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. Unlike the vast majority of "community" sites that rely on dry automatic algorithms, Localism employs a team of crack editors who approve the best content. Having your posts and photos consistently approved will massively tilt the scales in your favor.
"Legacy" content is also considered when ranking top neighbors. We don't want to leave the early adopters of Localism in the cold, and we're working hard to process that backlog.
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.
A few weeks ago, I was contacted by WDBJ7's news anchor Natasha Ryan about a story she was writing on the online social media site called Twitter.
Now, I've admitted my addictions here on the blog before, and it was interesting to see a local news outlet not only recognizing the power of the service but taking the time to investigate it further. Below is the final result, in two parts done on last night's broadcast:
Certainly I feel the service is an invaluable tool - it helps me connect with friends, it's enabled me the opportunity to meet current and future customers, and it's even influenced the creation of a new small business startup in the New River Valley. It's nice to see local news outlets exploring new ways of breaking news and staying in touch with their viewers. If you're on Twitter, make sure to check out these local news and civic organizations:
There are many more, I'm sure, but these were some I could recall off the top of my head. Thanks to Natasha and WDBJ7 for the story, as well as to Patsy Stewart, Ira Kaufman and Stuart Mease for their participation as well!
The Virginia Resources Authority has just sold $215 million in infrastructure revenue bonds – a real triumph and nothing short of miraculous given the economic situation. This represents the largest transaction in the pooled financing program in VRA history.
The bonds will finance a number of projects in localities across Virginia. The projects are varied in scope, reflecting VRA’s broad support in 14 areas for community investment including public safety and local government buildings. Participating localities will construct a variety of projects including: upgrades to bridges and wastewater treatment plants, replacement of water and sewer lines, and construction of a new firehouse, a new library, and a public safety academy.
“Bricks and mortar projects mean jobs and income in Virginia communities,” said Sheryl Bailey, Executive Director of the Virginia Resources Authority. “We can’t over-emphasize the importance of such projects in stimulating the local and state economy. Infrastructure is a key to America’s economic recovery.”
Important? You bet! With funding comes improvements, with improvements comes jobs, and with jobs comes tax revenue, quality of living and any other number of benefits. Virginia has had a strong bond rating for many years, meaning low loan rates for localities, and $215 million will go a long way to localities being able to move forward with planned improvements. No word in the press release on whether any of those projects are planned for the Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford area, but we'll see moving forward.
Updated 11/25 10:02am - This is the largest ever transaction in the history of VRA's pooled financing program, and represents 25% of VRA's financing in that program to date ($862 million total). You can read the entire November 21 press release at http://www.virginiaresources.org/news.shtml.
And appointments such as these lead me to believe it even more. Sure, Dr. Leo's appointment is one that is made to further the university's research advancement goals and bring in more money, but you can bet they'll be putting much of these initiatives in place right here on campus.
Kudos to Dr. Leo and Virginia Tech. Once again, Inventing the Future.
I'm admittedly behind on this post, and it's been rehashed acrosstheweb. Essentially, if (1) you're at least 90 days delinquent on a home that is your primary residence and on which you owe at least 90% of the home's value AND (2) either Fannie, Freddie or one of their participating loan companies must own the loan, then under the loan modification program you can restructure your loan to as much as 38 percent of your gross income.
Forgoing the in-depth analysis and critique from economists and Harvard-types for a moment, I have a problem with this. I'm struggling with the issue of personal responsibility, and Government subsidy of these loans doesn't resolve the problem. The problem is poor decision-making on the part of consumers and lending institutions and the real estate industry. I'm not sure modification or "streamlining" resolves the issue of personal responsibility, and on the flip side I don't know that allowing millions of loans to default and further crippling the housing and financial sector makes a lot of sense either. I have no answer for this, but struggling with the issue.
The streamlined process looks only at income, not assets. If you refinanced your home to buy a Mercedes or own another home, you won’t be expected to sell them to pay your mortgage.
Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, predicts that many homeowners who have little or no equity will stop paying their mortgage and then reduce their income to get the biggest payment cut possible. They could stop working overtime or, if two spouses work, one could quit. After the modification, they could try to boost their income again.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Schiff says. “People are going to feel like complete morons if they don’t participate. The people getting punished are the ones who never made an irresponsible decision to buy a house they couldn’t afford.”
The government is offering loan servicers $800 for every homeowner they get into the plan.
Schiff predicts that loan agents “will be cold-calling people trying to get them into it. Just like they encouraged people to overstate their income to get a bigger loan in the first place, now they will encourage them to understate their income to qualify for a smaller loan.”
I can see Schiff's point. Desperate lenders will have an incentive to push people into what appears to be an even worse problem.
As I said, I'll leave the bulk of the analysis to economists and people who have a better grasp of the larger picture. I know that locally, Blacksburg and Christiansburg lenders haven't gone crazy with out of control loan terms. Rates are low, borrowers are bringing money to the closing table and deals are getting done. Mark Weddle says it's "Back To Basics" and he's right ... you can still buy and sell in today's market.
It was eery watching this video, reposted on Jim Duncan's blog, this morning. Take the 10 minutes to watch what Peter Schiff has to say, and then tell me you didn't raise your eyebrows in surprise at how history has played out these last several months.
No ... the photo has nothing to do with the post. I took the photo, and I liked it. That's all.
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