With this post I should hit(or may already have hit the 100K markand therefore wanted to say "Thank You" to those that got me here and to say "Thank You" ActiveRain 
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I don't even remember when I joined ActiveRain but I'm sure that like most newbies, I was a "Lurker." You know the routine. . . I checked out the Featured Posts and the Groups, like Stage It Forward and Ask A Home Stager that were of particular interest to me. I'd read the comments and move on to the next post. Never commenting.
A LURKER.
Then I decided to take the plunge. Now when I say "plunge" I truly did. I did a cursory review of ActiveRain guidelines. I wrote my first post in June 2008 and didn't write another one until December of that year. I have to say thank you toFernando Rosado, a fellow Stager here in Palm Beach county who always encouraged me in my staging efforts. And, who after I was telling him about the U-Haul truck that wasn't, said "You should write a blog about it!" Thus, my second post. I had no clue about Tag words and Google Juice or inserting photos or graphics. CHANNELS??? No clue. (BTW- if you are a newbie and you haven't read any Tutorials, ActiveRain for Newbies or the AR Guidelines, I strongly suggest you do.)
Let me tell you just how much of a "Newbie" I was. I was lurking one day and noticed that some Bloggers were always at the top of the page. Under Florida, Nestor and Katerina Gasset were #1 in the State followed by Steve Hoffacker, ever ready with his trusty camera. There were lists of Top Stagers. Hm-m-m . How did they get there?
I finally got it! POINTS. Ah-ha!! (Hey it's what I do. I tackle something first, THEN read the instructions.) So, then things began to make a little sense to me. Now, I'm as competitive as the next person, although my biggest competition is with myself. So with POINTS as a carrot, I found myself trying to post more and comment more. I even took part in some ActiveRain contests, that quite frankly had me totally exhausted. However, these contests served their purpose. . . I learned about longtail posts thanks to Bob Stewart and how to write a post featuring local businesses that would amazingly garner me good will and Google juice. But it's not all about the POINTS. What is it they say: "It's the Journey"
So Points are the carrot but in the end it's what you learn and achieve while going after those points that counts.
I learned that I have Staging partners throughout the country. Partners like Maureen Bray, who's a mentor/role model for professionalism; Sharon Tara, who's encouraged and commiserated with me; Karen Otto, who was kind enough to speak with me over the phone when I called her to inquire about ActiveRain 2 years ago. Ginger Foust, Michelle Minch, Cathy Lee, Connie Tebyani, Cynthia Bartch, Kimo, Michelle Molinari, Karen Dembsky, Deena Cottingham , Virginia Tatseos, who tried to through a Staging project to me here in FL, and so many more whose blogs are regular reading for me and who've provided so much support and information.
I thank Brad Andersohn (who doesn't) for not only providing "teaching" posts but for also taking the time to answer my really dumb questions via email. Thanks to ActiveRain, I'm continuing to learn :
How to write a productive blog
How to Seek my own Google Juice without paying someone else for it.
What's current with today's social media
What's going on in Real Estate not only nationwide but in my own state and county.
New Home Staging ideas and how to market my business.
And so much more.
If you're a Lurker, I urge you to read the ActiveRain Guidelines then jump in. If you're not a Rainmaker yet, what are you waiting for. 
Here's the carrot. . . Go for the points and just look what you'll get!!!
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