Maureen, sure points can be motivating for a while and get people started, but it's the community, the learning and the business that's created that keeps one motivated once the points grab loses its luster.

Maureen, I still get RealTown and your right no one comments. I'll be back to vote later, with only two of us commenting so far, it would be obvious. I do think Frances has elevated the platform

It's all a game of king of the mountain...who can get to the top....they'll never have a top dog....on and on and on.

Dito Brian, it's a fun game and - like the kids with Reader Rabbit - we learn inspite of ourselves.  I appreciate the activity, afterall, what else is there to do over a cup of coffee in the morning?  Seriously, I have learned quite a bit from AR an my online buddies.

Maureen I agree with Brian I am no longer here for the points.  I would come back if there were none.  I read and participated in RealTown for quite a while.  But once other forums became available I found that they occupied my time and I could only do so much in one day. 

Maureen,

Good points. realtown or realtalk is not doing well and it will only continue to do worse because they are trying to control it too much. I think most of the members are forced there when they take e-PRO. I recently took it, that how I wound up there.

I joined AR about a month ago and I have to admit I really didn't like it at first, but have since grown to like it. The more I use AR, the worse I think realtalk is.

btw, the silence you hear (or don't hear) in realtalk, may just be the moderators not allowing responses to go through. I posted several responses that never made it through. I guess they just didn't like my answers. 2 in particular was a criticism of the e-PRO module tests and a second was when someone asked the real town experts about registering a domain name. They kept pushing this guy that his best option was to use internetcrusade. I responded telling him to register his domain with an independent domain name registrar because they don't care where you host your site or what your business is.

I'm not saying that e-PRO is bad. It's probably very good for begginers and for non-begginers, well they can get the certification. For me it was 1 of 3 things I needed to get my ABR certification.

The RealTown site says of  BlogTalk:

"• BlogTalk (Beta) -- 6,000+ members of the RealTownBlogs community sharing information about their blogging experiences. Go to http://www.RealTown.com/blogs to create a blog."

                                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maureen.  Forgive me for being flip, but is "sharing information about their blogging experiences" anything like contemplating one's naval???  Or, does it just sound that way??  Where is the consumer??  Where is Google?? 

Ms. Thorsen's support of RealTalk/RealTown blogs, etc. is admirable.  I respect loyalty more than anyone would realize.  The problem is that her defense of the RealTown platform reminds me of folks promoting the attributes of Hillary Clinton so passionately.  The problem is that they keep interjecting the words "my mother", "my mother". 

When one is so passionately loyal, one doesn't have to be objective.

For me, I just looked at the ActiveRain platform and compared it with the extreme awkwardness of the RealTown blogging platform and the new RealTalk on-line platform and realized that I was comparing a 92 Chevy with a replacement motor to a new Caddilac XLR-V.

In the beginning, the points were meaningless because others were way ahead when I started.  But, as I climbed ahead of others, one at a time, the points became just another challenge.  I love a challenge.

The points are a stroke of genius. I would rather be blogging and commenting on ActiveRain than anywhere else, even my own paid blog.

I need to check out the websites that you are comparing AR too. I am not point driven I am content driven, and yet I see that the subject of points seem to be a concern to the AR family.

Maureen- Your friends blog about jumping the shark was great!  I read all 71 comments, and they were a great discussion by itself.

The points have brought out a certain 'prostitution' angle to all this.  How many mindless, pulled-together entries can I whip out today?  And I can make how many stupid comments for points per day?

So you are writing for points?  To attract customers?  To enlighten your fellow brethren?  To establish yourself as an expert?

I wish you were right, I would like very much to be able to turn those damn points in for merchandise (maybe not shoes, electronics probably).

If you are going to blog every day (and there is nothing wrong with that, by the way) you better have something to say or an interesting twist on an issue.

Otherwise you slowly deconstruct the one thing that is truly yours:  Your reputation.

Do you want to be known for awesome insight or mindless crap?

You decide. 

Boy, I sure earned these 25 points!

I for one was pretty peeved that some JERKS had to ruin the points for uploading pictures to Localism.  I never uploaded a worthless crappy picture; only put up stuff that people researching the area would be interested in - scenery, pictures of town streets, local attractions.  Then these idiots looking to simply boost their points were posting completely AWFUL shots from their telephones just to get points.

I wanted the points, yes, but I wanted to EARN them.  I want to be at the top of the page for my state.  Why? because I'm more likely to be seen there.

But I also know that in order for it to do any good, I have to have worthwhile content when someone sees my mug and clicks for more info...

The people who tick me off are the ones who see points as an end in and of themselves, rather than a "payment" for doing good work.

One of my former colleagues said "Hey, I'm on ActiveRain too...I'm a blogger!" and her profile is ridiculous (half of the "filler content" is still there, encouraging her to fill it in.   She has posted two blogs...one of which is nothing but a meaningless bungle of keywords.  That does not make you a blogger anymore than going to McDonald's makes you a hamburger!

The same goes for points.  Points are great for those of us who actually earn them.   

Peter brought up a subject I wasn't going to touch, the way the posts on RealTalk are censored.  Many of mine dumped.

In fact, right before unsubscribing RealTalk, my last post, thanking all of my RealTalk friends for the many years of friendship and exchange of ideas was censored. 

Without regard to the merits of RealTalk, I'm a big fan of Frances Flynn Thorsen's writing and I admire her integrity.

The subject of points seems to bring out a wide range of emotions.  You see a lot of rage, jealousy and ill-feelings come out in the open when this subject is on the small screen.

Hmmm - rage is a rather strong word.  Peevishness would be my guess.  I'd be REALLY worried about someone in a rage over points...LOL

Of course my definition of rage generally involves weapons, beatings,  and blood.... 

I am trying not to comment... holding my tongue but I am laughing at Karen's BlogRage definition... " weapons, beatings,  and blood.... "

back to lurking.... difficult for me...

thanks all for the comments and for voting in the poll..... 

Great post! (ka-ching ... 25 points in the back, no need to go further.)

But I will ... and before I forget ...

Douglas - thanks. That was mine.

RealTalk ... I've got to unsubscribe I don't read it, which is a shame. It helped me fight off a BS after-the-fact referral from a corporate relo company. But after a while there are limits to how many times I can watch ToMe and Mark Jay battle to the death over EBA. It's like watching a Hatfield and a McCoy trading barbs in cardigan sweaters at the local Starbucks. The war's over folks. Give it up.

As for AR, I think my post summed up where I am on things. Points helped build the community and I believe points helped make it irrelevant all at the same time.

Cathy - I have to ask ... why? Are you getting business from this blog? Or are the points worth more than a commission check?

At the end of the day, I left because it was better for my business to focus my own energies on my own blog on my own server. When everything with Move happened I felt even better for the change because I knew without a doubt the content was my own. No need for debate, and no one selling my words away.

"Badges? We don't need no steenking badges!" I feel the same way about the points.

And Maureen, I hate you for making me come back in here. :-)         

Actually Jonathan, you need 10 words to qualify for the 25 points.  So "Great post", or even "Great Post, thanks for sharing" won't cut it anymore.

Now you have to say "Great post! Thanks for sharing, lots of food for thought."

;) 

I do think points have a purpose, and I do thing it is a good thing.

Blogging is hard, much harder than you would think.  Most people haven't written anything since high school or college and are a little rusty.  I do think that having people comment on your posts (even if it is just for points) helps to keep you going initially.

Once you get started blogging and get into a grove the points become less of a focus.  I think that "cleaning house" is a bigger issue with online forums.  I know there are people listed as "members" on here that aren't agents anymore.  So we really don't have 81, 347 members.  I do think that if someone doesn't participate after a period of time, send them an email and then remove them.  This is an internet issue in general with "abandoned blogs."

Having participated on RT, I was never censored, but I could only handle so much pointlessness between Mark Jay and the EBA's.  Things never seemed to move forward, and the same topics and arguments surfaced each time.  I don't think the issue with RT is lack of points, but rather a lack of a point.  It is endless circles that go nowhere and lack of forward growth.  I personally can only handle so much inanity in my life.  I don't think points would change anything about RT.  I have never blogged with them though. My outside blog is elsewhere.

Maureen, the points assist me with staying focus. As far as business, I did recently have a seller he was impressed with the amount of points I have.

Meilina wrote "Having participated on RT, I was never censored, but I could only handle so much pointlessness between Mark Jay and the EBA's.  Things never seemed to move forward, and the same topics and arguments surfaced each time.  I don't think the issue with RT is lack of points, but rather a lack of a point.  It is endless circles that go nowhere and lack of forward growth."

Don't you think though if there was an incentive for new growth (points, shoes, small electronics, links on Google or somewhere) new life could be found on RT and it would drown out the Mark Jay & the EBAs puppet show?  I have to admit I love Mark Jay... although I was apalled by his looooooooooooong posts when I first started reading RT... and it took me a long time to appreciate his writing.  

Just like ActiveRain, if you don't want to read a particular writer, there was usually plenty to read on RealTalk but a lot of people are put off by the viscious cycles... circles there. 

I was censored a number of times on RT, and consistantly on BlogTalk so when AR opened up I stopped reading or contributing on RT.  I still read BlogTalk for awhile but there is no point in participating there. 

Thanks all for the comments.  Esther's alter ego revisits AR, a historic event!!!

The points are FUN. Do they have to be anything else? I like the rankings, I'm the only one in my town doing much, but I can compete in Arizona rankings. If people don't like them then just ignore them.

And what the heck does "jump the shark" mean?

Maureen,

Don't you think though if there was an incentive for new growth (points, shoes, small electronics, links on Google or somewhere) new life could be found on RT and it would drown out the Mark Jay & the EBAs puppet show?  I have to admit I love Mark Jay... although I was apalled by his looooooooooooong posts when I first started reading RT... and it took me a long time to appreciate his writing.

I'm not sure.  I would always get private emails from people, and I think that some of them might "jump into the fray" if they had some incentive.  Mark and the EBA's have some good points, but then you throw Robert King into the mix and I would get a migraine reading them all bantering back and forth...I only have so much time in my life.

Online forums are always difficult because it is so easy to misinterpret things, and take comments into a direction never intended. It then puts the author in a position of having to defend themselves or leave that negative comment about them out in cyberspace for all to see.  What I like about AR is the plethora of active bloggers so it is easier to not read the people that I am not interested in, and the fact that it has some serious google juice. 

Even if AR didn't have points, but had the google juice...I would be here.  I'm thirsty!

Ugh...never try and comment when you are sick...one more thing.

I do think that, for me personally, I didn't really know HOW to comment on a blog. It wasn't something that I did.  I do think that having the points initially forced me to read other's blogs and start to formulate a dialog.  As many newbies, I did the "nice post, thanks for sharing" type of comments, but after a few of those, really figured out how to make comments that hopefully added something to the discussion.

I think the points forces you to practice what my not be natural to you and THAT has value.

Thanks all for the comments.  

Leslie Jumped the Shark comes from TV. 

I will be back...

I'm back.  The mention of Mark Jay woke me up. 

I love Mark Jay.  The gentleman helped me make the leap from Exclusive Buyers Broker to Single Agency Brokerage with one clause that he included in a very prescient post.  Goodness, it was like the clouds disappeared and the sun came shining through.

"IT'S OVER".

He was so right.  I had never focused on the matter from that perspective.  While many were beating their head against the Common Law brick wall, I moved on with Statutory Agency Law in MD and VA and never looked back.  Mark Jay is a hero. 

I invited Mark to ActiveRain but never saw a post.  In fact, I don't believe he ever joined.  He's a very skilled writer. 

I don't disagree that Mark is a skilled writer and makes well thought out posts...I just felt like I was sitting in a room of kindergartners sometimes, who just won't stop poking each other. 

I would have thought Mark would do the AR thing...I always liked Paul Silver on RT and noticed that he is here.  Eileen Landau as well.  I don't think Lindy is on AR.

Sorry for digressing Maureen...

We haven't been a member of realtalk in quite some time. Points may be useless to some but those of us that take blogging seriously like to be rewarded and placed higher on the list for our efforts. 

Twelve words,

Twelve words,

Twelve words,

Twelve words,

Twelve words,

Twelve words,

ahhhhhhhhhhhh, 25 points!

Thanks!

I thought that doing away with the points was an april fools joke. That really scuks, I think the point system is ingenius.

I think the point structure is just used to keep ourselves moving forward.  Why not be a featured member if you are very active?  And points help you get to that level.  Its like a reward for being loyal.  So maybe it'll take a long time before you become #1 feature.  But just like anything else, you keep at it, and results will come.  And for me the results are in the connections you make with people in the AR family.  I look for the people not the points.  Hope that helps.  Lu

As the kids say on the computer, LMAO. You have over 293K in points, where can WE spend them?

I do think it keeps us coming back to AR and I enjoy reading many of the very good blog post.

As the kids say on the computer, LMAO. You have over 293K in points, where can WE spend them?

I do think it keeps us coming back to AR and I enjoy reading many of the very good blog post.

The 71st comment on Jonathan Dalton's post   (Jonathan is an ActiveRain member)  ...written by Rich Jacobson who also uses the aliases Sparky and @ActiveRich depending on where you run into him out on the internet says in part:

Jonathan: The debate about the points has been ongoing since the very beginning. I think you would find more members in favor of points than against them. Most of us move beyond the points, and discover the greater value of involvment. Personally, I think it was a stroke of genius, and is being mirrored in some fashion by many other immerging platforms.

So Rich could tell you ahead of time how this poll was going to go... and that there has always been debate about points. 

You can accrue points by gaming the system... not everything written on ActiveRain is USDA Grade AA, there has always been a problem with plagiarism.  Karen gave a good example about the photos.  Communities or was it neighborhoods ??? was another example.  People were making up neighborhoods for points, lots of squabbling about one anothers points. 

Doing away with points is a joke. 

I meant to put in a link to RealTown when I wrote this but missed it somehow...

RealTown Home  

There is censorship on RT communities... not on their blogs... I am the master of my domain... mistress? such as it is but I do not participate on any of the RT communities, anymore.  In part because of ActiveRain but also what's the point of writing something if it will be censored.  That's something I remember at first about ActiveRain, how thrilled we (a herd of us that migrated from RT in the summer of 2006)  were by how open, unedited and unmoderated it was and remains. Peter Nikic has a comment way up at the top here about recent experience being moderated (censored)  in a RealTown community.  Welcome to ActiveRain Peter.

Thanks all for the comments... go out and write good stuff on your AR blog or where ever you choose to blog.

I love the points. It keeps me involved. I think it makes others write exciting and impressive blogs. That is what makes AR fun, entertaining, educational and competitive! Thanks for your blog! Terrie

Never used RealTalk, so I don't have an opinion about what they do.

My first blog generated a listing a few days later, and that's what hooked me on ActiveRain!  Points had nothing to do with my joining, posting blogs, commenting or staying on ActiveRain - yet I've accumulated a boatload of points along the way through sheer participation.  I certainly recognize a points-only post or comment, but they don't concern me.  I just do my thing - posting, commenting, and picking up business (and new friends) through ActiveRain!  

The points bring out a competetive spirit in me.  I would hope people spend time here to learn, share, educate, but I do really like being rewarded for participating.

Maureen, I almost had a heart attack when I thought that AR was eliminating points.  I must admit that the prospect of building points was a major factor in all the effort I have put into this community.

Having said that, I'd just as soon not have RT start the point system.  I think it would dilute the dominance of Active Rain as the premier real estate community - and I don't have the time to be active in every forum out there.  I always felt that RT was cumbersome to plow through, and I don't see any of its newer features being particularly competitive with AR.

I love the point system.  It helps me stay motivated a focused on blogging.

I am not even being a smart-aleck (can someone confirm how to spell this???) when I say that we have multiple discussion every week about how to make the points MORE relevant...........and we have some GREAT ideas. If I was a betting man, I'd bet you will see them soon (wait, that would make me Tim Donaghy.......maybe I could be a stock broker and bet big on AR points stock......wait, that would make me Martha Stewart)

I love the point system too.  It makes me read a lot of the posts of other members to see what they are writing about, what their writing style is, and it always makes me wonder how some people can be so creative in their writing.  That's a skill I would love to have.  And most of all, I always learn something of value.  In the end, I don't expect to be on the top of the points list, but it's fun moving up that very high points ladder one step at a time.

Someone please vote for "Absolutley Nothing" for me.... someone who is not terribly fond of points. 

The three other votes in the poll are:

icanhazmorepointz  
Good for getting someone started  
satisfactory

who is the lol cat???  lol

I do think ActiveRain is a good place for learning blogging and social networking, or a "Good for getting someone started."  That's why I have invited so many people to AR. I was blogging before ActiveRain... I think it is a good place to get someone who has never blogged before started... less abandoned blogs because people stay interested if they get good feedback from others and if they start seeing business from it.

ActiveRain can also be a place to pick up bad habits if you are not careful.  Not everything you see people getting away with on ActiveRain is a good idea here or out in the blogosphere.... like comment spamming. 

Thanks all for the comments.  I am looking forward to seeing some of the great stuff the AR guys have for making points more relevant.

I found the points a bit intiminating when I first joined.  It was obvious I was a newbie and the scoreboard called attention to it.  Now I'm more concerned with content and writing for my consumer. 

Ok, first things first...

Stoopid = good, cool.

Stupid = bad, uncool

I think that the points pull out a larger percentage of those that would be lurkers, and get more people to participate.  The participation becomes habit after a while, and then the points matter less... like money, when you have a bunch it isn't as important. 

Maureen,

Very thought provoking post! Bob Stewart, you reeled me in with the april fool joke. Hook ,line, and sinker!

I think the points are good personal barometer for keeping my participation quantifiable and content qualifiedly relevant. How's that for a mouthful? And lol @ Bob... Martha Stewart...lol

Maureen - Points aren't important to me but I know that in this competitive business it is to other people. I personally just do this for it's enjoyment of either helping people out or for them helping me out of course. It's all about community for me but, I'm just an old hippy so I guess it's just peace and love philosophy for me. That's my two cents and 25 points worth. Bob H. See ya on twitter....

I like the points system. I think it is a motivational factor. You will always have people who abuse any system, points or not.

I think people loose sight of what is important. I do like the points but as a guide. What good is being #1 if you write pure crap! what does this say about the person. Will the consumer or anyone else actually send people to you? Of course not.

Leslie:

"Jump the shark" is a reference to an episode in the final season of "Happy Days". The series had gone on (and on and on and....) after Richie had gone to college (i.e., left the show) and had centered more and more on The Fonz. Finally, as a stunt on the the show, Fonzie was waterskiing and a shark was in the water; he literally "jumped the shark". It was deemed by critics that the show had, that season, gone beyond when anyone cared and should have been canceled, as evidenced by the increasingly idiotic and pointless plot lines, plus Henry Winkler ("Aaaaaaaaaa.......") was getting a bit long in the tooth (and I can explain that phrase in another posts if it means another 25 points) to play a super-cool teenager.

Since then, the term "jump the shark" refers to anything that goes on longer than it should, or a defining moment when one should have stopped a few minutes earlier.

And with this post I top 12000!!!!!!!

I love the thought of getting points... but my motivation is the friendship and the education. A/R is a great place to meet and share ideas with everyone... I have really found a place where I can express my view and learn so much from other Realtors... great post

I love Active Rain, however the reason that I log on as often as I do is to comment and receive points.  If there were no points, I might log on once every week or two versus every day.  It is a learning experience so I learn every day on Active Rain (because the points bring me here).

I joined AR the middle of last year and only posted a couple of blogs and just returned the beginning of this year and have become addicted.  I enjoy giving other agents information that will possibly help them in this business. I am very involved at the state and local associations and want to pass on the info to others and I also like passing on tidbits of non real estate items such as where you can find cheapest gas in your area. The points are great and I only make comments on blogs that I am interested in  I am the only agent in my city that is active in AR Points are not my main concern, I really enjoy connecting with all of you!!  Thank you for being such a great community!!!

Fascinating discussion Maureen.  When I started blogging, it was on Real Town; I was sent a 3 page intro by my website provider and that's what was suggested.  I found the platform easy to use and for a long time would post there and copy here.  Active Rain was something I "stumbled" upon through the SEO that it does so well for it's members. 

While, I will always be grateful for Real Town and still maintain a blog there, the social dynamics of Active Rain are definitely a force to be reckoned with.  Human beings are social creatures...there will be more contribution in anything that harnesses this energy appropriately or inappropriately. 

I personally don't think the addictive/competitive component on Active Rain is truly healthy...but, without the INCENTIVE to continue many of us would probably have quite blogging altogether.  And that my friend...would have been a true loss.

Can you trade them in for beer credits maybe? 

http://www.inklit.com/blog/2008/04/02/the-last-leg-of-101-subscribers-in-30-days/#comment-177

I believe the point system is valuble. If they did away with the points we would not see as much participation by the members.

Sean Allen

i like the points too, i am just a newbie and maybe when i row up the points will be unimportant?!

The points are motivating, but the community is the reward.  I've been focusing on other avenues lately, but when I logged in and saw people crawling up on my points I recommitted to commenting and writing again.  I now realize how much I missed it.

I have to confess: I have no idea what the points are for (still a newbie), but I love them. I am here for the "free schooling", great people and their support. When I found the AR few weeks ago I was ranking 890 in my province, now I am 171 and the second in my town (I wonder who is no.1 now:)). Is this an accomplishment? Not so sure, but it feels good:).

I am familiar with RealTown, I've used it once and never received any comment.  I LOVE AR and the point system..it is a way to motivate me, the many cyber friends I have gains, and the multitude of talents and tips from all AR members.  I will not have it any other way.

Hey Maureen - whew, what to say after all these comments!  I'd been part of RealTalk almost since it's inception back in 1996, I think it was, and am still a member.  Far from being a contributor at this point. but was very active there for many years.  And you're right about the 100 or so who were active becoming lurkers over time because the same old stuff kept being rehashed every time a new group of people went through the ePRO course.

Anyway, I found the RT blog platform way too cumbersome.  You probably remember me emailing you a number of times for help because I just could not understand how to do some things over there.  Then I found AR through Jim Lee, and I've been here since July 2006.  WAY more fun, much easier, more learning, great networking, awesome friendships.......... and pointless points!!  Oh, and how could I forget google juice and business - that's the best part. 

I have an outside blog that I would likely never had started were it not for AR.  I have friends all across the US through AR, and some in plenty of places from RT as well.

But to your question about whether RT should have points like AR - nah, I don't think so.  I think any platform that puts some kind of point system in place at this point would merely look like they were copying AR.  And I don't think that would be a good thing at all.

Ann

Forgot to mention all the Mark Jay posts - I actually enjoyed reading his posts, even though some of them were as long as "War and Peace" and some even read like that.  BUT he was always entertaining to me because you never knew what he was going to write, and he usually had some very good messages buried in his very lengthy replies. 

I remember some very nasty posters way back that took to attacking some of us personally and they were kicked off.  Ah, the fireworks at times - those were interesting to watch, as long as you weren't one of the ones being shot at.  Ardell could throw some grenades, too.....  the battles of the 'Toms' ....  ah memories...  

I went to one really fun RealTalk get-together in Orlando a few years ago - David Lauster, Al Napier, Risa Saltman, Andy Norton, and a few others.  That was fun!  And the RT shindigs at conventions were fun, too.

Ann

I've skipped over your huge mountain of comments.  I just thought I'd share that the points haven't mattered because I haven't been blogging on Active Rain, much.  The leads keep coming from A.R., though, so that is the real point.         

Points are awesome, but they're only 1 element.  Friendship, exposure, education, relationsips, deals, etc are the most important aspects.....

Active Rain is great, because it has points. I have become a bit obsessed over them myself lately. I see people with over 100,000 points. There must be some secrets. At 200 points per blog, that's 500 blogs. People cannot possible write that much, can they?

are there ways to get bonus points or special awards?

Maureen...I thought the points could be added to your GPA and really give you something to boast about. 

Oh well, no wonder my kids and grandkids haven't been that impressed.

Cheers,

Kathleen

Around the same time that I was tiring of the bickering on RT & e-PROTalk, I was invited to join AR.  I was totally turned off by the RealTown web format, so I wasn't too enthused to jump to another web based blog site.  The point system encouraged me to put up enough information (profile, etc.) to show up on the top of my local community page, should anyone be looking.  That didn't take too much effort, since there are very few member in Westport, CT.  Then I didn't return for months.

A few months ago, I gave it another try, and haven't looked back.  It's now part of my daily routine.  Points are fun.  They get you going, then the content takes over.

Maybe we can make up a new designation to stick after our name on business cards, etc...

Karen E. Rice, e-Pro, ABR, CRS, SRES, GRI, AR100+K  (Active Rain 100,000 Points Club) 

Stacey, you get more points if your blog gets a lot of comments and gets featured like this one - this one is now probably over 400 points.

I racked up a LOT of points by posting pictures (nice ones!) to  Localism before they shut down points for pictures, and I added a couple of neighborhoods, too and got points for that.

You can get up to 250 points per day for comments - 25 points a comment, plus you get a small fraction of points when people comment on your blog.

Also if you invite anyone to AR you get bonus points for that and you also get a percentage of all the points they earn (think MLM here!  LOL)

You also get points for your profile and for linking to AR on your website. 

I for one do not care about Points and post for my goals and when I get results... I am happy

Points definitely encourage more participation.  It think that's obvious when you look at the membership and amount written on Active Rain compared to the other sites out there.  Makes it fun too:)

Hey,

I like Karen's idea...instead of top producer on business cards, write top blogger 100k club, 200k club...of course clients would have no idea what it means, but most don't understand the designations either...