ActiveRain 2007 Year In Review...My Virtual Classroom by Monika McGillicuddy

Welcome to the ActiveRain Virtual Classroom 2007... 

One of the greatest benefits of being an Active Rain member is the incredible amount of learning that happens nearly every time you log on.

For me, from the get go Active Rain filled a void. When I joined in November of 2006 I was suddenly able to learn from about 9,000 other professionals, all for free and all on my own terms.

It was an eye opener to say the least. I was able to learn from their mistakes and from their success stories. My mind expanded to a degree I never thought possible...at least not from joining a social real estate network with a drippy name like ActiveRain.

But I soon found out that every topic imaginable was covered and then some. I learned about blogging, web 2.0, keywords, youtube, podcasting and I was thrilled beyond belief to have been introduced to ActiveRain.

When I joined AR I signed up as a Real Estate Trainer and I think there might have been 30 or so trainers at that time. Today we have 515 Real Estate Trainers signed up and many more members who contribute phenomenal training related posts who are not traditional "Trainers" but who have a wealth of knowledge.

Knowledge that they share with us all on a daily basis. 

Visit the Trainer profiles and I think you'll be amazed at some of the talent you can find right here on ActiveRain. 

When I was asked by Jennifer Fivelsdal to be part of The Year In Review, I was a little nervous...how could I select 12 stand out posts for the year?  Then I remembered my bookmarks and looked at them...posts I had selected as educational throughout the year, no matter who wrote the post, banker, trainer, REALTOR...it didn't matter just as long as I gained something from it.  Since Jennifer asked me to look at the posts from an educational point of view it made sense  to raid my bookmarks.

I know there are many that I've missed and a few who belong here but technically they didn't qualify as they were posted the tail end of 2006.

Our virtual AR classroom always has room for you so come on in, pull up a chair, get comfy and enjoy some of my picks. 

In no particular order I present you with..... 

Happy New Year, a gift from Seth Godin and 100 of the Best Internet Marketing Blog Posts of 2007 by marti garaughty

Active Rain's a Master Class -- Who Are Your Instructors? by Brian Block

Keywords 101   by Colleen Kulikowski

Message to Santa, your Elves Need Better Sales Training! Is This What Buyer's Feel LIke in This Market?  by Colleen Fischesser

Midori's Real Estate Resource Secrets... by Midori Miller

Real Estate Branding - Rick and Ines Style by Rick & Ines

The Power of Reverse Psychology by Jennifer Allan

Get off your whine and plan! by Allen Wright

Credit Scores Where Did They Come From & What Are They??? by George Souto

How To Avoid Going To The Google Sandbox for Keyword Stuffing by Laurie Manny

Unofficial Tech Support ~ Adding photos and wrapping the text... by Kristal Kraft

Absorption Rate: What it is, and Why you Should Know it by Rich Schiffer

Extra credit reading the Realty Book Club reviews....

I Think Therefore I Blog: Realty Blogging Says Be a Groundbreaker...Blog Now!....Review #1  by Carole Cohen   

Your Blogging Voice... Where is it? (Realty Blogging Review #2) by Mariana Wagner  

So Far to Go, So Much to Learn........ (Realty Blogging Review #3) by Ann Cummings

Branding through Blogging (Realty Blogging Review #4) by Ines Hegedus-Garcia

Become an Expert by Building the Relationship..Realty Blogging Review # 5 by Monika McGillicuddy

Have a Niche? ... Scratch it! (Realty Blogging Review #6) by Mariana Wagner

Bloggers are The New Woodward and Bernstein: Realty Blogging Book Ch. 9 #7 by Carole Cohen

Turn Your Blog Into A Lead Generating Machine - Realty Blogging Review #8 (Chap. 10) by Ann Cummings

Intranet What?? Internal Chit Chat revived review # 9 by Ines Hegedus-Garcia

In closing I'd like to thank you all for being a part of my life this past year and wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!