What's the point of Localism?

I have seen a few comments about the viewing of Localism and how the layout does not look as well there as on ActiveRain.  The one thing that will help with correcting this issue and also for your outside blog is that when you write your posts for ActiveRain and insert your photos, you do not want the width to be more than 550 pixels.  If it is wider than that, you will experience the different views and things going all out of alignment.

Some have asked the question, I do not know if I should post to localism or I should post everything there, etc.... Localism is a site where consumers can come to find hyperlocal content on a specific area.  Localism's tagline, "the worlds most complete neighborpedia" What does this mean for AR members?  The focus of posts on localism should be to share your local knowledge of an area (restaurants, parks, attractions) in addition to your tangible knowledge of the local real estate market.  The common denominator though for Localism posts is this: Local Informartion.

Irene- You asked the question of the difference between the localism Channel & Posting to Localism.  Let me try to clear this up.  The channels are simply used as a way to categorize information on the ActiveRain Site.  When you check the box and send your post to your neighborhood in Localism, it actually sends a copy of the post to the Localism site.  This is also important to use when using the Local Posts widget on your outside blog.  This allows consumers to search for other information that you have written about an area on your outside blog that is of interest to them.

Some have asked the question, what type of things are people looking for that I should be writing for localism. To answer that question as easy as possible, the answer would be this: Anything of interest to your local area.  Each time you write about something local in your area, you are expanding your online presence and marketing net that might be able to land a potential client.  Granted, they may not purchase immediately because you wrote about a restaurant, or a state park, but what if they come back repeatedly to your blog and read.  They may not be looking to buy or sell, but they know that if they hear anyone mention real estate, that you are an agent with great knowledge of the area and can help them with their needs. The larger your net is, the more potential you have.

Posts can be sent to both Localism & AR.  As a matter of fact, in order for something to go to Localism, it also has to be sent to your ActiveRain blog as well.  ActiveRain is your home landing page for both your Outside Blog & also Localism.  Anything you post to either of those has to also be sent to Activeain.

Lastly, on members only posts.   These are for topics you only want seen by members on the network.  It might be a rant, needing advice etc...Those type of posts you may not want to be viewed by the general consumer.  But, you are in need of some sort of assistance or venting to help you solve the situation.  So, you write the post and select members only setting. These posts can only be viewed by someone who is a member on the network and is logged into the system.  They do not show up on Localism or on your outside blog.  If you have selected to have them sent to your twitter stream, they will post out to twitter, but they can only be viewed by a member on ActiveRain that is logged in for your protection.

I hope this helps to clear up some of the questions I have seen here.  We are currently working on a new version of Localism which we hope to release in the future.  No timetable has been given yet as to when the release date will be.

If they contact me directly with the state, county & city, I can get it added.