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What We're Working On: Notifications and My Home for Mobile

By
Real Estate Technology with ActiveRain

Here is an update the ActiveRain labs on what we're working on right now!

Back in March of 2015, we introduced a new notification icon in the header of our website that was designed to help our members see when people are engaging with the ideas they share on ActiveRain. That little icon has done of a great job of driving more engagement in the community and removing some of our dependence on email notifications.

 

Based on the success from that project, we decided it was time to bring notifications to our mobile site. If you haven't been paying attention, we've been steadily building out our ActiveRain mobile site over the past year.  All of these pages and features are now optimed for your phone.

  • Blog posts (critical for good SEO)
  • Home page
  • BlogHome page
  • Q&A site
  • Ask a Question
  • Profile page for every member
  • Blogging page for every member
  • Following and Follower pages (members-only)
  • Points page (members-only)
  • Bookmarks (members-only)

In our next big release (most likely in early June 2015) we are going to open up these three new features to the community.

Mobile Notifications

The mobile notifications are going to use the same logic that the desktop version of our site uses.  You will see a little orange icon pop-up that indicates how many new notifications have arrived since the last time you checked.

ActiveRain Mobile Notifications

Clicking on the notification icon will take you to our next new mobile feature, the My Home page.

My Home Page

The My Home page is one of the highest traffic page on ActiveRain, so we are thrilled to be adding this to our line up of mobile pages.  The My Home page is where you can view and filter all of the notifications that you received on the system.

ActiveRain Mobile My Home Page

On this page you will be able to filter what types of notifications you see according to these categories:

  1. Messages
  2. New Followers
  3. Blog Likes
  4. Comments Received
  5. Comment Likes
  6. Reblogged
  7. Referral Request
  8. Referral Alert
  9. Question Likes
  10. Answers Received
  11. Answers Upvoted
  12. Answer Comments
  13. Tagged

Message Page

The final element we built was a message page for when a visitor or a logged-in member fills out one of the contact forms we provide on your blog.

Message

If You Aren't Using ActiveRain on Your Phone...

Our mobile usage on the site increased from 13% to 31% over the past 12 months.  Mobile is a great way to build your network and consume all of the amazing content generated by the community. Have five minutes to spare?  Log on to ActiveRain on your phone and check out all of the work we've done.

Show All Comments Sort:
Gary L. Waters Broker Associate, Bucci Realty
Bucci Realty, Inc. - Melbourne, FL
Eighteen Years Experience in Brevard County

Good stuff here. Hope it does as much on my ipad.

May 12, 2015 11:25 PM
Richie Alan Naggar
people first...then business Ran Right Realty - Riverside, CA
agent & author

One of the many wizards of RAIN...at it again Kris Neese  is behind the curtain

May 13, 2015 12:00 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Kris Neese It looks like none of the profile pages work..this results on the msg about the keys.

May 13, 2015 12:56 AM
Evelyn Johnston
Friends & Neighbors Real Estate - Elkhart, IN
The People You Know, Like and Trust!

This will be great when you get it plugged in Kris! Thanks for letting us know!

May 13, 2015 11:12 AM
John Meussner
Catalyst Mortgage - Fair Oaks, CA
#MortgageMadeEasy Fair Oaks, CA 484-680-4852

Thanks for keeping us in the loop about upcoming updates, always nice to have some heads up & see what's going on behind the curtains.

May 13, 2015 12:57 PM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Real Estate Broker

Thanks for the update, Kris. Very comprehensive. I've bookmarked now for further reference.

May 13, 2015 11:32 PM
Woody Edwards
First Choice Realty, Inc - Chesterfield, VA
A Realtor® Who Answers His Phone!

You keep adding new stuff faster than I can learn it!  LOL

May 13, 2015 11:50 PM
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

Well I picked one of the new "themes" for the outside blog thinking "mobile friendly" was the reason behind the new themes, but it still doesn't pass the test.  What's up with new themes that are not mobile friendly.

May 13, 2015 11:54 PM
Anna Hatridge
R Gilliam Real Estate LLC - Farmington, MO
Missouri Realtor with R Gilliam Real Estate LLC

I have tried the new version on my tablet and after a frustrating 30 minutes have gone back to the full version.  Hopefully, the bugs will be fixed soon.  Not going to use the phone app until it works on my tablet. 

May 14, 2015 12:47 AM
Kris Neese
ActiveRain - Bellevue, WA
Mr. Behind the Scenes at ActiveRain

Anna Hatridge , the mobile site is designed specifically for phones.  If you are coming to ActiveRain on a tablet I would definitely recommend the desktop site.

May 14, 2015 01:33 AM
Donna & Larry Johnson
Keller Williams Real Estate - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County

Thanks for keeping us updated. Mobile is the way to go!

May 14, 2015 01:36 AM
Doyle Davison
Hawaiian Beaches /Hawaii - 714-968-6767 - Huntington Beach, CA
30 years as your Concierge broker

I like that they are working on mobile... lots of business being missed with all the smart phones. got to keep those drivers looking at listings in traffic

May 14, 2015 02:58 AM
Tammy Adams ~ Realtor / Podcaster
Maricopa Real Estate Co - Maricopa, AZ
A Maricopa Agent who Works, Lives & Loves Maricopa

I like the new notification bar. In time I hope to clean up my email by just using this icon as I notice I use it more now

May 14, 2015 10:16 AM
Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089
Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers - Haiku, HI
Maui Real Estate sales and lifestyle info

Thanks for the update and for making the site more mobile friendly!

May 14, 2015 01:21 PM
Gerhard Ade
RSVP Real Estate - Seattle, WA
What sets me apart, will set you apart.

I guess now that I've had the pleasure meeting you Kris Neese, it's time to download the AR app on my iPhone!

May 14, 2015 01:24 PM
Sharon Parisi
United Real Estate Dallas - Dallas, TX
Dallas Homes

Kris, thanks for calling our attention to all the changes!

May 14, 2015 03:49 PM
TERRY DRISCOLL
MAINE HOME REALTY - Bath, ME
REALTOR - Buy or Sell in Any Season!

Just logged in on my phone, and what a nice surprise. Looks good, so far.  But, I see others have mentioned an app - - I can't find an ActiveRain app.  Is there one?  Keep up the good work.   

May 15, 2015 02:39 AM
Kris Neese
ActiveRain - Bellevue, WA
Mr. Behind the Scenes at ActiveRain

Nope, there is not an ActiveRain app available. We have focused on our development time on building the site as "mobile web" so consumers can see it. 

May 15, 2015 05:14 AM
Bob Stewart
ActiveRain - Mesa, AZ
ActiveRain

Anybody who is NOT using their phone to check in on at ActiveRain is way behind the times.

Jun 26, 2015 06:20 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

I was looking for your current posts.

I hope you are enjoying a very productive year.

Aug 18, 2020 07:32 AM