It is hard to believe it has been exactly one year since we first heard of this online

community at  the 2007 Michigan Association of Realtors Fall Meeting. We were

attending a seminar about Web 2.0 and realized we needed to get out there in

cyberspace and do a little marketing if we wanted to survive in real estate.

Don't remember exactly which seminar suggested Active Rain but I do know we

came home and went to work.  We had heard of blogging but were complete novices.

 If you want to get a good laugh, go back and look at some of my first posts. 

 We have been running in Active Rain for one year. It is a great community.

We have 'met' so many wonderful people through this medium. With the click

of a mouse, we can see what the mortgage pros are saying in Arizona & North Carolina,

 the latest gizmos and widgets from the Tech wizards in CA, and touch base with all

facets of this crazy real estate world.

We regularly read:

• Mike Jones in Tucson
• Eleanor in North Carolina
• Chris E.Griffith in Fl for her tell-it-like-it-is style
• Jon Washburn in Oregon
• Don Rogers in Missouri
• Pat Kennedy in Washington DC
• Diane Aurit in North Carolina
• Charles MacDonald in VA
• Steve Loynd in New Hampshire
• Gary Bolen in Lake Tahoe, NV
• Lane Bailey in Georgia
• Bryant Tutasin Fl when he isn't shooting at PA's
• Collen Kulikowski
•  and many,many others for inspiration and information.

 We have a blog on Wordpress and Realtown, but this is our first blog and

 our favorite place to be.  The day doesn't officially start till you have signed into

your AR blog, checked your comments, and read what is happening in our RE industry.

Okay, so sometimes industry news means the latest joke that is traveling the web,

 or the latest disaster that has hit somewhere. We cry along with our friends when

 they have sad times, and we celebrate when they have happy times.  In between,

we are all trying to list and sell real estate, get real estate financed, and close

the transaction so our clients (not to mention, us) have a home to call their own. 

We didn't get 150,000 points and over 300 blog posts by ourselves.

                        We had lots of help.

We have gotten mucho tech help from Active Brad, even back when he had a "real job"

in the mortgage business.  Brad spent hours here on Active Rain just like he does now,

helping people like me try to understand and conquer some of the technical skills it

takes to get plugged in and not destroy the Internet in the process.

Bob Stewart has helped us through a few glitches that were due mainly to our

inexperience and cluelessness.

There are countless times someone has answered a question or posted something to

help everyone here on the Rain. You can get just about any answer you need.

Whether it is about the technicalities of your tablet computer or installing a new widget,

 the info is here.   Help for All Rainers

We have read lots and lots of blogs......made over 3700 comments, and have

found a wonderful place here on Web 2.0 to connect to other people.

And one of the best benefits yet, people who are looking for real estate in

Grand Rapids Michigan can FIND US on the web.  Need I say more!!

Thanks Active Rain!!

Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate  ~ Westbrook Realty

Copyright 2008  All rights reserved

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