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ActiveRain Officially Independent: What to Expect Over the Next 30 Days

By
Real Estate Agent with Owner of ActiveRain Inc.

As of July 1st at 12:01am, We have officially purchased ActiveRain from the Zillow Group.

The first thing I'd like to do is welcome back Bob Stewart to our Activerain family! I'd also like to congratulate him on his wedding on Saturday. I'm normally not a fan of weddings (not sure I've ever stayed until the end of one until Saturday), but his was super fun and he certainly married out of his league! OK, enough about that.....now back to work Bob!

We couldn't be more excited to start working on the ActiveRain Community, improving the technology, and relauching the university!


The First 30 Days

Our first 30 days will mostly be spent understanding what you would like to see from ActiveRain. At it's highest and best, the community is driven by what the membership wants ActiveRain to be. It's driven by how you feel, what you need, what you want. 

We definitely have some of our own ideas, but this first 30 days is about getting a concrete understanding of what the community wants. You are ActiveRain and as a collective, you know it better than anyone, including us. 

With that in mind, we would like to pose a few questions to you, the members. Please consider taking this short survey. It's only about 5 questions and should take you less than 3 minutes. If you leave your AR user name at the end, we'll give you 500 points for your trouble. 

ActiveRain Member Survey July 2015

 

There is going to be a lot more news coming soon via posts, conference calls, and webinars.   Buckle your seatbelt and get ready to let it rain.

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Comments(184)

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Fred Cope
Reliant Realty in Nashville, TN - Nashville, TN
Looking For Homes With A Smile

Ben, what turned me off was (1) Market Leader's "contract" that made it sound like they had ownership of OUR intellectual property.  (2) The constant phone calls, promoting themselves, etc.  By the time Trulia came along, I had pulled back, and the Zillow absorbtion of Trulia absolutely turned me off.  Elimination of competition is NEVER GOOD for the consumer.  Add to that, that they had an inexpensive access to the MLS, which is REALTOR® work product, and was being used to milk agents for leads.

Big government, Big banks, Big Insurance Carriers, Big unions, Big Corporate bailouts, and here comes Big Realty Corporations.  It is getting to be like fighting an alligator with a fly swatter.  ACTIVERAIN® NEEDS TO BE INDEPENDENT!  Thank you for wading into the swamp, and lets make AR a launch pad rather than a fly swatter for INDEPENDENCE!

I remember when real estate marketing was a loose network of energetic, hardworking, self-reliant, friendly, helpful, and competent real estate professionals.  I remember REALTORS® in station wagons, hauling families around the community; attorneys, appraisers, inspectors, and handy men calling on brokers in search of business.  I remember when the local broker walked in a restaurant and knew everyone, and was a friend, even to the other agents.  That is what I found in ActiveRain®.

Jul 04, 2015 12:20 AM
Frank Castaldini
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Realtor - Homes for Sale in San Francisco

Here's my quick take.  I have no interest in a listings outside my area.  I am interested in learning about the market and how people grow their business.  I am interested in the 2015 version of SEO.  I know Google has made changes.  I want to be able to stay current.  I am interested in success stories and how top producers became tops and whet they do.  I come here to learn.

Jul 04, 2015 02:04 AM
Mark Artesani
Keller Williams Realty - Fountain Valley, CA
Huntington & Newport Beach, Fountain Valley Homes

Thanks Ben for giving us back AR. Welcome back Bob Congrats on your wedding.

Jul 04, 2015 03:02 AM
Ernest Villafranca
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate - Oakland, CA
3923 Grand Ave. Oakland CA, 510-418-9443

Thanks for giving us back AR. Welcome back Bob, and congrats on your wedding. (I felt Mark Artesani said what I thought.)

Jul 04, 2015 05:39 AM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Hey, Ben!  This blog got included in today's Last Week's Favorites post.

Jul 05, 2015 02:43 AM
Mike Cooper, Broker VA,WV
Cornerstone Business Group Inc - Winchester, VA
Your Neighborhood Real Estate Sales Pro

I'm looking forward to the new and improved Active Rain. Congratulations to Bob! 

Jul 05, 2015 02:44 AM
Gayle Rich-Boxman Fishhawk Lake Real Estate
John L Scott Market Center - Birkenfeld, OR
"Your Local Expert!" 503-739-3843

Welcome HOME!! 

Jul 05, 2015 03:21 AM
Doug Bullwinkel
E Mortgage Capital, Inc. NMLS 1416824 - Roseville, CA
Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS #281609

I've been away for awhile but it looks like I came back just in time for things to get really great!   Looking forward to the new ownership and the return of old friends.

Jul 05, 2015 09:55 AM
Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089
Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers - Haiku, HI
Maui Real Estate sales and lifestyle info

Thanks for the oppotunity to give some feedback.  I hope the transition has gone smoothly.

Jul 05, 2015 02:28 PM
Randy Mitchelson,APR
Marketing Advisor & Squeeze Mortgage - Bonita Springs, FL
First Impressions are made at First Click

Just submitted the survey. Appreciate the opportunity to submit feedback that will be scientifically interpreted to make informed business decisions for AR.

Jul 06, 2015 12:31 AM
Karen Luke
South Metro Property Management, LLC - McDonough, GA
Henry County Real Estate

We used to get higher rankings on Google. I know we would all like to see that again.

Jul 06, 2015 12:48 AM
Donna Foerster
HomeSmart Realty Group - Parker, CO
Metro Denver Real Estate Assistant

Ben, I'm expecting great things. Thanks for asking our opinion!

Jul 06, 2015 05:09 AM
Debra Peters
Referral Realty - Manorville, NY
NY Real Estate Salesperson

Ben Kinney I would like to see a change with the photos. As of right now, there doesn't seem to be a way to delete photos that are saved or even edit them. This should be a fairly simple fix. There should be a way to edit photos that are uploaded and turned sideways.

Jul 07, 2015 12:00 AM
Claude Labbe
RLAH / @properties - Washington, DC
Realty for Your Busy Life

Seatbelt buckled.

Expecting a heck of a ride, sometimes there will be dis, but surely there will be highs.

Jul 07, 2015 02:49 PM
David Popoff
DMK Real Estate - Darien, CT
Realtor®,SRS, Green ~ Fairfield County, Ct

Great way to get feedback from the AR family, looking forward to the results and the new AR.

Jul 08, 2015 12:30 AM
Norma Toering Broker for Palos Verdes and Beach Cities
Charlemagne International Properties - Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Palos Verdes Luxury Homes in L.A.

There's excitement in the air--and that's a positive change.

Jul 08, 2015 02:41 AM
Teral McDowell
Referral Patners LLC - Murphy, TX

Great news! Looking forward to hearing about all the changes coming up.

Jul 08, 2015 10:07 AM
Ken's Home Team LLC. | 360.609.0226 | Portland, OR & Vancouver, WA Real Estate Team
Ken's Home Team LLC. - Vancouver, WA
- SOLD IS OUR FAVORITE 4 LETTER WORD -

Unfortunately ofer the time that AR became a part of Trulia and Zillow, I stopped I was getting nothing is respect to SEO, 

what I would like to see is getting back to where the system was with people helping each other more, the blogs having the ability to be search for with longtails.

 

it was more of a community in the past I would like to see that again, I also know I have work to do over the years I have changed websites and I need to go back and fix all the links in past posts (((( just might hire a person to do that)))

Jul 08, 2015 01:33 PM
Debra B Albert, PA - Keyes Realty
Keyes Realty Treasure Coast, 34986 - Port St Lucie, FL
Ron and Debbie 772.708.3292


Great Blog!  Shared on Google Plus.  I am excited about the upcoming changes.  Our ship has a very capable captain!

Jul 14, 2015 12:38 AM
Kent Simpson
Realty One Group Mountain Desert - Tucson, AZ
Real Estate Is About People

I have been away from regular blogging & reading on AR for a long time - had a real distaste for MarketLeader as a company & not a big Trulia fan either.  Going to commit myself to cranking up the muse again & start contributing several times a week.

Jul 14, 2015 04:54 AM