"But I thought "Penquins" were suppose to be cute, fuzzy, warm, and harmless animals?" 

Google has changed some of their algorithms for SEO and SERP results.   It's a new algorithm update being referred to as Penguin.  When did all this happen?  Was your site hit?  Has your page(s) gone down in the search engine results?  Has this Penguin been spotted on ActiveRain and some of your blog posts?  If so, you'd want to know about it right?

How can you tell if you were a victim of Google’s Penguin and what can you or should you do if you were?  This is an interesting topic and will definitely leave you with a better understanding of how Google is now ranking and indexing websites and pages and how the Penguin plays into it all.

Does keyword density really matter?  Do meta-tags, titles, and back links really even make a difference anymore?  What if you don’t use keywords, links, SEO techniques, or any other technical traditions of the SEO underworld, will you still show up in Google? How are you suppose to keep up with all this SEO technobabble stuff and changes?

If you’re like me, then you’ll want to know...

Google is getting much smarter, much better, and much more efficient at finding ways and implementing tools and programs that keep the SEO Gods trying and guessing. My advice is to forget all that “gaming & black hat SEO stuff” and just focus on providing your readers, clients, and subscribers with great value-added and useful content.

Google Penguin Explanation Video if you’re interested, and How to Protect Your Site.

.uınbuǝd ʎq pǝʇɔǝɟɟɐ ʇou sɐʍ blog sıɥʇ ‘ʎןןnɟʞuɐɥʇ puɐ ʎןqɯnɥ

Picnik.com closes today. The NEW Ribbet.com will be opening very soon and the only difference between the two is the name. Ribbet.com looks EXACTLY like Picnik and will offer the same exact style and type of features.

If you like easy access to your images, photos and graphics with the ability to create collages, add text overlays, adjust contrast and brightness, combine images, use custom effects and more, then Ribbet is the NEW online graphic/photo/image editor for you.  Ribbet.com looks like the reincarnation of Picnik.com.

“When Google announced Picnik’s impending closure in early 2012 there was enormous public outcry. People had come to rely on the service, that brought “photo awesomeness” to everyone, and they weren’t happy to see it go, to say the least.

Along came Ribbet! Packed with all the original Picnik functionality and built on the same platform that made it great, Ribbet offers a familiar interface and the same ease-of-use that people have come to love. read more…

 Since Ribbet has not gone live just yet, you can request an invite to join.  Go for it!

The screen shot of Ribbet (below) demonstrates just how much the NEW Ribbet resembles the OLD and now closed Picnik. It’s amazing to see how much these two look and feel like the same site.  Hmmm...  Almost makes you wonder if there isn’t something fishy going on here…  :)

How To Get Started on ActiveRain - A quick route to a successful Journey on ActiveRain.

The ActiveRain Staff,  along with our members and ambassadors, wish to welcome you to the ActiveRain community.  We know you have a choice, and we're glad you've chosen our network as a place to connect with others, support your local neighborhoods and communities, plus grow your business and relationships. 

Before you begin your journey here, there's a few areas we invite you to navigate first.  This will save you time and give you a better understanding of the Network.  We're confident that our site will bring value, benefits, and substantial rewards to you and your business.

    BEFORE YOU BEGIN
    These are REQUIRED and a MUST READ for ALL New Members - NO EXCEPTIONS!

•   What We Stand For - Weltenschauung
  Weltanschauung: The guiding principles and philosophy of an organization. A world view.

•   The ActiveRain Community Guidelines
  Please take these rules seriously.

•   Terms of Service
  Terms of Use are binding and we want you to feel comfortable with them.
  
  

   ACTIVERAIN UNIVERSITY
   Get live training weekly to make your blog the best it can be

• ActiveRain University Schedule - Classes every weekday
  Learn the ins and outs of ActiveRain and how to utilize it to the fullest with our live trainer.

• ActiveRain Orientation - A Live Webinar to get you acquainted
  Steve, our live trainer takes you through the basics on the site to get you familiar with ActiveRain

• ActiveRain University Suggestion Box
  Don't see a class you would like us to create? Make a suggestion to us for future classes.
  
  

    GETTING STARTED in 3 EASY STEPS
    Follow these next steps to get setup on ActiveRain.

•   How To Complete Your Profile - Part II
  Your profile has three areas that allow you maximize the page.  Learn How to use these sections.

•   How To Use Your "My Settings" Page
  Now you are ready to Customize your ActiveRain Settings.
  
  

    GETTING THE MOST OUT OF ACTIVERAIN
    Social Networking, Connecting and Blogging

• ActiveRain Member Success Stories
  Read what other industry professionals and members have to share.
  Here's A VIDEO version

• Understanding ActiveRain Points
  Learn about points and how they work on the network.

• The RainMaker Membership
  Becoming a RainMaker - The Value and The Benefit
  
  

    READY TO MAKE LIGHTNING, THUNDER AND RAIN
    Now that you're a member and RainMaker, put the power tools to work

• Top 10 Tools for New Members and RainMakers
  Take the time to review what this network has to offer.

• ActiveRain Custom Outside Blogs
  How To Create and Maximize Your Outside ActiveBlog.
  
  

    OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES TO HELP YOU
    Use these links to dive deeper in the "Rain" if you need more information

• The ActiveRainGuide
  A Tutorial Blog by Members for Members

• The ActiveRain Staff Blog
  The Official ActiveRain TEAM Blog

• Help/FAQ Group
  A network group created to help members

• An ActiveRain eBook Tutorial
  Find Almost Anything about ActiveRain here
  

• ActiveRain University
  Online Campus for Training and Support

• Real Estate RainCamp
  "Live" Local Conferences and Seminars
  
  
• My Blog, Your AR Resource
  Your One stop Shop for all AR Tutorials

DID YOU KNOW?
ActiveRain is the TOP Real Estate Social Network in the World (source: Google)

The ActiveRain Network hosts over 170,000 RE Industry members averaging 200-300 new members daily.  There are more than 1.5 million articles posted, with an average of 700-1000 new posts daily.  Two million+ visitors traffic the ActiveRain network each month, over 80% are consumers.  Only Rainmaker upgraded accounts receive Google traffic to their blogs and posts.  ActiveRain Member's Blog posts receive more than 500 views on average.  Activerain is the ONLY on-line Network that offers this wide variety of tools, diverse services, and proven solutions to the Real Estate Industry Professional and for consumers on the WEB.

Best of Luck and Enjoy!

Key look!  Up in the sky... It's a "RainCamp!" No... It's a "RainStorm!" No... It's a Spring-Meetup!?! YES!!
I was going to just  REBLOG THIS, but it's too exciting not to announce myself! :-)

" Hey Brad, where are you, I've got this really cool idea... "

IT'S TRUE!  We are having an ActiveRain Spring Meet-Up in the San Francisco Bay Area for all AR members and their guests who would like to join us.  Even if you're not from or live in the SF Bay Area, maybe you're just visiting friends or family, we'd love to have you come join us! What is a Meet-up?

ActiveRain's very own Kerrie Greenhalgh recently announced "The National AR Spring Meet-Up" Day!

The comment that I left on Kerrie's post seemed to spur up some interest and generated some calls from other AR folks who have successfully done these in the past. Kathleen Daniels, and Karen Crowson have joined in and put together what promises to be an awesome Spring Meet-up for anyone and everyone in or around the San Francisco California Bay Area. We already have folks coming from as far south as San Jose and as far north as Sacramento.

Where will it be? Here's the first clue I'll give you...

and no, this is not at my house... lol~

I'm really excited to be a part of this and want to thank these two ladies for making it happen. 

Here's the When, Where, What, Date & Time: By Karen Crowson
http://activerain.com/blogsview/3103370/bay-area-meet-up-livermore-ca

Here's a little spin on the details of the event as well: By Kathleen Daniels
http://activerain.com/blogsview/3103370/bay-area-meet-up-livermore-ca

And finally, yes... the rumor is true, I'll be bringing some surprise guest(s) and a few entertaining ideas and surprise elements specially created and designed just for this event.  The majority of the rumors you'll probably start hearing will most likely all be true... and that's all I can say right now, but I do hope that you'll come out and join us!!

Are you posting your clients listings on your ActiveRain Blog?  

How are you keeping it updated and current?  What happens to that post when the home is sold?  Does your post still show up in the SERPS? (Search Engine Results Page)  If so, how useful is that to a consumer or potential prospect and client? 

Did you know that 3349 other members on AR have posted 41,473 listings or properties?

Here's Something to ponder...

When I first joined ActiveRain and created a  Listings Group, it was to help members promote their listings within the AR Community. At the time, without knowing the future power of ActiveRain's SEO and Google juice, my intentions and focus looking back were very narrow-minded.  I had created a post about "How To Post Your Listings" since I could only share what I knew and understood at the time.

Today, I have a different opinion about how to "BLOG" about listings on ActiveRain. 

To give a blog post some shelf life, and keep it alive for years to come, agents should blog about the neighborhood and community instead, and then just include the listing as part of their topic and post.  This way when the home sells or gets taken off the market, the hyper-local information is still useful to consumers when found during a search, and doesn't render your post useless just because that home is no longer available. 

This technique is working great for many hyper-local bloggers here on the ActiveRain and out on the Web in general.  Providing blog posts with a longer shelf life has been proven to bring much greater value to both the reader and the author. Consider the possibilities of creating neighborhood and community posts over just listing posts. Just a suggestion.

There are but a few critical pieces needed to create a successful start-up business today. In this example, you'll see that it doesn't take much and that it all stems from a simple GREAT idea that you can expand on and yet still have fun at the same time.

Here's five important pieces of the puzzle for a successful start-up business.

#1 - You'll need a niche, a group, or a target of people or prospects that need your product, tool, or service.

#2 - You need to be economically competitive, a price people won't think twice about, they are sold on the product.

#3 - You'll need to be able to tap into their emotional buying processes and signals using text, audio, and visual.

#4 - A great yet simple page on the web to access a globe of potential prospects and customers.

#5 - The use of people and social media in a strategic way to make sure your "viral marketing' is done by others.

These are the five components that are underlying nearly every buying decision made by consumers today.

In the example below, you'll see how this one start-up company "The Dollar Shave Club" uses the combination of the five ingredients above to tap into nearly every human being on the earth. That is if you shave of course.

"This video was uploaded to Youtube just 3 days ago and already has 2,037,428 views"

The 5 Tip Break-down Mike found a niche group and prospects, (we all have to shave) he has an unbeatable and unbelievable price, he used inexpensive video media to tap into the emotional side of the brains' buying signals... humor, the website is simple, quick, and effective, and the use of social media FREE marketing that has gone viral is evident.

(Not to mention I'm writing this post along with the other thousands who are or will be doing the same thing)

It's genius, and anyone can do it!

If at first you don't succeed, try try again. A popular cliche we've all heard and know but that was before we had today's technology, free media, and the Internet. Today, with the right tools and knowledge, you can succeed right out the gate! And Yes, I am now a member of the Dollar Shave Club, thanks Mike! :)

Zillow Partners With Tom Ferry on Product Development

Today we announced in a press release, our new partnership with the very well known real estate coach, (and a personal friend of mine) Tom Ferry, who will be joining us as a consultant. Zillow develops numerous products that help real estate professionals grow their business and online presence, and Tom will be consulting on product development.  I'm very excited to have Tom on board.

"I've helped thousands of real estate professionals learn how to be more productive, eliminate stress and have more fun in their business, with technology as a key factor. So teaming up with Zillow was a no-brainer," says Tom. "There's no better way to impact how real estate agents leverage online marketing than working with the top online real estate technology company in the business."

"As one of the most respected people in real estate, we are thrilled to have Tom's decades of experience as we develop and refine products and services for real estate professionals," said Greg Schwartz, Zillow's chief revenue officer. "For years, Zillow has provided the tools while Tom provided the training, so it made sense to join forces to give agents the best from both worlds."

Please take a moment to congratulate Tom and stay tuned as the future path of product development gets carved out by Tom and our product development team. Lots of great things happening at Zillow right now, and more great stuff up ahead.  Visit Tom's profile on ActiveRain or on his site at YourCoach.com.

Looking back over the past 5 years, I am amazed at how much time I spent making puddles and splashing here on ActiveRain.  I have seen so many changes, watched hundreds of people come and go, and even had the pleasure and opportunity to work here as the community manager for three and a half years. 

Oh, some of the stories I could tell...  haha~

The way we do business has definitely changed.  There's been a huge shift in the way people connect and get information now online.  Technology has advanced us into a new world with exciting opportunity, and the globe has become a much smaller and accessible place thanks to social media and communities like ActiveRain.

ActiveRain taught me many things over 5 years.  I learned that blogging really does work if you have a strategy and the ability to implement an effective plan.  I learned that the culture here is really all about people, not just business.  I discovered my voice here in the rain, my passions, my purpose, and my desire to help others be successful all right here on AR.

Being surrounded by so many really cool people and supporters never hurts either.

Paying it forward is something you'll learn here.  Giving is rewarding, but only when you have no expectations for something in return.  Sharing with others unconditionally is when you will really begin to receive, and in abundance I might add.  Building a blog with great content is just temporary fulfillment, the relationships you build here will last forever.  

In the past 5 years, I have made thousands of friends on ActiveRain, had the pleasure of traveling around the Country with the previous management team Jon Washburn, Bob Stewart, and other staff members. I also found my new home at Zillow partly due to the time and efforts spent here in the rain.  Both family's have stood behind me with great patience, support, love, and encouragement.  It's been one of life's greatest adventures and career journeys for me.

What I leave behind, what I value most, and what I hope comes from all this ... is that my efforts here will continue to help others learn, grow, understand, and pursue their greatest dreams and passions.  I hope that by searching in the rain for information, technology, tips, and tools, that somehow people will not only find what they're looking for, but also find themselves, and find others in the process.

I know people will read these posts for years to come, but I hope they'll take the time to connect with others online in ways they could never have imagined.  Ahhh, to experience that human connection, that digital handshake, then the IRL (in real life) hug or handshake that takes place when finally meeting another member for the very first time.  It's so awesome!

There's really nothing like it and there's no other place quite like ActiveRain. 

This T-Shirt has been from San Fran to NYC and nearly every state in between.

It's been an incredible 5 years for me here on ActiveRain.  I look forward to what the next 5 will deliver and I do it with no expectations.  My passion and goal is to continue researching and delivering faster, better, easier, and more efficient ways to help you and others get the job done more efficiently and effectively.  (Both on-line and off)

Behind, I leave you with 5 years of content on my blog.  You'll find everything from personal challenges, real experiences and how to overcome them, to some moments of great celebration. I've posted every tutorial and how-to I can possibly think of here, I hope they'll continue to help reduce some of that learning curve, inspire and motivate your creativity, and help readers continue to prosper. 

There is a lot of love, passion, and transparency that has gone into my work here in this community. 
I hope this will be apparent and come through in my Blog. Thank you for a great ride and journey ActiveRain.

Jan 2012 (4)  & Feb 2012 (4)

Pinterest is basically a social catalog.  It's a community to share collections of things you love.  It's similar to a "like" on Facebook, or a "+1" on Google Plus. It's even like "Digg" "Delicious" "StumbleUpon" and "ReTweeting" but the difference at Pinterest is that it's all about "Pin" or pinning content. 

According to TechCrunch, Pinterest hit 10 million US monthly uniques faster than any standalone site ever.  AGBeat says that Pinterest now drives as much traffic as Twitter  Since Pinterest accounts are by invitation only, how do you get invited? 

You can ask a friend, or you can also just request one like I did right from the site.  It took about three days, then an email invite arrived at my in-box.  I've setup a couple boards myself to see how it all works and to learn how to navigate around the site.  To be honest, I like the ease of use.  I can see the potential the site has and why it's getting tons of attention.  It's worth checking out, Pinterest has something for everyone for sure. 

Some Quick Pinterest Etiquette:

Be Nice! Be Creative. The best pinboards mix products, art, recipes and images from all across the web. Try not to pin everything from a single source.  Give Credit. If you blog about an item you found on Pinterest, it's nice to credit your fellow pinners by linking back to the original pin.

A Few Tips once you get started:

Make sure you Install the bookmarklet. It lets you add a pin from any website with just one click. 

Be sure to follow others pinboards. You can use your Twitter and Facebook accounts to find other friends on Pinterest to follow as well as invite. Pinterest is as much about discovering new things as it is about sharing.

Pin carefully! Use big images, write thoughtful descriptions, and pin things you really love. Also, no nudity, sorry!  :)  Oh yeah, and ' forget to follow me on Pinterest too.