthly reports be submitted on time, or else?  Is he left handed?  Does he stutter?  Does he wear a bra under his shirt and tie? Is he married to the boss? 

Tell us the juicy stuff!  And tell us from your heart.  We don't care if your grammar is perfect or if you misspell your words.  Well, okay there is one guy here who cares....but trust me, if he ever misspells a word on Active Rain he's gonna hear about it from a thousand people.   

Please come back and dance with us in the rain.  We miss you!  And thanks for waiting so patiently for the real answer to your question. 

Sincerely,
Laraine Shape