When you first start bloging on Active Rain there is so much too learn, the little nuances make it more enjoyable, but you have to find them first. It's a continuing education kinda thing and you find answers and then have more questions :)...which differently keeps it interesting. The good news is the people are very understanding, caring and willing to share in the rain, so when you learn some
thing "pay it forward", even if you think someone else already has, "The teacher will appear when the student is ready". On your home page there is Associates (you control), and at the bottom, Associations (other AR member control), just knowing that will make it all much easier to start working in both fields.
Associates you control...this is were you add people you meet in the rain and want to stay closer to, be able to pull up quickly; basically it's your address book, it adds them and their post they have written. However, you don't see the post/blogs of an associate unless you click on posts, which pulls all of them up. One of the nicest features is it allows you to quickly go to people you want to return the favor of making a comment on their post and it pulls up all of their recent work first. . Associates/Post.
When you run across someone who you want to add, go to their profile, click on more about me, a button will be on top that says Add as Associate, when you click that it takes you to your home page and give you some options; (Which groups is this associate in?) , you pick what group you want them to make them. You can make names for groups other than Associates, i.e. Inspirations, Agents for Referrals, Personal Friends and as I have, people who are Mortgage People, Escrow/Title Co., and people on the rain that have helped me with SEO issues, I put as, SEO Help
You can then put comments in about the person, why you added them, their market, what you liked about them etc.* Comments will be publicly visible on profile*. This is part I did not read, other people can go on your home page and look at all your associates and what you have said about them, hence "not for your eyes only". 
One thing for me that is frustrating is there is no spell check for this, so mine can read like gibberish since I have problems with "Cat", but remember others will read this, I thought it was just for me, fortunately I had not written anything that I cared if someone else saw.
You will be adding to this list as you meet more people in the rain, and they are placed in your Associate list in order of when you added them, first to last. To re-order just drag the users image up and down. The persons picture also shows up, when you pull up your list you will see a pencil and a little white square. To edit anything about the person, click on the pencil 
. That will bring up a screen that allows you to edit the group you have them in and your comments. The small white square is an eraser
or trash can and when you click on the one beside the persons picture it erases them completely (you can add them back if you clicked on it accidentally).
Associations (Other AR members' control) and when you click on it, a list of people who have added you comes up, along with the information below. It shows you the date they added you, who they are (name, city, etc.), which type AR member they are, a real estate agent, inspector, title co. or loan officer. The last one, Blocked* is if you want to block this person. Note: * Blocking an agent removes you from all of their associates' lists and prevents them from adding you again. Also, if you block someone, they cannot come into your page and change any comments they made about you. There are four fields when you look at your Associations: DATE WHO TYPE COMMENT BLOCKED. The date is when they added you, who is of course their name and who they are, type is agent, loan officer, title co. etc., comment is what they had to say about you, and the blocked has a small square by it and it you check that you block them.
So now, you know the difference between the two. There are as many reasons to blog as there are people who start bloging, and it is addictive. You could start out as I did just wanting another place to showcase your listings, yourself, and your company,
and to get more Google Juice. Then the creative side of expressing yourself, you become more proficient as you learn how to add pictures and write better. What I learned after being on Active Rain for a year now and never expected is the FRIENDSHIPS you make along the way, which was a big bonus. So happy bloging, hope this he
lps and
remember the quote from Pablo Picasso, "I'm always doing things I can't do, that's how I got to do them".
by; Liz Carter, www.lizcarter.com, Katy, Texas
Posted by 
, I thought I was the only one that did not understand the difference, and that everyone can see your comments. Guess I will have to do more of these. Have a great 98, Liz
You can even frame your pictures and tell it how many spaces to put between the picture and your words, As in this example. Liz 
Thanks everyone for your comments & time, Liz
, but love it! Liz
Thanks for the helpful info. I needed this tutorial! I like your Picasso quote, too. I'm going to share it with my sister who'safraid to try some new things for her career. Thanks again!