WOW!!!!!!

We have guiding prinicples?  <THAT WAS A JOKE!>

Brad - the post is unbelievable for helping new members.  Heck, it's great for ANY of us!  Thanks for all the work you put into this!

  Thanks Brad,  I will bookmark this one for a few of my agents who are ready (finally) to get started.

Amazing, Brad!  This is a great resource -- you've done it again, SuperBrad!

Great Advice!!!

Brad, WOW you are at it again. I am not a new member, but I can surely use some of these links again.

P.S. Love your new wallpaper. Now I have to go find myself. :0)

this is great.  Thank you Brad. 

Brad, ditto to all the good things anyone else write, I did a quick look at a couple of these and got a kick out of the comments on one.  Reminds me that the comments to a post are pretty informative too.  be good  cw

Home run buddy....this is definitely the college 101 credit course.

Brad - You really should put some thought into these posts.

Brad - great resource. I just e-mailed your post to an Active Rain member ready to start really working on her blog.

Awesome Brad! I am bookmarking this so when I welcome a newbie I can include the link!

What a helpful post -- thank you!

Nice Brad. am going to print some of this out and read on the way to the bay tomorrow.

Assume you've seen out post about what you started with the idea of putting photos on our name tags.

cheers

Brad: Helpful post for OLDIES, too, like me. I go back quite often when I'm in doubt about something (IF I don't email you, directly, LOL).

Thanks.

Brad,  Where waz this AR 101 course before?  I must have missed it now I have to go back an start all over again.

Thank you sir for the post and all of the help in ti.

Don R.

Thanks Brad - I can see why bloggers are late night people this is a lot to absorb.

They say there are a lot of learning styles and just a thought ...at next Inman conference might be interesting to do an Active Rain Boot Camp for beginning bloggers - I would attend.  I see a workshop where all participant write a blog with graphics, links, and a widget or two.  I am a hands on learner and would defintely pay for this type of training...just a thought and I will start my late night reading tonight!

Like many things in life, it is always best to step back and do a review. It is amazing how we can forget stuff that we previously knew or how we can overlook something that would have made life easier. I plan to go through you blog attachment by attachment and see what I've forgotten or never knew.

Thanks for the updates.

Sean Allen

This is a great summary and getting started kit!  I have found a couple of things I missed along the way.  I think with almost 100K members, this is going to be priceless information.  Thanks for taking the time to compile this kit.

Seriously good stuff for new AR users and seasoned users!

Seriously good stuff for new AR users and seasoned users!

Hi Brad, I hope the newbies appreciate how lucky they are to have tutorials like this. Gawd I wish we had everything laid out for us when AR began. Then again, learning things the hard way can be fun too. Later B...

Good info all in one location.

Thanks1

Thanks for all the info...I have some serious studying ahead!!!

Brad,

Congrats on the feature! Your post is going to be sent to every new member of ActiveRain as well as linked to on the home page of AR. (of course, you already knew this :-P)

I will come back 200 comments from now and leave another comment and ask to be notified so I'm not trapped in the 'Comment on a post of Brad's and ask to be notified of new comments' black hole. I'm not falling for the banana in the tail pipe again (movie reference anyone?), haha.

Brad, awesome stuff as always!  I looked high and low for something like this when joining AR!  I am glad it is there now!

Brad - Nice list of posts to help new and old get the most out of the Rain. One thing I would like to see added is how to format and layout your ActiveRain posts so they play nice with the outside blog and Localism parameters.

Bob Stewart - Axel Foley from Beverly Hills Cop. Great movie!

This is great for all of us old or new.  I am going to spend some time and go thru some of these posts. 

Wow...that is a full post! I think you have covered everything about AR that's fit to print.

Brad - This is a GREAT compilation of posts... just what we were looking for to give us the rules of the road, so to speak on AR.  It's bookmarked for future reference.  Thanks!

Brad, I hope people continue to read and make comments to this post. It will help soooooo many new AR members. I only got through half of the links and decided to come back to the rest later!

Brad,

Nice compendium!!! Without a doubt you are the 'bookmark king' of Active Rain!!! Thanks,   Fran

I'll be sending this out to several newbies that I've invited from my office.  They are always asking me how to get started and having something to share with them will be helpful.

Great--Super!  There are links there that benefit newbies and should I say "oldies?" 

Thanks for putting this together.  I started over a year ago and had forgotten a lot. Oh, and I love visiting your page...my picture is on your wallpaper and I think thats so cool!  ;)

HI BRAD!

What a great idea!  Why didn't I think of that?!?  BTW, your page looks fab!  I love all the faces...where's mine:o)

Enjoy your week!

Brad, a true encyclopedia on Active Rain and blogging. No one does it like YOU!  I agree with Elaine. Super Brad. Thanks.

Thta is great info..I have already used some ofthe information.

Brad - This is perfect for new members - you just saved me several hours of work getting ready to help my invitees!  Shouldn't this be in the corner of the main page or automatically sent to new members!

Also great for not so new members like me.

Also - Love the new wallpaper, and there is my little happy face right on the bottom right corner!  That's me saying 'thanks for all your help, Brad!'

Brad,

I am fairly new to ActiveRain but have really enjoyed immersing my self in all that it has to offer. I am glad I found your info early on because you have proved invaluable to helping me get a jumpstart and I feel like I have just begun to "get it" and take advantage of the innumerable possibilities offered here!

Thanks again, 

Russell

Even though I have been on Active Rain for over a year,there is still some things that I still need help with. This is a well written post Brad. Great post.

Brad - Man oh man how far we have come. Wish I had this when I started eons ago. Bet many others do too. What a terrific resource.

Hope you don;t mind if I share this with folks in my upcoming blogging classes if they are interested in joining AR.

Jeff

Great stuff...thanks Brad!

Thank you for the "one-stop shop" post!  You are the mega-mall of AR blogging!

Wow!! What a great response, thanks you guys.  Gotta run and pack for San Francisco, be right back..
The starter kit was Bob's idea, I have to give HIM the credit on this one. Thanks Bob!!  :-)  haha

Where were you 10 months ago when we a started. It is a good resource even for some of us that have been involved for a few months.

Brad: another great Blog. The starter kit is a great idea.. Thanks for sharing

Brad.....this is another excellant tool for the newbies or the oldies with lots of great content.  You're the best!

Maybe this should be on PAGE ONE so people who join the community have some direction and make the very most of their time in the Rain,...thank you !

Okay Brad, you're at it again. Great tool for those just starting out on AR. I had to learn through trial and error! ;-)

What Rich said in the first comment

Wow, Brad.  There is enough here to keep me busy for days - at least.

Thanks for taking the time to put this together Brad.   I have it bookmarked to refer to.

pippa

Lots of great information for any newcomer to our community as well as many oldtimers. Thanks for putting it all together Brad.

This is a great list.  I have been here for a while but I still need to work my way back through this list again to make sure I have not missed ANYTHING!!  LOL

This is amazing!  Thanks so much for all of the useful information!  I am an Active Rain newbie and can't wait to get started!

WOW Brad!  OH, how I wish I had found this when I first started!  This is EXCELLENT information for newbies that, if done as you describe, should jump start their presence here in the Rain and their business!  I've still got to do a couple of these things myself!

Thanks for all you do for us here in the RAIN!

Brad,

This post seems to be the mother of all the starter kit blogs. Can't get any more thorough than this. It can even be helpful to old-timers who sometimes need guidance.

This is great info.  I guess my only question is how to post individual photos to localism...

Oh Brad--every time I turn around--there you go again posting great info!!  Will bookmark it!  Thanks for all you help, as well!

P.s.  Since Leslie asked about Localism--How do I become a neighbor in  my area?---I am not listed as an neighbor--at all!  Where's Mr. Rogers when you need him!

p.s.s.  I don't think I'll be able to make it to the "land rush" on july 31--I still too lost in the "rain"  there so many things I still need to learn!  is there a post that explains this "land rush" thing and how to become a neighbor

I Just read "The 10 Guiding principles and philosophy of our network and community"

Love it!

I will mark this blog and refer to it many times in the future!  Very helpful for us Newbies!!  Thanks so much!

Krista Abshure

Thanks Brad! Great source of info for both the newbies and the seasoned active rain member.

Joe

Thanks for the post,as a newbie, it was really helpful!

You SOOOOOOOOOOOO ROCK for doing this for the newbies. What a guy...

Thanks Brad for putting everything in one post...and there are some good posts in there :0

Hello Active Brad - I'm not so new anymore but bookmarking anyway since I feel I skipped right past a lot of important stuff.  You've made it much easier for new Rainers to get comfortable.  Very nice job "as usual".

WOW!!! Thank you for all the information in one place. As a Newbie this post is GREAT!!!

Oh Brad--every time I turn around--there you go again posting great info!!  Will bookmark it!  Thanks for all you help, as well!

P.s.  Since Leslie asked about Localism--How do I become a neighbor in  my area?---I am not listed as an neighbor--at all!  Where's Mr. Rogers when you need him!

Aida -

You become a top neighbor based on your contributions to localism. Jon just featured a great post breaking down 9 points about localism.

p.s.s.  I don't think I'll be able to make it to the "land rush" on july 31--I still too lost in the "rain"  there so many things I still need to learn!  is there a post that explains this "land rush" thing and how to become a neighbor

There is, you can go to http://localism.com/sponsor

Brad, one of our newest members asked me to point out that "7 Mistakes To Avoid On ActiveRain" is linking to a blog post on "What Should i Write" instead.

Michelle - thanks, I just rechecked all the links and they seem to be fine.  There is a post "The Ultimate Guide To Ideas For Your Post" I must have duplicated the link.  It was really a test just to see if anyone is clicking on the links! lol~  not really....thanks again. :-)

This is a great reference piece for new bloggers, all in one spot so they don't have to go searching around.  Great job!

Wow Brad:  What an incredible compilation of Newbie posts.  Honesly, I wish there was something like this when I started on Active Rain eleven months ago.  But... in looking at all of your topics, many of them will be very useful even now for me.  Thanks so much for sharing.

Ditto to what Karen said above, I am going to teach some new people about Active Rain, and I'm going to use this post as an outline to my class.  This is great info

Brad - Reading these postings has been really valuable to me.  I'm one of those ActiveRainers, who hates reading manuals, and instructions.  I've been getting along fairly well with my blogging, except I have one very "blonde" question I've been putting off for a couple months now.  It has to do with including a graphic with my postings. 

I've been putting any desired pictures or graphics on an external domain I have, and then linking to that url for my postings.  However, I note most folks are using the "ActiveRain Image Store" for their graphics.  I have poked and hunted around here on ActiveRain trying to find and utilize that store.  Where the heck is it???  And no fair laughing:-)

Myrl - it's ok to use images stored on your server. If you choose to upload a photo from your computer to a post directly, the photo will be renamed and stored in a sub-directory on AR. The is no image library, just a subdomain folder where your images are stored.  You can use either or both options.  For animated .gifs, you'll have to use your server to store those and then the URL to have them appear on your post.  :-)

Brad - Thanks for your response.  However, when I click on the little "insert/edit image" icon here on ActiveRain, it will only allow me to input the image URL.  It won't allow me to select an image and import it in from my hard-drive.  I know it ought to be able to be done, because I see the
ActiveRain Image Store" (subdirectory) when I right mouse click on other folk's graphics on their postings.

It's making me crazy!

Myrl - you can upload an image from your computer, just click on the icon next to where you are placing the url for your other images. It looks like this:

Thanks for all this info....I have a feeling I'll never sleep again! :)

Lisa -  You'll sleep again and better than ever knowing that your efforts here will pay off.  If you work hard and just follow some of these simple steps, you'll witness the same successes that many others have. :-)

Brad, Great post. I wish you had thi post a year ago . It would have made things easier for me. I still have a lot to learn so I will bookmark this and try some of the things. Thank you.

Gita - I wish that too.  It's taken me over a year to write the posts and create this.  I hope it will help. :-)

Hi Brad,

I've tried to click the "how to customize" video & tutorial a few times the past 3 days and haven't been able to get on. Is it down?

Thanks,

~Jeff

Brad,  All I can say is I could not have done it without your post.  Thanks for saving me a TON of time! Aaron

Jeff - I just checked and it seems to be fine.  Try this link and see if it works. If not, please let me know.

"How To Customize Your Active Rain Blog Using the ActiveRain Customizer Video Tutorial"