Do you know how Active Rain is perceived by the public? I know how we perceive it, but what about public perception? I was answering a question on Trulia last week and ran across an interesting comment. I've been stewing over it ever since then.
I'm not really sure how this person, and the other consumers who commented got this perception, but it leads me to believe that we need to make some changes here on Active Rain. The comment I found on Trulia was something along the lines of how they liked that everyone was welcome to comment and answer questions there, unlike on Active Rain.
WHAT?
I suppose I can only speak for myself, but I would LOVE to have the general public leave comments on my posts. I'm sure it was never the intention of the AR founders, or of those of us who are blogging here now, to become so self-insulated that we make the average consumer feel unwelcome. Just a quick check of your stats will show you that the public is definitely reading our posts. They're just not commenting. Why is that?
I encourage an interesting discourse. I want to know what the public thinks. The purpose of sharing our experiences is to see from the opposite perspective, and ultimately reach common ground. I only draw the line when things get heated. That's when we should agree to disagree and walk away. (Our entire country needs to learn this lesson.) That goal is never obtained by arguing/debating. But it can absolutely be accomplished by SHARING! I would love to have the public come and weigh in on my posts, and share their experiences; both good and bad. Everyone is entitled to their opinion when its' stated in a respectful manner.
Here on Active Rain, we have always been encouraged to write posts for Localism. I believe that is becoming more important than ever. Of course it's enjoyable to converse with our peers. It's easy, because we have common interests from the same side of the fence. But that does not bridge the gap between our perspective and the perspective of the consumer. And the worst part about that is that means the consumer is getting their information from the media or from each other. We do not need anymore of the blind leading the blind.
I encourage you right now, to double up on your Localism posts and ask questions that are geared 
toward the public. We should continue to comment on each other's posts, in order to maintain our sense of community, and help each others rank and SEO. But if the public is viewing Active Rain as a community that only welcomes comments from others within the industry, we need to make some changes. Let's start right now! Write your next post for Localism, and pose questions for the public to answer.
And don't forget to join the Localism groups and support the other group members! I'm a member of three; one of which I just started last week called "Things to Do/Places to Visit". The other two are "Posts to Localism" and "Localism Brainstorming". Each serves a somewhat different purpose.
So, for those of you who are not in the real estate industry, and are reading our posts. We would love to hear from you! You are welcome here! Feel free to comment, question and experience all you can.
Don't be afraid to get wet in the Active Rain!
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We come in peace! 
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