I've been exploring groups a lot more recently, trying to find some good ones to join. Unfortunately, there is a problem with Active Rain groups.
So many groups seem like a wasteland of postings that have absolutely nothing to do with the group itself. Sure, some groups are intended for that exact purpose, but not all of them. For instance, take the "Power Of Active Rain" group. From the description of the group: "Stories about how AR has helped you or someone else, both in personal and/or business are welcome here. In the spirit of keeping to topic, all others will be removed." Ummm that isn't happening. I know these groups cannot be monitored 24/7, but the first page comes complete with 10 different blog posts that are not on topic for the group - A market report is in there, a post on the correct way to say Boise, a technology question, a post on various designations... You get the picture.
Finding a group isn't that easy either. The search function doesn't work really well to find appropriate groups. For instance, I am working on getting more involved with video blogging, so I did a search in the groups for "video." Up pops all kinds of vendors who have Active Rain accounts, the testimonials on the products pages, etc. Not a single group popped up in the first 20 results. Do a search for "Dallas" and you get 9 different people's profiles and 1 article. Again, not a single group. And I was searching on the GROUPS page where it says "Search For Groups". Did you know that there are over 8400 different groups? I'm willing to bet that most of those are not even active.
Looking back at some of the groups that I am a part of, I see that I am just as much a part of the problem as anyone. I will be going back through my posts and editing my group settings on some of them. There is no reason that a market report should show up in an SEO group or why a listing should be in the Active Rain Newbies group. To those in the SEO groups I'm in, I apologize and will be correcting the issue next week.
When you go to write your next blog post, think carefully when you are deciding which groups (if any) you post to. Remember that posting to as many groups as possible doesn't win you any bonus points. Some posts may not be appropriate for ANY groups. Don't try to foce it into one. Don't contribute to the problem with Active Rain groups.
IF YOU ARE A PART OF A WELL ORGANIZED AND WELL MODERATED GROUP THAT STAYS ON TOPIC, PLEASE POST A LINK HERE FOR OTHER'S TO FOLLOW SO THAT THEY CAN JOIN A GREAT GROUP! Thanks!
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