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Where have all the people gone?

By
Real Estate Agent with HomeSmart Realty West CalBRE #01458572

It's funny how each ActiveRain day lately seems to have a theme associated with the blogs that I visit.

Today was "Where have all the people gone?" day, some asking about ActiveRain as a whole, some asking about their Associates or people who used to visit their blogs regularly, some asking about their city, county, or state.

My answer:

Many people give up when they don't get immediate gratification from something. It's an "I want it now" world, and too many people don't realize that success still requires persistency and consistency in one's work ethics.

Some people, of course, are still trying to find their online identity and community. For some, it's not ActiveRain. For me, it is. Note that I don't Facebook or Twitter. My online identity and community is not over there, nor is it at Merchant Circle, Linked In, or several others.

Perhaps if I needed more business, more than I already get from ActiveRain, I would get my feet wet in some other places. However, if I wanted business from those other places, I would actually need to do more than just get my feet wet.

Business success comes from persistency and consistency in getting out of something what you put in, a work ethic that many today never learned. It really doesn't matter where you set up your online shop as long as you are willing to persistently and consistently contribute to that community.

Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

It was really busy in January, then sort of a slow period now here in Denver.   Enjoy the time, it will be busy SOON!

Feb 21, 2010 08:35 AM
Baker Home Inspection and Commercial Properties Inspections
Baker Residential and Commercial Properties Inspections - Springfield, VT
Home and Commercial Properties Inspections Vermont

Howdy and Afternoon there Russel

I do not at all believe it just has to do with, folks wanten it now. Alot of folks are not using the AR community because of all the time its taken anymore to post their blog posts and comments on the blogs of others. And it has more to do with all the proxy errors and bad gateway errors that keep happing in the AR community.

 

And now theres a new one, hafe of the time now a comment left on a blog post, does not show up the home page of the writer, plus every other comment that folks make to others don't show up on their home page.

AR needs to start thinking more about fixing the error problems, than the other things they are working on and thinking about.

Baker Home and Commercial Properties Inspections

Feb 21, 2010 08:48 AM
Andrea Swiedler
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties - New Milford, CT
Realtor, Southern Litchfield County CT

Russel, I am here, what more could you want? OK, enough of me being funny. I bet Dale has a point, plus I think you are right. People come and go, for whatever reason. I am just too strung out on AR to leave, LOL. You are stuck with me.

Feb 21, 2010 09:14 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

I am consistent and persistent when it comes to AR.  I mostly use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family and if business seeps in there it is ok, but not a priority.  I have not experienced the errors Dale mentioned, at least I don't think I have.  I agree that the lack of instant gratification is probably a reason many leave and frustrating problems and lack of time to commit to posting is also a problem for many. 

Feb 21, 2010 09:54 AM
Barb & Sal Dragotta
Macomb, MI
Macomb County Michigan

Russell...good posting that is & will bring about comments; since web-work is my side of our Business partnership, I have chosen to be active in the Rain [pun intended] and maintaining our basic web site in  point2. Dal's references to problems is basically describing my experience here since early December 2009. Too many error notices on the lower task bar for me, and this only happens in AR. .  Today has been a better situation so far---knock on wood
Barb

Feb 21, 2010 10:53 AM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Russel, I always come back here.  I spend very little time on other places (and someone just got into my Twitter account--thankfully someone called me) but people find me from here....besides, I love the people :)!

Feb 21, 2010 10:57 AM
Elizabeth Bolton
RE/MAX Destiny Real Estate Cambridge, MA - Cambridge, MA
Cambridge MA Realtor

Hi Russel ~ Hopefully part of it is that business is picking up right now. I know for me it's tough when I get home after a looooong day - pulling a blog post out of my head and onto the screen isn't always going to happen. But believe me I admire your consistency and persistance more than I can say.

Liz

Feb 21, 2010 11:14 AM
Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

I am a big fan of AR.  I have been away for a couple of weeks due to an overload of Buyers... There simply are not enough hours in the day.  I do try to read some post and make comments each evening. For me, it is about relationships.. I believe that is where busines ultimately comes from... I spend a little time on FB and Linked In, but I find AR is the best place to make important connections that lead to business.

Feb 21, 2010 02:08 PM
Dorie Dillard Austin TX
Coldwell Banker Realty ~ 512.750.6899 - Austin, TX
NW Austin ~ Canyon Creek and Spicewood/Balcones

Hi Russel,

Making time for Active Rain is paramount for me. Reading blogs and learning from others is like therapy for me.You are right in your message persistence and consistency goes hand in had with a strong work ethic.

Feb 21, 2010 10:46 PM
Guy Thomas
WR Starkey Mortgage - Colorado Springs, CO

I think you may be right about some that run out of steam a few months into the gig. It soes take persistence to keep learning and working on the format that produces results.

Feb 22, 2010 09:20 AM
Carra Riley & Declan Kenyon
Brokers Guild Cherry Creek Ltd - Westminster, CO
Helping people Transition at all ages!

Russel.. You are absolutely right. You have to be persistent and consistent with anything you want to be a success. And contributing to the online community that you favor about is always important.

Feb 23, 2010 05:30 AM
Mark Montross
Catamount Realty Group - Burlington, VT
Listing and Buyer Specialist

Russell - a very good post. You are right - many people give up before giving something time to work. Consistency and persistency are the name of the game.

Mar 03, 2010 04:34 AM
Russel Ray, San Diego Business & Marketing Consultant & Photographer
Russel Ray - San Diego State University, CA

Hey, Folks.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

I have read all the comments, but since this post is rather old, rather than making comments here in my post to each and every one of you, I'll just let everyone know that I have read all the comments and if there are any questions, I'll answer those below. Otherwise I'll simply post this comment and then head over to your blogs soon to visit and do some reading and commenting. I hope you'll have a nice welcome mat out for me!

Don't forget to let your cat come out to play with all the other ActiveRain kitties. Your cat-friendly dogs can come, too!

If you need a great cat book, get yourself a copy of Peg Silloway's The Cat Lover's Book of Days.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Mar 27, 2010 01:53 PM