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What Now Brown Cow?

By now, all the hoopla, pom-pom waving or the gnashing of teeth has taken its toll on Active Rain members about the executive decision made by the powers to be about monetizing this platform. It really comes as no surprise as most of us were expecting it. So now that Active Rain has done this, how long before the other "Free" platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms follow suit? I would suspect that this depends largely upon the success or failure of this move by the AR execs. You can "Bet Your Sweet Bippie" that all the other social media platforms have a close eye on what is happening here in the rain.

This is somewhat of a dual edged sword for me and my profession. First of all, I want to congratulate the management team for doing some "Out-of-the-Box" thinking and devising a way to give patrons more bang and also coming up with a creative way to monetize the system. I also think that it was a wise move to "grandfather" in us loyal patrons.

Now the other side of the sword. I have read several posts about how real estate agents have made an additional $16 - $80K as direct revenue from posts here in Active Rain. That's great! But for home inspectors or some other ancillary services, just to make the lower echelon of this dollar figure, most of us would have to do 40-50 inspections. Ain't gonna happen captain.

As the CFO of my company, I have to look differently on ROI here in this social platform. Search engine placement. Over a year ago this company was not even a blip on the radar screens of any search engine. Today, due to active activity in this social platform, we enjoy the top placements in Brentwood, TN home inspections, and third place placement in Nashville, TN home inspections. So even though we are not generating thousands of dollars of direct revenue from our blogging, we are creating a top ranked presence and quality content for our clients to read and make their decision for a service provider. To me, this ROI is priceless...

Wishing all my fellow drips and tweeps a G-r-r-r-reat day... 8-)

If you or someone you know is purchasing a home in Brentwood, Franklin, Nashville, Spring Hill or Thompson's Station in the Davidson or Williamson county area of Middle Tennessee and would like more information about getting a home inspection, give us a call at 615.661.0297. You can visit us online at www.completehomeinspectionsonline.com - Check out our monthly newletter

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Posted by Michael Thornton - Nashville, TN area Home Inspector on 02/17/2009 05:38 AM

Comments (21)

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21 Comments on What Now Brown Cow?

FEB

Great post Again Michael. I am stull trying to figure this whole thing out so my roofing website will be on the first page. I don't know about the monetary side of AR as I am not paying money for anything yet?

I can't say that I've made any money on Active Rain, but I do find it a valuable resource to kibbitz with other realtors about what is going on

Priceless is what I see it as. I am glad I dont have to add it too this years budget but It would be worth every cent!

I would not be willing to pay for any social platform. Most people think that it is the wave of the future, many have come and gone. Ride the wave another one will be by shortly..

Sadly, I disagree.

I believe that the success of the membership fee will rest on how the benefits to the average agent will be presented. Most present non-members not only will not see the benefits, they may have never even seen ActiveRain on the Interent.

Of course, my reasons for doubting the success of a paid platform are a lot more complicated, a lot more complicated.

I'm an agent watcher. See Benita's post above.

I'm glad I got on the boat before it left port but I think it is sad that the agents that have the money just keep getting richer and the agents who are struggling just loose another tool in the toolbox. Samo oh samo - rich keep getting richer . . . .

Everything evolves and we will see what happens to this forum as time passes. I will continue as I have been. I know there is value in AR. I hope the new comers will see that it is worth what the AR staff believes it is worth. For me I keep on keepin' on.

IF AR could run on compliments...it would be able to finance any home rescue effort...the new improved membership edict is not likely to being in a ton of members...but it will do what the whole industry is doing whether you are a realtor, lender, inspector...the cream is coming to the top and those that don't play or make that work hard...won't be in the game for the long term.

Hi Michael:

I guess we saw this change coming...

For me, I'm hopeful that AR will help with some additional commissions for me. But to date, the amount is zero....

ToulaRosebrock.com - Lacey Township Real Estate

you know I took off for a little 3 day vacation to Williamsburg and the ship has changed course!

your friend in Charlottesville!

I certainly hope that this change will bring additional revenue in all our pockets. And, yes, the cream will rise to the top. I hope that the additional exposure and a boost in the search engine rankings will benefit all. Like most, I will take a wait and see stance...

Perhaps I've had my head in the sand, but I don't see AR as a social media platform. Yes, we do share in a "social" way with each other, but it is so much more than any other site out there. AR is not just a little blip on the radar screen of my day. AR is a coach, teacher, counselor and so much more wrapped into one. . .

Personally, I see Plurk and a few others going away. I'm not sure less is more. These "social media" sites take up a lot of time but what are the rewards?

Yes, Michael, it's going to be interesting to see how this unfolds on the Rain!

Morning Michael,

The change was due to come, only a matter of time especially with point 2 leading the way. Hopefully prospective members will see and be able to afford membership here in the Rain. The monthly membership rate may be more then some can manage in today's market.

Good post, thanks for taking the time.

Michael, there is alot of mixed feelings here and as veterans we will have to wait and see, we may have a limited society here! HUH!

Michael - If the activerain owners reinvest most of the money they make back into the system, it will be good for all of us. I'm a little concerned that realtors who don't understand the benefits of blogging will never pay $29.99, but we will see.

Michael,

It will be interesting to see how it all washes out. I am keeping tabs too.

I think with the economy the way it is, struggling agents will probably just switch over to Trulia or merchantcircle or blogger to do it for free at least until they understand the value.

Michael - I have already said this a few times - If we had to pay for this to start I doubt we would have - we didn't understand any of what Activerain was about, and now it is even so much more. And it took us a long time to catch up and really start blogging.

On another note I already read somewhere the Twitter was considering charging for businesses? We'll see how this all evolves. ~Rita

FEB

Realtors who don't spend time on the internet, and who don't value an on-line presence, will never understand Active Rain. I support their transition to fees completely; however, I think their marketing will need to increase and change drastically for those 'out there' to be interested, and I do believe they need to implement a 30-day trial period with no credit card info required.

Susie, I agree. Why are your pictures not showing up?

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