All Neighbors in Groton, MA
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.
As a closing gift, I got the new homeowner a gorgeous hanging basket for their front porch. They absolutely loved it and the husband immediately went out to buy a hook in order to hang it. You can imagine my surprise when the buyer calls me shortly thereafter and says, "Catherine, did you happen to come by and take the plant with you thinking we might not be here this weekend?" I replied, "No, why?" She then goes on to tell me that someone drove directly across the newly seeded lawn, took the plant off of the front porch, and drove off leaving ruts in their new front lawn. This all happened while she was in the house! Groton is a very quiet rural community with a very low crime rate. Who would have the audacity to drive over someone's lawn and take a plant off of their front porch? It was gorgeous but really folks, what kind of message are you sending to your new neighbor when they can't even keep a nice hanging basket on their front porch? Drive over the front lawn? If you're going to tresspass and steal, can you at least use the driveway? 
On a similar note, does every town have a "bulb thief"? I was recently at a property that has beautiful perennial flower beds. While I was being given the tour, we noticed that someone had come onto the property, stolen a rare perennial and didn't even have the decency to re-distribute the soil. They left a huge hole and didn't even try to hide the fact that they had obviously been dug up. 
