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

The ActiveRain Manual - NEW & IMPROVED

When I started creating the first AR Manual, it was so that I could find posts I'd written to share with others I had invited, those new to AR, or anyone who just wanted to know more specifics about how to use different areas and tools offered by AR.  Creating a "manual" back then was more for my own use than anything else.  It was an easy way to keep organized and find posts quickly. 

3 Years later, the AR manual has evolved into a resource library that now anyone can use.  The OLD version, (on the left) was not something I was really proud of, but it served its purpose for the time being.

Today, I'm announcing The NEW ActiveRainManual.com.  Tons of tutorials, tips and how-to's.

Both of these manuals were built using WIX.  I really like their site and how easy it is to create and update content.  For the new manual, WIX stepped up and offered to help out.  The goal was to create a site that would be cleaner, more organized and professional, easier to search, and that would save members time.  WIX provided the platform and the tools, and Kris Fitzgerald helped me design and set it all up.

These guys were awesome, very professional, really fun to work with, and I endorse them 100%. 

WIX sites are FREE, their templates are flashy, professional, easy to work with, and their customer service is exceptional.  Check out the new AR Manual, (I upgraded the my account on WIX to remove the ads and use my own domain) hopefully this will be helpful to AR members.  WIX also added an ActiveRain Promo for AR members only, you can get the same discount and support they gave me.  Most of all, I think you'll like the new manual over the old one, I've upgraded it, removed a lot of the clutter, and cleaned the place up nice for you.  Take a peek...

Ross & Brandon from WIX, and Kris and I are pretty excited and proud of the new AR manual. Enjoy!

No words needed here, this video speaks volumes....and to think it happened during our lifetime!

RainCamp Los Angeles - The Date and Venue Are Set

Many have been asking me when...When... WHEN is RainCamp coming to Southern California?  We just received our confirmation so I'm typing this as fast as I can.  Los Angeles it is - May 15th, 2010.  Mark your calendars and register quickly, we only have about 300 seats open, and only 84 Platinum seats available with tables and power for your laptops. That is about 1/2 the size of an average RainCamp in a much bigger real estate market. The other auditorium seating will only have your laps available and no electrical power. 

RainCampLA will be hosted at Loyola Marymount University in the "Hilton 100" Room. - 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045. (310) 338-2700. Check out the new RainCamp.com, we have our schedule posted there and all the information you'll need for each and every RainCamp event!

We're really very excited to be coming to Los Angeles, we might have to stay a couple extra days just so we can meet up after with so many of our AR friends and family down there.

"I was lucky to attend the first RainCamp in Seattle. The investment of time and money has been well worth every penny and minute! I am a believer! As an attendee of the first RainCamp, I say "Save the date" and make time in your busy schedule!!! You will be astonished..."
Paul Henderson - Lacey, WA

"I have been to a slew of events that over-promised and under-delivered, often nothing more than expensive sales pitches from people who didn't even want to be in the field anymore. What impressed me was that Ben Kinney is simply sharing what he's actively doing. Very useful information all day!"
J Philip Faranda - Westchester County, NY

"I have received three phone calls in the last two days as A DIRECT RESULT of what I learned at RainCamp"
John Cannata - Dallas, TX

The ActiveRain "HELP" Toolbar for Your Browser - was created to help members and non-members find important pieces of information in and around the network, and to give additional assistance to newer members who aren't sure where to look or find help in the ActiveRain Community.  It's an additional "help" source available for you if needed.

In this post I'll breakdown each section of the toolbar and show how it might be helpful.  The "Toolbar" is not just for AR members, it's also for anyone who wants to keep up with what's happening in the world of Real Estate on and through the AR Network.  It works on Explorer, Firefox, and Safari browsers and it's FREE.

The first section of the toolbar allows you to access AR with a single click on the logo. Next to the logo is a pull-down menu where you can login to AR or Join.  You can also search by member "category" which helps save time if you're looking for a specific type of Industry professional.

There are 28 Industry categories to choose from, this makes it quick and easy for members and consumers to access any category with the single "point and click" option.

The "Read" button IS for ActiveRain members and those interested in joining the network. Unlike most boring community guidelines and terms of service, ours is unique and is a "must read!"
Can you say Weltanschauung?

The "Help" button and pull-down menu gets you access to the ActiveRain Manual, The ActiveRain University, The ARU Training Calendar, the Help/FAQ Group on AR, Information about Real Estate RainCamps, and member contributed guides and how-to articles and posts.  This is one of my favorite parts of the toolbar and may be the most useful part for members needing "help" and tutorials about ActiveRain.

The "Daily Drop" is for those who want to be kept informed via AR's Daily Newsletter. Click To Subscribe.

The "Featured" pull-down menu gives you "live" real-time access to what's "Featured" on ActiveRain right now.  You can browse ALL featured posts right from the toolbar and do it from any website or page you're on. Whether you're a member of AR or not, this is a great tool to be kept informed of what's going on in and around Real Estate all over the Country and Canada.  (Your neighborhood included)

The "Blogs" button is a direct link to ALL AR Blog posts which can be sorted using the built in ActiveRain sort options.  This makes getting to the newest and freshest content fast and easy.

Many networks, blogging platforms, and social media sights make it difficult to try and reach staff members.  With this button, the entire AR Team is only "one-click" away.

Member support on ActiveRain is something we take seriously and are very passionate about.  Our members' satisfaction and our reputation have been built on how well we support our friends on AR.  The "Support" button pull-down on the toolbar shows we listen to our members, and we care.  You are literally one click away from contacting AR support, making suggestions, sending us your feedback and comments, and emailing us directly.

The "Message" button is for communicating important messages.  This will ONLY be used to make important announcements.  IE: New AR features, Upcoming special events, RainCamps, Trainings and Classes etc.  The message board has its' own set of built in tools for users to manage and respond to incoming messages.

The "Facebook and Twitter buttons" give you direct access to ActiveRain's Facebook page and to our "live" Twitter stream.  No need to even leave the toolbar to see our latest tweets, but to become a friend or fan on Facebook, you will need to click the Facebook Icon. 

This covers most uses for the AR Help Toolbar.  It is completely customizable for each user.  You can remove/hide any of the above predefined components that you don't need or aren't using by selecting the "toolbar options" in the main menu and checking the box next to those items you'd like hidden.  If space on your browser is an issue, there's a "shrink toolbar" option that will minimize the space used.  I hope you'll find it to be a useful addition to your browser tools and an efficient source for interaction and help on ActiveRain.

Select your browser below and install the ActiveRain Help Toolbar.

The ActiveRain University on-line Campus is one of the best ways to learn everything about the ActiveRain Community and the Social Media World.  Every day, we are offering classes for our members and guests.  It's not just for new "RainMakers" either, it's for you too.  We've added intermediate and advanced classes and are having experienced members and outside experts come in to present, share, and show you their tips and secrets.

Each class is about one hour using our ActiveRain University (ARU) on-line platform so you can access these sessions from just about anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection.  Every day we're offering sessions like: New Member training, Open Q&A Sessions, Guided Tours of the Community and more (listed below).  A variety of classes are now available, you can pre-register on the ARU Calendar.

Announcing our NEXT class, you won't want to miss it, so come join us!

NEXT CLASS:

FRIDAY - March 12th, 2010
10:00 -11:00am (PST)

Members "OPEN FORUM" Q&A & Support

Presented By:  Bob Stewart

Coming up Monday: "Tips For Using The Top Tools on ActiveRain" - Register Here

Coming up Wednesday: "Meet The AR Team Behind The Scenes" - Register Here

Future classes include:  Intro to Blogging - Introduction to ActiveRain - ActiveRain Community Tour - Growing a Following - Zero to Page 1 on Google - Copyright & Plagiarism - Facebook for Business - Twitter for Business - LinkedIn for Business - Building Your Private Referral Network - Taking AR into the Real World - Adding AR to your Listing Presentation - Advanced SEO Tips & Techniques - Vendor Advertising on ActiveRain - On-line Marketing - Putting Your Business on Google - Meet The ActiveRain Team - Creating and Maximizing Outside Blogs - Lead Generation with Hit Router -  The Power of AR Groups - Time Management & Blogging - Reaching Your Real Estate & Financial Goals - and more. 

Visit the ActiveRain University Calendar for details and to register. 

ActiveRain University - Reduce the Learning Curve & Increase Your Results

Are you looking to learn more about how to use the ActiveRain Network?  How about Social Media, Marketing and Networking?  Do you want to minimize the learning curve and get maximum results from your time on ActiveRain?  Just one hour of your time per session, and we're confident that you'll walk away with both tools and information that will help.  Some members (myself included) have taken months and even years to learn and figure this stuff out. 

We've added classes to the calendar that are "topic" focused and structured around helping members get the most out of specific areas on the network and around the community.  With the volumes of people joining ActiveRain everyday, this is just one way we are trying to increase our member support while at the same time, provide the training and information needed for members to have success on ActiveRain.

Next week we have three open forum sessions where members can join in and ask any questions they like, and two more structured classes on "How To Create A Blog Post for Consumers and SEO" and "How To Maximize Your Settings Page" on ActiveRain.  In March, we will be adding more guest presenters, trainers, and teachers along with more classes directly focused on ActiveRain tools and "How-Tos."

In recent surveys that ARU attendees submitted, there were requests to:

• Learn More about the ActiveRain Network 

• Learn More about SEO and Blogging

• Learn More about Real Estate related Technologies

• Learn More about Social Media and Networking

• Learn tips and secrets from other Top Producing Agents

We are responding to these surveys, and setting up training classes to meet AR members needs.

If you're interested in joining us for any of the above or upcoming sessions and classes, make sure to visit the ARU Calendar and pre-register for the ones you're interested in.  We will have Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced training available for all ActiveRain members.  We are also recording some of the structured classes to be available in our archived library at a later date.  I hope you'll take advantage of these sessions and the opportunity to learn.  We share more in a single hour than any other community resource.

The ActiveRain University
Training Calendar

"Here's the biggest testimonial of all - After the session was over, I wrote my first blog post using the tips and comments Brad offered, and re-posted it correctly and then checked it out on Google.  I came up first on Google, before CNN, Forbes, and even other Asheville Real Estate firms...this informal session was FABULOUS!"

Evelyn Zebro - Asheville NC Real Estate Broker - Beverly-Hanks & Associates

"Thanks for teaching on the ActiveRain webinar. You are very easy to follow - good directions for both beginners and more advanced users. It was all great information!  Even if we know how to do something, your instructions sometimes help us accomplish the same thing more efficiently or you bring up a feature we hadn't used in awhile that we should pull to the front of our arsenal."

Judy Gilbert - The Linda Seaton Team Manager - Keller Williams Realty Franklin

"Brad - things just keep getting better at AR.  How can anyone not see the tremendous value and learning here, no matter what level you are in the blogging / social media world!"

Jeff Dowler - Carlsbad Real Estate - RE/MAX Moonlight Beach

RainCamp Denver - "Taking Your Business Miles Higher, and Farther!"

Denver, Colorado is currently preparing for the ActiveRain Thunder and Lightening that's about to hit the City.  Last night, as I was leaving RainCamp in Dallas, I received the confirmation that we are now booked and confirmed for Denver, and it's just 3 weeks away.  Just yesterday, Kristal Kraft was asking me on Facebook when we'd be bringing RainCamp to her "Mile High" City, so I tossed out a rumor, and a few minutes later, Lauren confirmed it. 

This will be the 5th RainCamp on our US tour, and thus far, every one of them has been a sold out packed house.  I know the folks in Denver and surrounding areas are going to be very excited to hear that we're on our way over.  We're excited to be coming! I've also been told that people in Denver really know how to have a good time.  They play hard because they work hard, and when it comes to taking "Care of Business" they've set the standard and bar very high!  Maybe that's really why the area is referred to as "mile high?" ;-)

Get registered early for this one, I know it will be sold out faster than the others.  I won't try to excite you with all the RainCamp details, there's plenty of posts on AR with all that, but I will tell you to block out your Calendar for March 9th, 2010 and plan on joining us in Denver for one of those "Thunder and Lightning" Rainstorm RainCamps you've heard about.  Trust me, it's going to be awesome!

REGISTER NOW!

Now before you leave a comment or question here that says "When are you guys coming to ?????" just know that WE ARE coming to a City close to you soon, and we'll make sure that when we do, and we have all the details confirmed, you'll be the first to know, I promise!  :-)

    
Special thanks to Kerrie, Lauren, Christa, and Doug for their behind the scenes efforts, they make it happen!

The ActiveRain Conduit - A Nifty Toolbar for Your Internet WEB Browser

This may be one of my coolest and greatest inventions EVER!!  If you can believe that...  lol~

ActiveRain members and even non-members should consider adding this toolbar to their Internet WEB Browsers.  It will work with Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari.  The toolbar gives you easy and instant access to some of the most viewed pages and important helpful tools on ActiveRain.  I think you'll find it to be a very useful tool.  Here's some of the features and cool stuff it has:

The ActiveRain Real Estate Network Toolbar - Will help you "Stay Connected" easily and instantly.

• Access ActiveRain.com with a single click
• Pull-Down menu to select from ALL Industry Affiliates
• Search the AR Network for members or any topic
• One Click Access to Important Member "Must Read" info
• HELP Menu for Manuals, Guides, Training & Support
  
• Easy Access to AR Features from an RSS menu
• Link to Search and Sort ALL ActiveRain Blog Posts
• One-Click Access to the ActiveRain Staff and Team
• Live Updates, Announcements & ActiveRain Broadcasts
  
  

You can easily download the toolbar for your specific browsers and remove it just as easily if needed.  Take a moment to try it out, see some things you may not have known existed, and let me know what you think?  Once you download the toolbar and add it to your browser, you'll see how easy it is.  Most likely, your "wheels" will start spinning and you'll be wondering how you can create a "custom toolbar" for your Site, Services, Blog, or Clients Browsers?  I'll show you how, and the best part is that it's easy and FREE! 

I hope you'll check it out,  I'm really excited about this one...  :-)

Select YOUR Browser below to Install the AR Toolbar

Beware of Scams, Identity theft and Hi-jacks on FaceBook and Gmail - Twitter Saves The Day!

This morning I got an email from Fred Carver, an AR member I know well.  It came via Fred's gmail account.

Not 5 minutes later, I get a pop-up chat message on Facebook from Fred, the discussion went like this:

7:03am Fred says

Hi, how are you?

7:04am Brad says

Good
just got an email from you...
weird...

Sorry i didn't inform you about our traveling, we presently in London UK stranded.Got Mugged last night at a gun point all cash, credit card,cell phone and valuable things where stolen away from us during the Robbery I will like you to assist us with a soft loan urgently with the sum of $1500.we need to sort out the hotel bills and get ourselves back home. we will appreciate whatever you can afford, i promise to pay back as soon as i return, Please let me know if you can help.

(it already seems fishy to me from the grammar, punctuation, not to mention if this really happened, why is he on Facebook? Hmmm.... Wouldn't he be at the police department and contacting his closest family and friends for help VIA A TELEPHONE?)

7:04am Fred says

yes..
It was a very brutal experience
Thank God i still have my life and passport

7:05am Fred says

Need your financial assistance

7:05am Brad says

how much have you raised?

7:06am Fred says

All i need right now is $1,500

(Having a gut feeling that this wasn't really Fred, and thinking that his Profile on FaceBook and Gmail had been hijacked by a scammer, it dawned on me that his identity might have been stolen, so this was my next response to try and fish out if this really was him)

7:10am Brad says

Good luck my friend, wish I could help you!  I just got ripped by the government in property taxes, I have 3 kids and a wife that have no income, an overdue house payment, and a car that's out of gas and I'm trying to figure out a way to get to the airport.  If that weren't enough, we have some person that wants to sue us for $60,000 dollars from a car accident and our deductible is exactly $1500.00 dollars, the exact amount you need too.  Go figure... I just don't have the nerve or guts to ask anyone for it like you.  You're a better man than I.  I hope everything works out for you my friend and yes, it's great you have your life and your passport.

(I know Fred all too well, and I knew the fake response above would flush him out if it wasn't really him.  At this point, I'm wondering who this really is and how they hacked into his Gmail email and his Facebook account?)

7:10am Fred says

Ok..thanks for your concern

7:11am Brad says

hey, how come you're not answering your phone???

7:11am Fred says

My phone was stolen
I told you earlier

(This is not the way the real Fred would have responded)

7:28am Brad tries to say....