For someone diving into Active Rain to really get the most out of it, it can be a pretty daunting task.  There are more than 162,000 members and there are literally thousands of blogs posted every day.  There are industry leaders, incredible performers and hugely interesting people posting up information all of the time. 

NOBODY can keep up with everything on Active Rain.  At least not is they plan on sleeping or working or remembering our families. 

So, we need a shallow end... somewhere to dip in a toe...

While I think that having a blog is something that every good agent should strive to do, I don't think that diving in immediately is called for...  There are a few things that can be learned first.  So...  Lurk.  Hang out in the Rain.  Meet a few people (virtually or in person), read some other blogs, start commenting.  And if you are going to read a few blogs, let me give you a few to subscribe to in order to get started. 

The Official ActiveRain Blog
ActiveRain Real Estate Network - Bellevue, WA
Last Post: 09/09/09 03:35 PM          Posts: 234

Honestly, there isn't a lot of activity on the official blog, but when there is, you should read it.

The XBroker
Jeff Corbett - Charlotte, NC
Last Post: 08/28/09 10:02 AM          Posts: 121

Jeff also doesn't post up a lot, but when he does, he makes waves...  Don't expect him to post something that reinforces your current thinking.  He WILL challenge your perceptions. 

It's always Raining.........'ActiveRain'
Bob Stewart - ActiveRain - International, INT
Last Post: 09/11/09 11:45 AM          Posts: 94

Bob is an A|R "Dude" and worth the read. 

JonWashburn.com
Jonathan Washburn - Seattle, WA
Last Post: 10/03/09 05:25 PM          Posts: 203

Jon isn't AN A|R Dude, he is THE A|R Dude.  He is also challenging and informative.  And, like Bob, a really nice guy. 

Turner's Perspective
Jeff Turner - Santa Clarita, CA
Last Post: 10/10/09 11:32 AM          Posts: 260

Jeff is ResPres.  He is a Social Media genius, as well as another of the cool kids.  And meeting him is easy.  He is everywhere. 

Active Brads Blog
Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager - Fairfield, CA
Last Post: 10/14/09 12:04 PM          Posts: 398

Brad is another staffer with A|R.  He tech posts and his community building posts are "must reads" for the member wishing to leverage the network. 

Jeremy Blanton
Jeremy Blanton ActiveRain Corp. - Myrtle Beach, SC
Last Post: 10/14/09 04:16 PM          Posts: 544

Jeremy is the East Coast Connection.  He also knows his tech and how to tweak out the A|R experience. 

With the exception of Jeff Turner, ALL of these folks have an official capacity with Active Rain.  And while these are a good start, there are scores of others that are excellent reads that should be in your blog subscrition list. 

So let's talk for a moment about building and accessing your Subscription List. 

Building it is easy.  As you read a blog you enjoy, click on the "Subscribe to Blog" button a bit below the picture.  That is it... 

Now, when you want to check your subscriptions and read the people you've subscribed to, go to the "toolbar" near the top of each page.  You'll see a choice that says "Blogs".  When you access that, you'll see the ones you are subscribed to along the right side of the page and the newest ones along the left.  The newest stuff is closer to the top. 

Active Rain grants 25 points for each post commented on (up to 10 per day).  Please don't cheat yourself on this...  Find 10 posts WORTHY of comments and give them well thought out comments.  Participate.  It's ok to tell people that they have a great post on occassion, but don't think that the best thing to do is just plaster that on the first ten posts you come across each day. 

You will get WAY more out of it when you participate.  You will get valuable resources, amazing knowledge and wonderful friends.  I can't even count all of the incredible people from Active Rain that I have met, talked with, hugged or shook hands with.  THAT is WAY more valuable than ANY number of points. 

The points are just kind of fun...  ;^ )

For other posts in this series, look just below the post.  There are a few "tags".  One of them says ambassador series.  Click it and you will get a list of all posts in this series... as well as some previous posts that are applicable.