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ActiveRain Press Release 7/11

ActiveRain's Membership Surges To 35,000 In First Year

World's Largest Social Networking Site For Real Estate Professionals

Grows Faster Than Wikipedia In Inaugural Year

SEATTLE, July 11, 2007 - ActiveRain, the world's largest social networking site for real estate professionals, marked its one-year anniversary today by surpassing 35,000 members and 120,000 posts, and projecting monthly double-digit growth over the next 12 months.

"ActiveRain's phenomenal growth reflects the fact that the real estate profession is experiencing rapid, fundamental change," said ActiveRain CEO and co-founder Matt Heaton. "Because eight in 10 residential real estate transactions now start online, blogging and social networking today are as important as having a website or earning your Realtor designation in years past. ActiveRain is at the center of this movement because it is enabling agents to raise their visibility among buyers and sellers, and generate more leads and sales."

In its first year, ActiveRain's reported the following milestones:

• Membership grew more than 17% every month.

• Members averaged 10,000 posts per month. By comparison, Wikipedia had only 20,000 entries in its first year.

• Site visits jumped 500% in the past six months to 800,000.

• More than 13% of site visits exceeded 10 minutes, and 5% spent more than 30 minutes on the site.

• ActiveRain members are frequent site participants. In the past three months, 6% visited the site more than 100 times.

• In June, ActiveRain was named as a finalist for The Inman News Innovator Award in the Most Innovative Media Site category.

"ActiveRain has become the focal point for the online real estate community because its collective voice translates into greater productivity and knowledge for all members," said ActiveRain President and co-founder Jon Washburn. "The more posts generated at ActiveRain, the greater the likelihood that an agent's entry will be seen online by buyers and sellers, who can then evaluate that individual and their local market expertise. Powered by this Web 2.0 model, ActiveRain expects monthly double-digit growth over the next 12 months because our members are only becoming more active."

About ActiveRain

ActiveRain is the nation's largest social networking site for real estate professionals. More than 30,000 real estate agents, mortgage lenders, appraisers, title company officers and others in the real estate industry participate in the network to exchange ideas and generate leads. For more information, visit http://www.activerain.com/.

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Media Contacts:

Greg Berardi, 415.239.7826, greg@bluemarlinpartners.com

Posted by ActiveRain Real Estate Network on 07/11/2007 12:18 PM

Comments (97)

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97 Comments on ActiveRain Press Release 7/11

JUL

2007

Pretty impressive stats....

I look forward to improvements to the personal statistics page

CONGRATS AR!! this is a huge milestone, with benefits to everyone who participates or comes for information. looks like a home run to me!! now i can really tell the wifey that "i'm working" :)

Wow... that is incredible. It is pretty amazing to have watched AR become what it is today from when I first joined almost a year ago. May the success of the site continue to get more acheivements. Congratulations, AR and its members that have helped it acheive this recognition.

Congrats to you and you're team for obviously a great concept and site that keeps me coming back... here's to many more!!!!

Here's to you all for all you do !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for changing my life !!

These statistics represent a LOT of hard work. Congrats to the big brains behind ActiveRain!

I first became a member of AR because its business model seemed different than anything else I had seen. It's encouraging to see that AR has more than doubled in size since then, and is destined to become, along with localism.com, one of the most important real estate destinations on the internet!

Congratulations on an excellent year and site. As an individual, I greatly appreciate all of your hard work. The info that I have learned from the members on this site has helped me tremendously. I wish you continued success in the upcoming year. Thanks.

Sh-h-h-h ... don't tell anybody! We've got a good thing going here!

There were "almost" 3000 members when I joined last Sept. To quote Sally, "WHOHOO!"

Thank you for creating/hosting such a fantastic site. I feel very fortunate to have found it. This is such a wonderful place- full of information, fun, and friendships. Who could ask for more?

Pretty cool! Wonder if they will more than double the membership numbers this time next year compared to now. I bet it will! The more people that continue to join, the more chances they have of getting more people to join.

Wow! Those stats are pretty impressive! Thank you to the Active Rain administration for all you do here. I belong to a few networking sites and nothing compares to Active Rain. Keep up the good work!

Wow, this is really amazing! Congratulations to the Active Rain Founders and to all who have logged in everyday to create this astonishing success!

You guys were just brilliant when you started this site. You had a great model in mind, and then we all started joining. I can't imagine where we'll be this time next year.

Congratulations on all that you've accomplished!

ActiveRain is the nation's largest social networking site for real estate professionals.

Thanks for bringing me into this world...and much heartfelt appreciation for all you folks do to keep this alive.

Great News!

Good Work! I look forward to the future of AR!

If only I had a stock that grew at the rate of AR!

Great job. It's amazing to see something like this grow. But now I think 37,000 members is enough. If you had a million members there would just be too much noise.

Wow, those are some incredible numbers and an amazing accomplishment, especially when you think where Wikipedia is today.

Congratualitons to everyone at AR, especially those who put it all together in the first place!

Wow, exciting news! We should all see the trickle down benefits from all this increase in traffic. Impressive stats -- I'd like my site visits to jump by 500% in 6 months!

Awesome news to hear...so good !!

I agree.... very impressive stats. It is great to see something like this and to actually be a part of it. thanks

jeff belonger

Congrats on your great success. I love AR!!!!

Its good to be a part of this front-running site.

I knew there was something special about AR! You guys provide a valuable resource even for those who just lurk!

So when is the IPO? I want in!

Thank you for giving us this vehicle to explore our industry, learn, and grow.

Fran

AR is clearly becoming a major power on the Internet for real estate pros. It's great for us members. Our exposure keeps on expanding. I wonder, however, if it is a tad too rapid for its own good. Sometimes companies and websites and whatnot start losing control of their functions amid fast growth. Just a thought.

Thanks for allowing us this format to reach buyers and sellers. Thank you also for allowing me to reach out to other Realtor's.

I like the comparison to Wikipedia. Give us and those outside ActiveRain a gauge.

Congratulations on what you have created. Thank you for doing it.

I am so impressed but surely not surprised!!!! This site is insanely awesome and I am so happy that it is getting the recognition and appreciation publicly...THANK YOU SO MUCH for keeping your dream alive!

Congratulations! What an amazing accomplishment. Thank you for giving us this forum!

I hope you guys take a moment to enjoy this!! You all continue to work very hard to keep this sit fresh and accommodating to everyone. That is no small task. Congratulations and please don't sell the site!!!

Congratulations - enjoy the moment.

You are directly responsible for increasing my business to the point where I believe I will have my best year ever this year - down market or not -you guys rock.

Now Have a Blessed Day,

John Occhi, Hemet REALTOR
Mission Grove Realty

PS - One think I wish you would stop is for users referring to you as 'god'. I know it is in humor and tribute - but it is very offensive, even if the Christian viewpoint is a minority, it should be respected. Certainly we could not call you guys any term that was socially offensive to any other minority - in fun or not.

Thank you!

Wow, I am happy to be a part of this!! Congratulations....... Better than sliced bread!

I hear that things get better with age. We can only get better.

Congrats on passing the one year mark!

Here's to the continued success of all involved

Congratulations to the staff and all the participants that made this milestone a reality!

Matt Pellerin
PhoenixHomes.com

Congratulations AR! What an accomplishment. I am honored to be a member of this great community.

Awesome news! Just don't tell any other Mortgage Lenders about it :)

Would someone please tell that version of Nick...

That...YES...He can tell his lovely wife that he is working :)

Congratulations guys...I knew you were going to walk with that award :)

Now will someone please tell "Code Monkey" (Ben Wisely) to stop making up words for the human tests :)

TLW...ROAR!

Wow! What an amazing achievement for our fondly recognized "AR Gods"... and thanks to all of my fellow members as well for making this a great place to see and be seen.

thanks TLW. i think she's coming around :)) now that i'm not blogging as much!.. hardly..

code monkey.. he hee.. that gets me everytime!

oh, congrats on the star, blogger! :) (i joke)

Very impressive!! I am so pleased to be apart of this network. It has been a great year watching it grow. I think I was like the #600 member or something like that and now we have 37,666!!! Yeeee Dogey!!!

Very impressive, adn it keeps getting better. Thanks for sharing this.

Jeff

I can still remember when a big deal was made over going past 10,000 members. Pretty soon we will be adding another "zero" to the end of that number. Great job and thanks for the ride.

How do I find out what # I was? I know the members have doubled I think. Where does she (TLW) come up with these names? Okay...must be a good thing...got my WooHoo Sally from her :)

It's great to be part of this growing network. We are all about networking. Like we say in Texas, you know how to get-er done. The best part is making new friends which we would not have been able to do otherwise.

Impressive, to say the least---But why am I NOT surprised????

Pioneering the net!

Hey...

We should...HIJACK...this post to celebrate this very special occassion...

Think about it...If we can get more than 700 comments on it we could break the existing record.

Come on. I know some of you would love to see that record broken :)

TLW...ROAR!

Nice post :)

Pretty post :)

Good post :)

NEXT... :)

Oh. By the way...Never check off 'notify me of comments' more than once :)

Life is good in the Rain.. and the ActiveRain :o)

What a great place to be a proud member of

Great job! Now what's next?

Well...

At this rate I guess I can count on that record being kept :)

Now that is impressive stuff, wtg AR

Congrats to the folks at AR! And many thanks for providing this great network that I'm thrilled to be part of!!

What's next?!?!?!?!? ;-)
Ann

Hey TLW - #65 and a VERY long way to go to get to your goal of 700........

Ann

Wow!!! That is very very impressive! This place has grown so much since we joined in November. I can't imagine what it will be like next year.

Congratulations on a great first year - hear's to year #2 - you can just feel the energy - thanks again for a great place.

What an incredible ride so far. The AR network has allowed me to grow both professionally and personally. I don't know what I would do without it.

Always good to hear good news :) The bigger we are, the more powerful right? (SEO wise at least :)

Lexa Montierth

SO THAT's how Sally got the WhooHoo :) Good to know. I am afraid of the day TLW starts naming the rest of us.

Lexa

Awesome

Sooo What do we get? (Fantastic Guys)

Way cool. We're new and glad to be part of it.

GO Rain Gods!!!!!!!!!! Great Job of building a GREAT site we are ALL addicted to!

JUL

2007

WOW!!!! Thank you Matt & Jonathan! So thankful for your vision and efforts to make this all happen.

Congratulations on the Inman Nomination!

Don't you get an Inman Widget for that to post somewhere?

Quite an accomplishment Matt, Caleb, Jonathan, and all the innovative minds behind Active Rain!

Congratulations to the Active Rain creators, and to all who have contributed to the phenomenal growth of Active Rain!

Very impressive numbers. I know that Active Rain has done more for me in getting my rankings up and getting known as the area expert than anything else around. Keep up the good work!

Wonderful article ! Thanks for posting it. Congratulations on the absolutely wonderful job you are doing with AR, all of you who work behind the scenes and also to all of the members who together to add the necessary substance to a great frame. Together we're doing great things and as we all continue to work as a team and the management continues to listen to the members, it can only get better and better.

Very impressive. Thanks for sharing this Rich. I've been working hard to get the word out, as I know many others here have also. Keep up the good work!

I'm thrilled to be a part of this wonderful group! The stars were shining down on me the day I accidently stumbled into the RAIN!!!

JUL

2007

I am glad that I am a part of AR from the beginning stages. I know it will grow and grow and all of us who started out from the beginning, and were faithful in our blogging, will reap the benefits.

This is fantastic, what a milestone, and I see A.R. to continue to grow and grow. It is the best!!!

Ad astra per aspera....

My favorite stat is the avg. monthly posts for AR vs the number of entries to Wikipedia. Impressive!!

JUL

2007

Happy Anniverisary to AR. Glad you're here. The greatest network that I know of.

Happy Anniversary Active Rain. I love the localism.com connection. Visits to my website have definitely increased since I've been active on Active Rain. Thank you for a great place to make connections with others in the industry.

Active Rain has come a long way since its start......I am glad for the push it has given to my real estate website....and for the good people I have met along the way!!

=-)

JUL

2007

I had no idea that AR is so new - With the quality of posts and the amount of participation - I figured it had been years and I just happened by at a late date - I love AR - great job!!

Congratulations Team... Great Job AR!

Now if we could only get the ability to publish our blog posts at a specified date and time...

JUL

2007

Congratulations on a great job. I have learned so much from AR. If I had to buy books to read to learn all that I have learned it would have cost me a lot. Thank you for creating this network.