I just noticed that Joel Burslem's blog "Future of Real Estate Marketing" (a very good blog I might add) did a post revisiting his take on the ActiveRain Real Estate Network.  He had originally reviewed the site probably about 2 weeks after we launched it, when it was just a skeleton of what it is today.  Based on that he gave us some pretty low marks, proclaiming "ActiveRain is All Wet".  In the 10 weeks since the site has morphed fairly dramatically from being essentially a real estate directory, to being a thriving community of real estate bloggers.  The next 10 weeks should see almost as dramatic of a change (in a good way) as we continue to build on the base that we have created.

He correctly points out a current weakness of the network.

"Where ActiveRain continues to fail though, is providing any meaningful information to consumers. But, I suppose that’s ultimately not the point."

Yes, at this time we haven't put our focus into addressing the needs of the consumer. Ultimately, we feel we can best serve our base by providing additional avenues to connect with the consumer, but that will just take time.  This network is a continuous evolution and we'll continue to drive it in the directions that best helps the members. 

Joel, thanks for checking back with us, and I hope you take another peak in another 10 weeks to see what's new...