Limit of 5 posts a day. This I really don't understand. I could see only giving points for the first 5 posts of the day, but I don't understand why I'm limited to five.
It's ugly. But I knew that before I started and pretty much impossible to personalize in the way that most of us have come to expect with our social networks.
Point reset. There needs to be a point reset or something similar so that people don't rest on their laurels and new people have a chance of catching up. I'm thinking of a running decrease or something so that the previous 30 days worth of points could for full credit, points that were earned 30 to 180 days count for half credit and points older than that are only 10 percent or something... Some type of system to keep it interesting for new people like myself and no that we have a legitimate chance of being "featured" in the future!
On the much more positive side, it has been awesome to connect with so many people so quickly. The system obviously works and works well!
Whine, whine, whine... that's what I thought when I read this before going to sleep
When I woke up and looked at it again....
I like the idea of being able to post more than 5 posts AND those after 5 in 24 hours not getting points. I think Christina Ethridge wanted that too. It must have been in a comment she left on someone's blog. I'd really only do it once a month.. I don't blog on Active Rain that much...
I kinda like the idea of reset too. It is boring at the top in the state. I would like to see more participation. I think you will see resistance to a reset though... I think some feel like they worked to get to the top of the heap ... whatever they are using as a benchmark (left side of the dashboard, top 25, featured entries, #1 in their state, # 1 in their county...) whatever measure they strive for...
Ugly?
Dustin,
This site is awesome. When you first start out here, it seems like you will never catch up. Do a search on some of the featured posters and find out when they joined. There are people who just blog away and rise to the top. You also get points for commenting, 10 a day at 25 pts.
None of us can rest on our laurels here. The system works very nicely. Matt and Co do their best to be fair. I've seen many a good blog go by the wayside (I'm not referring to my own, but others) simply because there was a blog causing a lot of discussion. This is life. All in all you can learn more from this site than any other and get rewarded for what you give.
Hang in their Luther! You'll get settled in.
There is a 'reset' on the blog dashboard. It only takes in to account the last 30 days of activity. Stop posting, or start writing things that don't attract attention and you fall.
As for the limits on posts, a limit probably is not needed, but I think the idea was to encourage people to focus on developing very good posts instead of a lot of posts. Quality over quantity. Honestly, don't you think that is better for the community?
Ardell, people can contribute to the community by getting others to join. That is how someone would get featured and never post. There are definitely some people out there who have mastered inviting. I wish I knew their secret.
MM. That is why I said I don't think removing the 5 post limit would hurt. As long as they are not scored.
Ah, so I see you come here to beat us up :)
1. The 5 post per day limit was put in place to prevent spam attacks we started getting. Where people could sign in and make dozens of spam posts. We figured 5 posts a day was a reasonable number for the maximum number of posts a normal blogger would try to make.
2. It's ugly, yes I'll give you that. We're working on getting a graphic designer in.
3. I don't think there is a need for a point reset. I think new members find they can catch up pretty quickly in a month or two if there active. Especially with the fact that there is "point inflation", such as new ways to earn points. This means that older members have an advantage, but if they take a month off they may loose position.
Ardell: You'll probably find lots of "featured agents" that haven't written a post. There are many ways to earn points besides blogging, with two more being added very soon. As with most social networks the number of people who actively participate vs. how many are lurkers vs. how many who sign up is fairly low (but much, much higher on ActiveRain than most networks)
By looking at statistics I can tell that we have A LOT of lurkers, people that frequently visit the site and read post (often logged in) but never write posts and only occassionally comment. We have a who's online display that will show members who've been active in the last 5 minutes. There is also a count of how many different non members have been active in the last 5 minutes based off of unique IP addresses.
http://activerain.com/action/default/members_online
Note: In the settings people may disable whether they show as being online, so there quite a few members who won't show in this display.
Wow! I go to bed and I wake up with a bunch of great comments! Thanks everyone!
And Matt, I think you'll find that even if I start a little tough, my RCG post on ActiveRain will be quite positive!
i dont care about points. this isnt a popularity contest
i am working on a way to take the feed from my blog and put it on my website properly
and have met a couple of great folks here too
Tom,
I like your style... Simple... Direct... (and worth 25 points!)
Dustin welcome to the rain and a bit of a curmudgeon is always appreciated lol. I have to add my two cents though. While other blogs are gorgeous and heavy on graphics, this one HAS a community feel. You can roll your eyes if you want, but what AR has is not duplicated anywhere else. I also think part of the beauty in the branding of AR is that it does NOT look like a lot of other bog sites.
Matt I don't know if that was intentional or not, but that is how I see the 'look' of The Puddle.
As for points and posts, welcome to the fray! You are a good blogger and I look forward to reading your posts. Getting points for anything I do here is a side benefit to the unparalleled networking, learning, and new consumer interest. Happy New Year to you and yours
Dustin: We have, perhaps, the most unusual blog here on Active Rain, in that were are no longer directly associated with the greater real estate professions. We have a niche blog, which deals in gentle humor, issues that affect our real world social sphere, and even sometimes larger more serious issues we believe need discussion. We are marketing nothing—except ourselves—and have fun doing it. Are we in it for the points? Points are good—but we like conversation better—and we blatantly troll for comments (see disclainer below), ‘cause we really like our position on the obscure Minnesota Blog Dashboard!
Jay Merton (for The Retired Codgers™)
Jay,
I tried to leave a comment, but I can tell I need to follow your story a bit more first! Expect comments soon!
Dustin,
If it helps any, we all felt the same way at the beginning. The points are important.
We all have the same opportunity here. It's what you make of it that will make your stay enjoyable.
Constructive ideas are always welcome. Matt is very quick to answer, as you may have noticed:)
The look of AR is actually one of the things that attracted me. I like the clean, simple look. It sometimes seems that on every site I visit I'm bombarded by flashing banners, music and colors that are just too bright. I find the look here a nice change.
I don't have any opinion on the point system because the points just seem like a nice bonus to me. I'm here for the community feel that was mentioned by Carole Cohen. So far, I love what I've seen. :-)
Dustin,
I'm pretty new here, just under the 2 month mark. I never thought I'd ever get any points...other than my profile points. Somehow it just happened, I felt comfortable and started blogging. now I am 3rd and 4th in my state LOL 3rd and 4th... I have 2 profiles running and there are not many active people in my state. Often times I comment well beyond the 10 that collect points. Doesn't matter I just like it here and feel like it is a community. Welcome and Happy New Year!
John,
It will definitely be interesting to see how localism develops and their business model evolves... Nonetheless, Matt has made it pretty clear that they won't go down the lead-generation route and instead will focus on an ad model and I'm comfortable taking him at his word. Ironically, I wouldn't even give AR any content I thought was particularly SEO worthy (like neighborhood information) and instead I'd save that for Rain City Guide where I control the competition for the leads and the associated referral fee! My reasoning is that I'd rather be a big fish in a small pond (that I control) as oppose to a small fish in a very big pond (where I have to play a point game to remain relevant!).
Renee,
5 Weeks!!?! WOW...I guess there is hope of catching up then huh..lol :)
Monica Hubert
Monica, you can definitely pick up a lot of good information about today's real estate market here on AR... Although beware that social networks (and blogs in particular) tend to be pretty self-referential environments where posts that would met with cynicism by the general public can be met with encouragement in here. Just a head's up!
Dustin:
Just pass anything over 5 to me and I'll post them for you (under my name of course).
Have a wonderful holiday season.
Ken
Ken: "anything over 5"? Do you mean "50 words" or am I missing something?
Michael: No whining going on... Unless you think the AR is perfect, then I'm sure you'll agree that constructive feedback can help all AR members!