The ActiveRain Stuff You Won't Find Anywhere Else on the Web

Some of you will remember my post awhile back about the "Future Real Estate Office or Brokerage."  This post and video received a ton of attention and though many of the comments reflected a controversial and expected response, others agreed and saw this type of technology and office being the future of Real Estate in regards to the traditional "Brick and Mortar" office.

Last month I wanted to follow up with this particular company to see personally, where they are, what they've done, how it's working, and most importantly, is this new "Virtual Office" technology really working for them and their clients?  It's easy to get excited about this type of technology and many will see why after watching the video below, but the REAL question is always DOES IT WORK? 

Come join me and a few others as we explore the "Virtual Office" concept, and interview some of the Brokers and Top Agents using this technology effectively in the *NEW* on-line world of Real Estate.  We'll be doing an update from our last interview back on December 11th, 2009, to see where this is all going except this time we'll be doing it "Live" at ActiveRain University.  You can come along and join the ride for FREE.

I have always been fascinated with this type of technology, but it's the service to the client that I see as an even greater value and a reason you may want to know more about this and join us for this class/webinar.  I'm giving everyone plenty of notice so there's no reason you should or can miss this.  Believe me, my first interview with these guys was amazing, I can only imagine where they have come with all of this by now.

The "Virtual Real Estate Office" Live webinar is scheduled for Thursday, July 22nd at 10:00am.
You'll want to "virtually" be there, the seats to this one will be gone fast.

REGISTER HERE NOW

We have a new feature which I'm sure many of you have already noticed on your "MY HOME" pages. 

Since we released the new "SUGGEST" for feature button, we've been getting a really good response from members helping us to find and report suggested content for the ActiveRain Feature Board.  You'll notice today that we've placed a new metric "CALLED SHOTS" counter in the status area of each members "my home" page. This little tracker tool will tally a total of how many posts you suggest that actually get featured.

Calling a shot simply means you've selected a post by another member that you feel should be featured. 

To do this, you would have to have clicked on the "SUGGEST" button in the upper right corner of their blog post.  If you suggest a members Blog post to be featured, and it is selected, then you will have "Called The Shot" and get the kudos.  When a member accumulates enough "Called Shots" they'll earn a new badge.

In order to prevent gaming, members may only suggest a maximum of 5 posts per day, so be careful calling your shots, don't waste them, we may have some additional surprises and rewards for those members "calling the most shots" around here. 

Thank you for helping us keep the network growing and for keeping the community fun!  Your support in suggesting features has been awesome, and is making a huge difference for our moderators and for the variety and quality of content that our visitors and traffic are being exposed to while visiting ActiveRain.

When I was seven years old, I was inspired by a movie to wanna grow up one day and be a race car driver.  My parents took me to a Century theater for my very first "Big Screen" experience to watch James Garner and Brian Bedford in the movie Grand Prix.  Mom used to tell me that during the movie, I sat there in the seat holding the tips of my shoes as if they were a steering wheel, and believed I was racing down that track with the other drivers in the movie.  I don't really remember that, but I do remember that childhood dream of one day wanting to be on the race track to feel that thrill and to experience the excitement of the "race!"

Last week, my good friends Diana Turnbloom and her husband Steve invited me to join them at Infineon Raceway, (formerly Sears Point) to watch Steve and his boys (Brian and Brad) race.  I've never actually been to this race track even though I have passed by it many times in my travels to Santa Rosa, Napa, Sonoma etc.  I decided to take them up on the offer since this may be as close as I'd ever get to achieving that one small and almost forgotten childhood dream.  Getting to go down in the pit's and be part of the behind the scenes action sounded exciting not to mention that getting to see some old friends would be awesome, so I went.

Diana and Steve are very good friends I met in this business many years ago, and are also active here on ActiveRain.  When they invited me out, I don't think they knew or realized the significance this day would have on me.  It was like a conection with an inner child's dream that had been couped up inside me all these years.  Racing down a long straight-away, sliding into those tire protected corners, and crossing that line to a waving checkered flag!  I could only imagine (in my dreams) what that would really feel like. The thrill, the excitement, the fear, the danger, and the challenge of it all.  Then there's the potential of a victory lap!?!  Oh what I wouldn't give.....

Never let go of a dream folks, the wait is worth it, and the Race can be better than a Victory.

This past Sunday, the stars and planets must have aligned perfectly because this was the day that one of my dreams would become a reality.  When I arrived at the track, Steve and Diana's son Brad, escorted me over to the area where passes are given to the guests and racers.  I signed a form releasing liability in the case of my accidental death, and the next thing I know, I'm putting on a helmet, climbing into the passenger seat of a Spec Miata race-car, fastening down a 5-point seat belt restraint, and realizing that I am about to head out onto a "live" race track where speed, thrills, risk, danger, and dreams become reality! OMG!!

Brad and Steve banking the High Speed Turns at Infineon Raceway

I can't put into words what this experience was like.  I'm still speechless and in shock that this even happened yesterday.  More importantly, I am forever grateful to my dearest friends Steve and Diana and their family for inviting me out and making one of my life dreams come true.  Thanks you guys so much.  Being out on that track, literally flying around those corners at top speeds and feeling those g-forces, was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life and it was just as I had dreamed it would be as a young child. AWESOME!!!!

Watching that checkered flag wave after 20 minutes of heart throbbing intensity was INCREDIBLE!  The race really was as good or better than a victory, and I learned a couple very valuable life lessons:  Never Let Go of your dreams, and remember that the relationships you establish in life are so valuable, in fact priceless.  It was these friends that helped make one of my dreams come true.

Diana and Steve, you guys are the BEST!  Thank you again, and next time......I'll be driving!  :-)

Never Let Go of A Dream - This Race WAS A Victory!!

Now before you watch this video, (and I know it's longer than most would prefer) take special note of the message at the very end. Although very subtle, it will make you really think about how "any point system" ties into business and our personal lives. The message received here may vary from viewer to viewer, but the "Points" should still be the same.

Today we launched a new button on ActiveRain.  The "Suggest Feature" button.  

With the volume of great content and fantastic Blog posts being submitted daily from our RainMakers, we have created a new and powerful tool that allows members of the community to make suggestions for posts and articles they feel should be featured on our home page. This is a very powerful new tool, and with great power, comes great responsibility.  :-)  It is similar to the new Facebook "LIKE" button that we recently added.

As long as I can remember, the controversy of what does, and does not get featured has seemed a mystery or at best, a guess.  ActiveRain's moderators have done a fabulous job in my opinion of sifting through the thousands of daily posts that go up on our network.  It is a very difficult and time consuming task, and it's no longer humanly possible for us to review every post submitted by members for a potential feature.

The ActiveRain Community has been built and established based partly on our members "ideas and suggestions" and we're not changing our culture now!  We are looking to our members, and the thousands of eyes (instead of just the few of our own)  to suggest and submit to us, any posts you feel are worthy and have good content for our Feature Board.  Now YOU (our community) can help us moderate and play a significant huge role in what our community stands for and represents. 

By clicking on the new button, you'll be endorsing that member's Blog post, and sending us a link to consider for the coveted and infamous golden star.  When you click on it, nothing will happen except the button will turn Grey.  Behind the scenes, it will send the link to our staff for their review and possible selection.  So here's your chance to help run the ActiveRain Feature Board.  There is no limit to the amount of posts you can suggest to be featured, but you can only select the same post one time.

You may also notice that the "Flag" this post icon is no longer available at the bottom of each Blog post, we're currently working on a replacement option for reporting members concerns and flagging posts.

Our hope is that before members suggest a post, they'll keep in mind the culture, "The ActiveRain Weltanschauung" and the "Community Guidelines" upon which this network and vibrant community were created and built.  What "BEST" represents not only ActiveRain and our community, but what Best represents us as an Industry.  I truly believe that giving more of this decision to our members via this new option will benefit us all as a whole. 

YOU have been "The Voice" of AR since its inception, and now YOU can be the "Eyes and Ears" as well.  As we start relying more heavily on member suggestions, you may notice a change in the type of posts that make up the feature board. We're looking forward to your responses and responsiveness, and we're also excited about witnessing where this will take us in the future with the ActiveRain Feature Board. :-)