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Technology Update: Exciting Changes to ActiveRain.com

By Nikesh Parekh

Services for Real Estate Pros with Suplari, Inc.

January 17, 2012 10:29 AM

Hi Everyone,

I am very happy to write this blog post!

Last week, we finished the upgrade of ActiveRain.com to the latest software platform (Ruby on Rails 2.3.14) which should enable us to develop on ActiveRain much faster than previously. This is the end of three month project. We hit a bump near the end with site performance, but now ActiveRain is now more stable and faster than it was. More improvements coming as we tune pages to improve pageloading and make some changes to our datacenter.

With the software upgrade, behind us, we are rolling out some MAJOR changes to ActiveRain.com.

Change, change, grumble, grumble.

I know no one likes change, but I hope you will appreciate these. Well, at least the majority of these changes.

Unlike the past, where changes to ActiveRain would just happen, now we have the new version of ActiveRain.com located at BETA.ACTIVERAIN.COM Our goal is to allow you to play around with the new version of ActiveRain. Collect feedback at beta@activerain.com. Make appropriate changes. Release to the entire site over the week or so.

You can use beta.activerain.com just like you would use ActiveRain so that you can get a full experience. All blog posts and comments will show up on ActiveRain. We already know of some issues, but send them to us as you come across problems. (We just made a fix to picture uploads)

So, in summary: go to BETA.ACTIVERAIN.COM and email feedback to BETA@ACTIVERAIN.COM

What are the major changes you will see:

1) New Logo & Design:

We have cleaned up and updated the design and header of ActiveRain to bring us into 2012.
We also have made some tweaks to the logo to make it modernize it and also make it ring with the promise of ActiveRain as an aspirational community that is looking to connect, share and learn from each other. We have moved the clouds & the sky to be part of the logo to represent the idealism that ActiveRain represents. (Check out my first contest which was the Collage Competition - What Does ActiveRain Mean to You)

2) Persistent Search Bar: The search bar is now presistent across ALL pages on ActiveRain, since search is such a core part of using the Internet. We will be making more changes to search on ActiveRain in the near future.

3) MyHome: This is where you will see the majority of the changes. MyHome on ActiveRain has consistently been the most visited single page on ActiveRain, but was the least optimized for the core activities that we want members to engage it. From an ActiveRain perspective, we want members to CONNECT with other members, WRITE/COMMENT, and READ.

We also have made the "Activity Feed" the core content of the MyHome tab. Over time, we will move blog post content and group posts into your activity feed as well, so you can see them all in one area.

Making MyHome cleaner and more focused required us to move links around. We have moved links up in the navigation that promote managing your profile, writing a blog post, viewing the traffic to your blog, and seeing your points. All the links that were on the left side of MyHome should still be on MyHome. Some of links which were used less frequently have been moved to "Blog," "Setting" or "Other." You can click on the arrow to see all the links.

4) Settings: In the upper right now, you will see your name (or part of your name that are including your city & state in your name field). When you click on your name, it will show your settings and billing information. Only YOU will be able to see your billing information.

I hope everyone likes it as much as I like it.

Now, I know that change is hard (trust me I know). At the same time, we will listen to feedback before rolling out all the changes to the full site. Email your feedback to beta@activerain.com

Enjoy!

UPDATE: Some may get to a screen asking telling you the Security Certificate for the web site is invalid. Everything is fine and just click through. Our security certificate on activerain.com is not recognizing beta.activerain.com. This is not an issue to be concerned with.

UPDATE: The ranking links ARE clickable. We will make that more obvious. We are also aware that the stats may not be mapping properly with the database and we are in the process of fixing that as well.

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Steven Pahl

Keller Williams Tampa Properties - Tampa, FL

Real Estate Consultant Tampa, FL 813-319-6423

It says the "Beta" is closed. Bummer.....!

Jan 18, 2012 01:31 PM

Praful Thakkar

LAER Realty Partners - Burlington, MA

Metro Boston Homes For Sale

Nikesh, not sure why you believe that 'no one likes change'. A good quote, perhaps? But there is no growth without a change!

ActiveRain is a dynamic community - and I believe, we are here to change ourselves - to be a better blogger, better real estate professional and above all, a better human being.

Hope to see positive changes here at ActiveRain.

Jan 18, 2012 03:15 PM

Jerry Wilson

Paramount Residential Mortgage Group - Corona, CA

California Loan Officer-Retired

I just took a look, and the site is now closed.

Jan 18, 2012 03:52 PM

Karen Anne Stone

New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Real Estate

Niki... I am sorry, but I have played with this on and off today, and there are just so many things that are NOT right.

Once again... Active Rain appears to have taken something that was "not broken" and "fixed" it. My friend, it wasn't broken... or at least this part wasn't. And, as my Dad used to say... if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Many things are missing in the "new" version. Statistics that I could count on, items on the Points Summary are gone, and items on the "My Home" page are missing, or links are gone.

Where did you get these new "helpful" ideas ? Sorry to be so negative... and trust me, I am not opposed to change... but there should be a reason FOR the change.

Jan 18, 2012 05:54 PM

Bob Miller

Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty - Ocala, FL

The Ocala Dream Team

Hi Nikki, Love the updates and appreciate that conversion was seemless from a user vantage.

Jan 18, 2012 10:02 PM

Sylvie Stuart

Realty One Group Mountain Desert 928-600-2765 - Flagstaff, AZ

Home Buying, Home Selling and Investment - Flagsta

I think these sound like very positive changes! Thanks for looking out for us! I have the contact info for beta if needed. Thank you!

Jan 18, 2012 11:55 PM

Nikesh Parekh

Suplari, Inc. - Seattle, WA

Technology Entrepreneur, Executive, & Investor

Everyone, we brought beta.activerain.com down yesterday at around 3pm on Wednesday so that we can work on it. We'll let everyone know when it is back up.

Karen, I just want to make sure you are looking at the right web site. We actually did not touch or change the "statistics" page. We renamed it to "Traffic" and brought the link from the bottom of the page to the top so that the link is more visible. Same with the points. Didn't change it at all. Just moved the link up on the page to make it more visible.

Similarly, all the links are still there. We have grouped them differently. Looking at usage of our site, only a small number of links ever get used. So we moved those to where people can find them easily and then we grouped the other links together.

I know this is a change for power users such as yourself, but this will simplify the site for the other 95% of members.

Jan 19, 2012 01:12 AM

Nikesh Parekh

Suplari, Inc. - Seattle, WA

Technology Entrepreneur, Executive, & Investor

Beta.ActiveRain.com should be up again.

Jan 19, 2012 05:35 AM

Alan May

Jameson Sotheby's International Realty - Evanston, IL

Home is where the hearth is.

OOoh... look, they've reduced the photo size, and set it next to the comment.... an improvement.

Thank you, and thank you for listening to us.

Jan 19, 2012 12:45 PM

Nikesh Parekh

Suplari, Inc. - Seattle, WA

Technology Entrepreneur, Executive, & Investor

Hi Dale, I am not sure I fully understand your comment / question. Can you re-state or send me an email? Niki

Jan 19, 2012 06:04 PM

C. Lloyd McKenzie

Living Albuquerque - Albuquerque, NM

Living Albuquerque

Kudos AR for upgrading. This will assure an even stronger following in the future. As for me, I notice the little things...they make a big difference.

Jan 19, 2012 06:06 PM

David Popoff

DMK Real Estate - Darien, CT

Realtor®,SRS, Green ~ Fairfield County, Ct

I have not heard, this is awesome, of I go to test it out, thanks AR.

Jan 19, 2012 10:40 PM

Lisa Von Domek

Lisa Von Domek Team - Dallas, TX

....Experience Isn't Expensive.... It's Priceless!

Good morning Nikesh,

Thanks for the update. I had noticed AR was a little slow recently, can't wait to test the changes.

Jan 19, 2012 10:46 PM

Chris Smith

Re/Max Chay Realty Inc., Brokerage - New Tecumseth, ON

South Simcoe, Caledon, King, Orangeville Real Esta

Niki, love the beta concept, it should result in less issues with roll outs.

Jan 20, 2012 07:19 AM

Dale Baker

Baker Energy Audits and Commercial Properties Inspections - Claremont, NH

New Hampshire Relocation Real Estate Information

Howdy and evening Niki

Niki, that's okay, I have already work out the answer to both. Thank you mighty kindly for your reply in comment box #164 of the 20th!

Have a good one
Dale in New Hampshire

Jan 21, 2012 10:09 AM

Maureen McCabe

HER Realtors - Columbus, OH

Columbus Ohio Real Estate

Yay!!! The members with Irish and Scottish last names thank you and AR for fixing the space between the small letter and the big letter ... or they would if they saw their names misspelled. It could have happened with some hispanic, French and Italian last names too, unless a space is the right spelling. Anywhere there is a capital letter in the last name but no space.

My name was showing up as Mc Cabe rather than McCabe, a pet peeve. I could have spelled it Mccabe but that also looks wrong to me. I turned it into "feedback at beta@activerain.com "fixed. Thanks.

That space or the small letters on credit / debit cards, bank accounts, etc. I was on mailing lists for years sometime as both Maureen Mccabe and Maureen Mc Cabe and sometimes just Cabe. I remember going round and round with Bank One about my last name being misspelled but them (the real people, customer service) telling me it had to be misspelled because of computers.

Jan 23, 2012 03:03 AM

Barbara-Jo Roberts Berberi, MA, PSA, TRC - Greater Clearwater Florida Residential Real Estate Professional

Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL

Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater, Safety Harbor

to start with, I hate change UNLESS I implement it.......that said, I will get use to this change with time. I do notice that ActiveRain is running much faster and THAT means the world to me since this is my ONLY blog platform and the lifeblood of my business. So this Old Dog will get used to the new tricks and adjust. I know it is going to be better since it always is.............I just need to get used to it.

Thanks, guys and gals for ALL you do (and for putting up with me at times, Kerrie - you ARE an Angel).

Jan 24, 2012 09:25 AM

Lehel Szucs

All Seasons Real Estate, Inc. - Covina, CA

REALTOR of choice

I like this new look and I am sure once I get used to where everyhting is I will like it even more

Jan 24, 2012 12:15 PM

Karen Anne Stone

New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Real Estate

Niki: I have two issues/questions.

As you probably know, I really try and help our Active Rain Newbies when they come on board. One of the ways I do that is to work with them on what groups they belong to, and in using the Active Rain groups feature. I have written many AR tutorials for Newbies, and for Oldbies as well. Here is a link to one of the "Groups" ones. * Using the Active Rain "Groups" Feature

When I use this, one thing I need to do is to look at the groups the person has already joined. Now, I have a link to look at MY groups, but when I go to the profile of the one I am trying to help, that link is missing. It was there before you "re-designed" things, but is not there now. Please add it so I can tell which groups they belong to, or tell me where it is hiding... if it is already there, and I am missing it.

Second: I think one of my favorite "happenings" on Active Rain... besides all of the "growing my business, and getting referrals" aspects... is when someone Subscribes to my blog.

I love sending them an email thanking them for subscribing, but with the way the "subscribers" info is set up... they are all jumbled up, with no date for when they subscribed.

I currently have 579 subscribers. Not a super amount, but not too bad.

It is very difficult for me to scroll through all of them to try and figure out who is new. I know it is possible, because that is how you have the "associates" listed... by their date of "associating" with me.

Could you please re-do the information on my/everyone's subscribers... and put them in order of their subscribing to my blog... by the date they did so.

Thanks so much.

PS... I have probably written at least sixty Active Rain tutorials on the "beginning nuts and bolts" stuff that help our Newbies get acclimated. I would love it if in addition to having an Active Rain "Ambassador" badge... if you also had an Active Rain "Educator" badge. I remember chatting with either Bob or Jon about this about a year ago. It was thought to be a good idea at the time we chatted, but nothing ever happened. Any ideas ?

Jan 24, 2012 04:15 PM

Frances C. Rokicki

Fran Rokicki Realty, LLC - Bolton, CT

Broker-Mentor,CRS

thank youL) a quick email to all the members, with the link, would have been a good idea

Jan 30, 2012 10:40 AM