All Neighbors in Imperial Beach's Pier
Top Neighbors: The magic behind the mirrors
You will never have to pay to be listed as a top neighbor. Period. That important detail clarified, let's discuss how we arrive at two "top neighbors" for a given region:
Localism is a bustling collection of hyper-local communities, and the top neighbors should reflect those members who are most active. When ranking users in a given region, several factors are considered. To get your foot in the proverbial door, you need to have posted at least one "Localism" article or photo for the region.
The very best way to quickly rise to #1 is to post high-quality local content. Keeping a steady strem of incoming posts and photos will massively tilt the scales in your favor.
What doesn't count toward the top neighbor ranking? ActiveRain points and community sponsorships. The top neighbor spots will always go to the most active members in a region. We want to create a level playing field that encourages the growth of communities — talent and dedication are required to win the day.
This past weekend in Imperial Beach saw tens of thousands of people invade the Imperial Beach pier and sands for the 30th U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition. Along with lots of vendors selling unusual wares, there were many more vendors selling fair-style food, of which two of my favorites are the Oriental shishkabobs and the grilled corn on the cob.
I walked through the vendor and food area once (and got a shishkabob and some grilled corn on the cob for lunch) and walked through the competition area three times, twice to see the sandcastles as they were being built, and then once to see the completed products.
Saturday afternoon will feature the Kids-N-Kastles Competition, but the big stuff begins at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday when the professional sand carvers begin building their "sand castles" (very much a misnomer for these professionals) in an effort to acquire the title of Master's Champion.
