200 posts is not a big number for some on Active Rain, but I was almost startled by this number, which coincided almost with my 1st year AR  anniversary. In the true Russian tradition of self-examination this post is a reflection on the lessons learned.

1. Internet is peoples business after all.

I wondered about Internet relationships, when friends told me about meeting someone on the Internet. Without the struggle the experience of finding romantic matches on the Internet, Active Rain was my first forray into Intenet relationships both with colleagues and clients who found me through my blog.

2. All reationships require work.

I found AR as well as other social professional networks to be very effective ways to meet people and establish real relationships. Like any relationship they require work. You could be the smartest person and write brilliant posts, but if your goal is to develop Lasting relationships you have to show your interest in people in more ways then just on their blogs.

3. There is no substitute for a human connection.

I found Active Rain relationships extended beyond the blog and into the real life to be the most satisfying and lasting. This meant finding a human element interest and getting in touch with people on a deeper human level that went well beyond blogs. It was true for both peer relationships and with clients. Of all my brilliant writing, one client said, she remembered most my post about leaving Russia. She never escaped her country in the middle of the night, but she related to me as a person who overcame adversity, not just an agent in search of the next client.

4.Trust is earned off the blog.

Active Rain and other blogs are an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise and personality. Yet it is not enough, IMO, to build trust. Internet still leaves room for boasting, exaggerating, misleading, or simply misunderstanding another person's personality and work they would do.  I found both positive and disappointing connections on AR. Interacting with clients is easier, if they found you through your blog. More likely then not, there would be compatibility, since  they selected you for a reason.  To build trust more is needed. Delivering the service as promised and demonstrating your commitment to the client in action is how true trust is built.

The same is true for AR colleagues. No matter how many wonderful comments you get on your posts, the test of true relationships is off the blog. I have seen bloggers "disappear", so to speak, from everyones' radars. Such disappearance would be noticed by people you engage with off the blog. The idea is the same - it's the real human connections that make the difference.

5. Learning about blogging is endless.

One of the biggest challenges for bloggers is finding their Google love. This one seems to be fickle and ever changing. You may also discover things you totally didn't expect. For example, for close to a year I struggled enjoyed writing a post every day. That's what I thought Google wants me to do. Forget vacations, if I miss a day, Google would stop coming to my blog every day. The last part, is perhaps still true. But the total premise could be wrong. I discovered each post I produced was in fact competition for the previous one. Not enough authority was allowed to built for each. Taking my first vacation from blogging (OK, it was almost vacation, since I pre-posted one before I left and wrote another one while there:) I found no adverse impact. In fact, more searches were done on the posts that were allowed to mature.

Going forward Google, IMHO, would be changing their algorithm all the time to find the perfect authority blogs in different fields. We would have to be learning and experimenting to keep the elusive Google love.

6. Just when you thought you got it...

A year of blogging for me was the most satisfying part of real estate marketing. I am not effective at it yet and spend way too much time from the  purely ROI perspective. When I thought I got it and should write "short and sweet" posts, I stopped looking at ROI. I continue spending the time (surely not a Rx for everyone). I know for me it beats knocking on doors which, BTW, in Princeton would probably result in a call to the police:)

I know you don't need to be Hemingway to generate business from blogging. Yet I continue to strive for creative writing.

Lastly, when you thought you figured Active Rain and how to be successful here, they introduce new Localism:) I am sure there would be other changes in real estate practice, technology, Active Rain company, Google, customers' expectations and us as we grow and learn with every new post.

Closing in the same Russian tradition, here is to another 200 posts! What are the most important lessons you learned?