Over the weekend I saw that my total blogs were at 499 and decided I should do something special for my 500th. Before I could do that, I saw 499 in one place and 502 in another, so put the idea aside. Then Tony Marriott e-mailed me, wondering what I was going to do for the Big 500. Something profound, no doubt. So, despite some totals showing me a few blogs above, taking a bit of literary license, I'm calling this #500.
There really isn't anything new to say, or anything more profound than the 1,000,000 postings (my guess - check out some stats on the Featured Agents in the 50 states that Brad Andersohn compiled) that have already been posted (not true, even today there was something new when Jeff Turner posted about Jott) so I'll just talk about what ActiveRain has meant to me since last August when I joined Active Rain.
Most important has been the community: the people I've virtually met and come to think of as friends, whose conversations I eagerly look for every morning - or sometimes during the day or evening. Many e-mail me - some, like Margaret Rome, call with encouragement and bringing smiles.
There's been a lot of learning, at all levels - but that without the community wouldn't have been enough to keep me coming back. Look at iSucceed, for example, with great learning and many of the friends that are here: I don't visit that every day, despite the great educational resources.
What would Active Rain be without Kristal Kraft and her photography and observations on the world around her? Without Craig Schiller and his examples of staging? Without all the doctored photos and travelling hats? Without watching the growth and development of Colleen Kulikowski as she's gone from Marco to Celebration? Without Broker Bryant and TLW and their down-to-earth reality? Without Brian Brady and Jeff Turner and Gerhard Ade and so many others? Without old friends like Linda Davis and Angus (Moo) Woodbury ?
Was there life before Matt Heaton and Caleb Mardini and Jonathan Washburn? Before contests and carnivals? Before points?
My alarm clock wakes me when it's still dark, and sometimes at night I strain to keep my eyes open long enough for one more blog. I can't just take from Active Rain, I have to give back to it.
Does 500 blogs make you an addict? Absolutely, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Thank you All!
Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent selling homes in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.
This is a momentous occasion, so I thought I'd write the first comment myself, and see what effect, if any, that has. I've noticed a lot of people writing their own firt comment, and don't really know why. since the blog itself could be edited. Good morning, all!