A DROUGHT, A DRIZZLE, OR A DOWNPOUR? Expectations In The Rain
A recent rash of posts on the topic of ActiveRain’s continued viability as a network really had me in a bind, of sorts.
That’s only because, silly me, I read the posts backwards. Lenn Harley’s “ActiveRain Losing Gas? By What Measurement?” was a great rebuttal of the notion that ActiveRain is losing its mojo by pointing out that, statistically speaking, ActiveRain does very well compared to other real estate sites, especially when it comes to Google and SEO.
Then Maureen McCabe’s “ActiveRain’s got gas…” reinforced Lenn’s premise by pointing out the amount of traffic that ActiveRain gets compared to the “behemoths” (as she put it) of Realtor.com, Trulia and Zillow.
Then I read Robert Swetz’ s “I really think ActiveRain is losing gas and changing, are these changes for the better?” This one really gave me pause – for a moment.
My response to his post was “ What are our expectations? It seems as if your question, Bob, is pointed at the differentiation between what all 150,000+ members expect to get from being here, and what their level of participation actually brings in terms of establishing relationships between each other.
That said, I cannot agree with your assessment of the "character" of newer members vs. older members. Certainly the older ones have been here longer and have built their relationships, but that doesn't mean that the newer ones cannot and will not do the same, both with each other and with the founding members of AR, whether they have to pay for it or not. ”
While Lenn and Maureen’s responses were great, I honestly believe that they missed the boat on this, but inadvertently landed on the other shore. If all 150,000+ members of ActiveRain were really active and utilizing all of the resources here to their fullest extent, then we would see the results personally that Lenn and Maureen pointed out…
But, as I stated in my response to Vegas Bob, that wasn’t really the point of what his post was about.
Whether one has been here since the beginning, or one is just getting their feet wet, if you don’t blog, read blogs, and make comments on others’ blogs, then it does not matter if you are paying for the use of ActiveRain or not. You will not get any results. Both in terms of relationships with other ActiveRain members and with the general public, you will be as dry as the Kalahari desert. 
That condition comes from not having any clearly defined expectations for what you want out of your membership with ActiveRain. Do you want to learn from other real estate professionals? Do you want to reach the general public with relevant information about your particular area of expertise? Do you want to draw people to your brand or to you personally by sharing non-real estate related stories, advice, humor, etc.?
Developing relationships both with other ActiveRain members and with the general public takes three things: time, consistency, and commitment. No one who has been here since the beginning came in with a host of friends, but through time spent here being consistent with blogging and commenting on others blogs as they were read, have developed a rapport between themselves, and with the others who joined soon thereafter. If those of us who have joined since then have been consistent in doing the same, and, along with the older generation of ActiveRain, have contributed insightful, thought-provoking, or other types of quality content in our posts, then over time we too will develop those relationships, both with the older generation of ActiveRain and with our recently joined peers. One thing I have found is that those who have been here for awhile have, as a general rule, been very supportive and welcoming of newbies in the Rain, and have done nothing short of providing the sort of helpful information which allows newer members to capitalize on all of the benefits that being an ActiveRain member has to offer.
Of course, it takes time for consistency to develop, as well as for relationships to develop, and that is where commitment comes into play.
If you are sporadic in your blog posts, and do not take the time to learn from the myriad number of posts that are made here, then you can only expect to get a slight drizzle for your efforts. 
And, if you’ve ever noticed, drizzles don’t last very long, and they don’t do very much.
But the longer you are here, and the more consistent you become in your participation, the stronger your commitment becomes apparent to those who read your blog posts and your comments. This will ultimately result in a downpour of activity, both between yourself and other Rainers, and from the general public, who will appreciate your ability to provide such fantastic content for their consumption while being real in your on-line presence. 
The thing about downpours is that they may seem sudden, and last for a long time, but they always are the slow accumulation of a buildup of moisture and atmospheric pressure over time.
What Lenn and Maureen described in their posts are the results and effects of a downpour in the Rain.
So ultimately, it is up to all of us individually, whether we are paying members or not, what we want our experience here in the Rain to be.
What are your expectations? A drought? A drizzle? Or a downpour?
To My Blog
Looking for information about homes in the Greater Waterbury area?
Buyers, need to find financing and advice on the home-buying process?
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Courtesy of William James Walton, Sr ., Realtor, Century21 Access America
Serving northern New Haven and southeastern Litchfield Counties (Waterbury, Wolcott, Prospect, Naugatuck, Middlebury, Southbury, Watertown and Plymouth)
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