ActiveRain Carnival of Consumer Content Contest - Here's the Winners!

They say that "Content is King!"

With nearly 140,000 members and growing daily, the rapid growth and success of the ActiveRain network has been nothing short of phenomenal! And we owe a huge part of that success to the valued support and participation of our community members. Obviously, one of the most effective ways we can ensure the continued growth and benefits of this platform is to strive towards consistently generating good, quality content. Never before has the need and demand for good quality, original, consumer-oriented, real estate-relevant articles been more pronounced than now. Today's Internet savvy consumers are hungry for helpful, practical, and knowledgeable advice from industry experts.

Announcing the Winners of the:

ActiveRain "Carnival of Consumer Content Contest"

Just to Re-Cap:   The ActiveRain "Carnival of Consumer Content" is a contest designed to challenge, encourage, and foster better/improved quality writing from among our membership.

This contest will accomplish several goals:

• provide greater quality articles of enhanced value for Consumers
• provide excellent examples of what constitutes good blog writing for our members
• reward exemplary efforts

This contest is a "Call to Action!"

Let's face it, for most areas across the country, the real estate picture appears pretty bleak. At least that's the perception that the media has presented. But regardless of how difficult or challenging a situation may be, there are always positive aspects to be pursued. Now is your opportunity to turn the tide of negativism, and promote some 'positive' buzz for your markets. We want you to provide your most professional, knowledgeable, experienced, and 'practical' advice to consumers and potential clients. What opportunities exist in your particular corner of the world? What is working for you? What tools, tips, techniques have you utilized in helping your Clients, Buyers/Sellers to achieve success in your particular markets?

It doesn't matter what your particular vocation is, whether you're an agent, a loan officer, a stager, an inspector, etc., we all have valuable advice/information that we can offer to consumers.

Read the contest guidelines carefully and then enter your article! What do you have to lose? If nothing else, you'll at least get your usual 200 points for posting an article.

The Rules

• Must be written and submitted no later than Monday February 9th at 5pm PST.
• If it's not fresh/original, it will get cut. Don't submit anything you have previously posted here on ActiveRain or somewhere else.
• No Cut and Paste. (Do we need to explain this?)
• Copyscape (If it doesn't pass the Copyscape test, it's out. We will not tolerate plagiarism)
• No Ghost Writing (we only want 'original' content articles. You have to write it yourself!) 
• Late entries will not be accepted. No exceptions.
• We have just added a new Group called "Carnival of Consumer Content." All contestants need to join this group and your article needs to be submitted to the Group to qualify for inclusion in the contest.
• Tag your article "Carnival of Consumer Content"
• Categorize your article for Localism.com, and place it in your respective State, County, city, and neighborhood.
  
• Select the ActiveRain Channel for Consumers, and use the most appropriate channel category, i.e., Home Buying, Mortgage, etc.
  
•  Only one article entry per member contestant

The Judging Criteria

• Topic/Subject: Write about something that consumers will find interesting, engaging, informative, and helpful.
  
• Minimum of 300 words
• Grammar (if you have trouble with this, get someone to proof read your article)
• Spelling (your blog has a spell checker, use it)
• It's Not about You: Don't sabotage your article with blatant self-promotion. If your article contains more information about You than it does meaningful content for consumers, it will not be scored favorably.
  
• Aesthetics (attractive layout and relevant graphics will get a more favorable rating.
• Your Unique Voice (we want you to convey your own personality, perspective, and passions in your article)
  

The Prizes

A contest is no fun without prizes. So, here's what will happen to the winning articles.

There will be a first, second and third place winner.

• There will be First, Second, and Third Place Winners.
  
• All winning articles will be 'Featured' on the ActiveRain Blog Dashboard, in the Carnival of Consumer Content Group, and in the ActiveRain Newsletter.
• 1st Place will receive 5000 points; 2nd Place will receive 3000 points; and 3rd Place will be awarded 1000 points. There will also be 10 Honorable Mentions that will receive 500 points each.

The Judges

There will a select panel of judges, comprised of ActiveRain Staff as well as some of the veteran members of our community. The names of these judges will not be announced until after the winners have been chosen.

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So, without any further 'Adieu' we give you, The Winners!

First place and 5000 points goes to:

Elizabeth Bolton for her entry "Whaddya Mean There are Other Offers? I Though This was a Buyer's Market?"

Second Place and 3000 points goes to:

Stephanie Musa and her entry "Hey, Houston! Make Your Energy Efficiency Improvements in 2009. Here's Why!"

Third Place and 1000 points goes to:

Sharon Tara for her entry "Home Staging Advice Made Simple - Step 1- How to De-Clutter"

And the Ten Honorable Mentions who receive 500 points:

Sheldon Neal     Deb Brooks     Russell Lewis     Lola Audu     Lisa Udy     Jason Neumann     Terry Driscoll    

Jason Crouch     Matt Stigliano     Charles Buell

Our Heartfelt Congratulations to all the Winners and to everyone who submitted entries to the contest. We also wish to extend our appreciation to Sally Cheeseman, Bill Gassett, and Jeff Dowler for assisting in judging this event.