Mirror, Mirror on the Blog

There seems to be a common experience among newcomers to ActiveRain. So many new members, like I did myself, upon joining are not sure which way to go or where to turn for assistance.

It’s not because there is a lack of resources for the new member. There’s a getting started guide, an ActiveRain Newbies group and all sorts of blogs written by staff as well as other members to assist you in just about any subject of your choice.

Periodically I encounter new members wondering what’s the best way to do something or what to blog about. It can be mind boggling being the newbie and I will offer my assistance whenever possible. Typically I advise them to befriend an ambassador in their market area as ambassadors can be most helpful. Ambassadors were a great resource in my initial journey.

During my first few months on ActiveRain I was more of an observer than a blogger. I looked at various aspects of the site and paid attention to who was being featured on the main page. There was a couple of things that I learned that really helped with the getting started process.

One of the things I did was to check out the blogs of those individuals that are blogging in the local market. You can do this by going to the “My Home” page and clicking on the down arrow next to “States”. Select your state and, if you prefer, you can go all the way down to the neighborhood. If you do this daily you will quickly see who is actively blogging and what they are blogging about. To see who the overall top bloggers are on ActiveRain you can go to the Leaderboards by clicking on the link at the bottom of the states page under the label Social.

Something else for those who are unsure about what to do in ActiveRain would be to find a role model and mirror them. You will find lots of great people who are willing to help a new person get started. When you do find that role model or two it’s okay to follow their examples but I wouldn’t recommend copying stuff including photos, images or maps. One cool option ActiveRain offers its members is the ability to reblog another member’s blog. Reblogging has its guidelines so be sure to adhere to them.

Otherwise jump on in with both feet! The water is warm and the crowd is friendly.