The Meaning of Active Rain Milestones - Those Who Brought Us Here

I have realized that this week is about milestones.

A reader emailed me to offer congratulations on reaching 50 thousand points on Active Rain. The big 5-0!

I didn't even realize it until I read the email. ( Thank you Gita for noticing and your well wishes --- GITA BANTWAL, REALTOR BUCKS COUNTY, PA HOMES (ReMax Centre Realtors) - Real Estate Agent - Warwick, Pennsylvania)

It was then I started to think back to when I first encountered ACTIVE RAIN. What is this all about? A site dedicated to real estate bloggers? I read other AR bloggers with awe because of their rich content and insight --- which I read voraciously AND because of their points --- point envy? --- how had they achieved their levels? Where did all this fabulous information come from? Who would want to read all of that? Does anyone really care? Should I really SHARE this information that most, in the past, held so close to the vest? If I write ... will they read?

The other milestone that I have reached is that I am actively blogging for the sake of the blog --- not the points! And, I have learned so much along the way. Several AR members became FAST Favorites of mine and I soaked up their advice and points of view --- Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com in Maryland and Virginia for her gorgeous maps and her passionate, strong and often opinionated blog. I found I subscribed to her site just to read on a weekly basis.

Then I happened upon, Andrew J. Lenza, Monmouth County NJ Real Estate Broker . Wow. What can I say about Andrew's blog. He truly threw me a curve when I first started reading it, but, I quickly became a fan of his humor and sometimes dark writings --- often deep with meaning and laced with his own personal history. And, his green chair. I actually miss his accounts of the worn leather, torn arms and studded treatments of the chair in his paneled room (that I imagined smelled of old cigars and fine wiskey.)

A FAST favorite is Linda's Southeastern CT Real Estate Blog. When I tell you that I LAUGHED OUT LOUD ( forget the LOL's ) the first time I stumbled upon her blogging as CARNAC ---Real Estate Blog - Carnac Comes Out to Play (Finally)!!! --- for example. I know people around me in my office may have thought I was truly losing my mind. Where did she get such a priceless sense of humor? And, so often, I have thought many the same things --- but to put it in a blog for all to see.

Another of my favorite reads --- is actually more visual. I tend to be a visual person and have been involved in the photography & writing end of the advertising / PR world in former careers so when I found Teresa Boardman's, Teresa 's Blog, I was immediately drawn into the lens of her camera as she so unselfishly shares her visual experience with her Saint Paul, Minnesota location. She has opened up my eyes to another area of our beautiful country that I may never have seen and she does so with such love AND she often shares the latest tools and techniques for great real estate photography and graphic. Her blog is not to be missed.

When searching for colleges for my daughter ( another milestone ) and a trip to Maryland brought Margaret Woda and Maryland Real Estate Blog onto my radar screen. She has great insight into the local area and often weaves stories about her friends, family members, buyers and sellers into her blog. She, too, gives her experience freely to others which helps out more that she may realize. She always shares her success stories about Active Rain -Real Estate Blog - An ActiveRain Referral That Made EVERYONE Happy! and has great details about her area - Real Estate Blog - Maryland Schools Rank #3 in the Nation - so if you are ever in the area, give her a shout.

I danced around the Active Rain community and found Real Estate Blog - Rock N' Roll in Morris County! Where's the Live Music? by Antoinette" Scognamiglio . Behind her knowledge of her area, facts and figures is a girl who likes to have fun! I often check out her blogs and always find something new about the state that I grew up in! Although I have never met her in person, she seem to be a giver because she not only blogs --- she actively reads and shares her comments on other people's blogs. Isn't that what it is all about? Give and take. Beautiful.

Another person that I must thank...and he may not even realize it...but he started a contest and a group called ActiveRain Group: Local Expert. This exercise made me focus my content on my local area and has truly made me a better real estate blogger. Adam Waldman's blog - Long Island Relocation>> Long Island Real Estate is sprinkled with technology tips, local market data ( those who know me know I love the data-thing ) and music! Yes, music. Thank you Adam, for making my blog a better real estate blog.

Another must read for anyone in real estate or in the blog-o-sphere for that matter is The Real Estate Tomato. Anyone, who is anyone...is on this blog and they are truly influencing our industry. Nary a day goes by without some thought provoking or leading edge information can be found here. As well as ... newmakers quoted in the news media. Yes, I am a news junkie but... you have to be in it to win it. Read and learn.

Patricia Kennedy is another must read for "active" Active Rainers. Her self proclaimed irreverence often gives you another slice of real estate and makes you think. Real Estate Blog - A Tale Of Two Showings. Her blog is a must read for the good, the bad and the ugly of real estate that we call experience but...we may not realize that others are experiencing the same thing. She always comes up with a silver lining --- learning.

This coming year has quite a few significant milestones for me: my husband and I will have our 20 year anniversary -- he truly is my life-partner, my mentor and my friend; my daughter gets her driver's license and will graduate from high school and my son enters middle school; and my dad will turn 80 in the fall.

Milestones come and go. They are important and they should cause us to reflect on who we have become because of the people around us, our experiences and lessons learned. It is also important to thank those around us and give something back to them.

Thank you family for your ongoing love and support. And, thank you Active Rainers for making the 5-0 milestone such a rewarding experience.

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Copyright - Pamela Stetson 2008, http://www.pamelastetson.com/

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