Active Rain and Localism Week-in-Review ~ 12/16/07 - 12/23/07

My first time doing the Week-in-Review, "Around the Puddle, Week in Review #7 ~ 12/19/06 - 12/25/06" was one year ago this week.  And I was down here in Florida with my family then, as I am now. 

Back then, we had maybe 5,000 members, so the reading of all those posts was far easier than now, when we have 62,615 members.  Having done these reviews several times before, I knew to start early, and I began my reading for this review this past Sunday, and bookmarked those that caught my eye. 

This Week-in-Review is a combination of Active Rain picks and Localism picks.  And then I added some special selections at the end.

Active Rain Picks of the Week:

Kathy's post, "Christmas Gifts for Everyone...even the poor" reminds us just what really is important at Christmas, and always.  Beautifully written, and a post I hope everyone makes a point to go read.



Sarah's post, "The Internet Takes Distance Away: A Strange Way to Write a Book Review", tells us just that, how the internet has made all of our worlds just a little bit smaller through various connections made on-line.

I could so relate to Margaret's post, "Is Active Rain Your Significant Other?".  And knowing many of you here, I would imagine there are plenty of us who can relate to this post.  Go read it and see for yourself!



Laurie found a fabulous new Google tool that she shared with us in this post, "Remodeling Your Homes? Check out Google Sketchup-a Free Tool!"!  I think you'll find plenty of uses for Google Sketchup, plus it's FREE!! 

If you're having a little difficulty dealing with sellers expecting you to adjust your commissions in a direction you don't it to go in, check out Jason's post, "Get Your Hand Out of My Pocket - Handling Commission Beggars".  There's some great help in the post, as well as in the comments here.

Kate's post was eye-opening for me in that I learned that stagers grapple with many of the same kinds of issues we deal with - good and bad.  The more we learn, the better equipped we are, and I certainly learned some things about staging in, "What Are Your Resolutions for Your Business for 2008?"

Our eco-friend here in the Rain, janeAnne "Green-o-Lina", announced the winners of a really great contest, "Ring the Bells - and the Winners ARE..".  I learned a lot about 'green' in real estate.  Each of those posts are really worth taking some time to read - I hope you'll check out not only this post, but those listed there as well. 

This post of Sarah's is a MUST-READ for those of us who not only post here on AR, but on our outside blogs as well.  Protect your material, and here are ways to do just that in, "Who Owns What You Write?"  This is a question that gets asked here over and over.

As we all get more experienced writing posts here, and on our outside blogs, we begin to want more and more flexibility with what we have here on AR.  Neal has a few suggestions in this post, "AR Double Dashboard for Everyone", that I think many of us would enjoy having.

My top picks for Localism this week:


We all find ourselves, from time to time, dealing with sellers who are going through divorce.  Laurie's post, "Divorce and Long Beach Real Estate" gives us some language to help us convey to sellers how important our neutrality is as their agents.  I'm loving "Switzerland"!

If you've never been to the coast of New Hampshire, you can take a beautiful virtual trip there in Monika's post, "New Hampshire's Seacoast, A Magical Winter Wonderland".  Since I live right where Monika wrote about, I can tell you it is gorgeous all year long!

I chose two posts that Mariana wrote this week.  The first, "Our Top 12 Articles For Home Sellers in the Current Real Estate Market", is a great example of using the strength of your own posts to help your clients understand the market.  Her second post, "Why Are There Fewer Buyers in Today's Real Estate Market?", is a great read to help with conversations with our sellers who might not fully understand today's market.


Becky's post on "Braden Castle Park" is a wonderful historical post on this park with some great pictures to show us around the park area. 

Penny wrote a great post for potential buyers in her area who are struggling with, "Moving? Buy Now or Rent and Buy in a Year - Some Things to Think About".  Great breakdown of the costs involved with both.


Jeff clearly shows his knowledge and expertise in his market in his post, "Carlsbad Homes - Buyers, The Choices Are Yours, and There Are Many".  Great use of local links and pictures to show off his area.  This is a fabulous local post!

Andrew takes us on a beautiful nature walk through his Allaire State Park in, "How Small A Space We Occupy in Nature: Howell Township's Allaire State Park".

Tom provides humor and history about how the beer capitol of the world came to be in his post, "What Made Milwaukee Famous: The Beer Capital of the World!!!".  This is a fun and educational read on his town.

Georgina tempts us with a glimpse into her bit of paradise in, "Stable Road in Sprecklesville Maui - A Windsurfer's Paradise".  Paradise, indeed - beautiful pictures!

Kathy takes up on a trip to Canada from Washington via boat in this post, "From Port Angeles to Victoria".   

In my opinion, no review of this week would be complete without the inclusion of two very special, very personal posts that were written by two wonderful ladies here on AR.

Maggie shared a very personal poem with us about a dream she had, and I believe that dream was a special Christmas gift just for her...... "Just Once More"

Monika shows the world her love for her husband in her post hoping to find Jay's birth mother, "A Letter to My Husband's Birth Mother....wherever you are".  I wish Monika and Jay exactly what they're hoping for......

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas - full of love, family, friends, and all kinds of good things!!  And I wish for all of us a TERRIFIC 2008!! 

This video is for all to enjoy, and is dedicated to the Lovely Ladies of the Rain......   ;-)

To read additional Weeks-in-Review, check out the past posts in the Week-in-Review Group.  You'll find lots of great reading there, and you'll get to know some awesome members as well!

For those who do these reviews in the future, the best advice I can give you is to start right away doing your reading - it will be far easier and much more enjoyable that way instead of trying to do it all at once, which is impossible.

There will be no recreations of any type regarding the titles or content of this group or Review without the permission and expressed written consent of me and/or the Groups founder-Copyright 2007