All Neighbors in Oklahoma City, OK
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.
Part of my daily habit is commenting on post at Active Rain. I started blogging and commenting regularly a year ago while I was in cancer treatment in Houston. As I was commenting on post today I felt more emotion in not only my responses, but in how the post affected me. As I went from pricing historic homes to did I make a ndiffernece in people's lives today, to shedding materialism to live a simpler life, I was moved my the people who wrote them. They cared enough about sharing "secrets" with others they never met, they were telling family stories, and some were talking about epiphanies that changed their lives. Not one was a ego oriented look at me post like some I read. Or was it me that was different. So I made a decision. That time in Houston was awful, but my connection to the outside normally functioning world was my comments on Active Rain post, and the remarks back about what I said. In this year I only remember one unkind response. Considering that I have commented over 2300 times in less than a year, I think that is a great percentage.
A new book just came out called "Celebrating Failure" by Ralph Heath. I had some recent experiences in short sales that went bad, and my first thought was to say I know better, then to ask myself how I could have been so stupid. I failed again, but now my thoughts are different about it. First I reminded myself about taking Socialogy in college back in the 60's, and remembering what a self fulfilling prohecy was. We see it all the time when people get on a jag or rant to show how bad things are. They look for what can prove to them that failing is okay without going deeper inside. You see it in real estate offices, when Realtors try to top each other to see who had the worst client or the worst closing. After one is finished the other says I got one worse. We can find this everyday. So I want to contrast failure with FAILURE.
I use email for my personal use quiet often, but it's usually just to stay in touch with someone. When I really want to obtain information quickly, or buy something, I will pick up the phone and call. A couple of minutes later, I will have a lot more clarity of my situation. Sometimes I get voice mail, but if I leave a good message with a 
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