ActiveRain – A Real Estate Social Network

by Jay Thompson on October 1, 2006

ActiveRain is a “social network” for real estate professionals. The network was launched in June of 2006 and the growth has been exponential with over 6,300 real estate professionals joining the network in the last four months.

ActiveRain provides a forum and a blogging platform for its members. The ActiveRain blogs are wildly popular with over 200 blog entries posted every day. The information contained in the blogs varies from local real estate happenings to national real estate news. Tips and techniques for real estate professionals range from marketing to web site optimization and everything in between. The blogs contain a wealth of information for real estate professionals and consumers alike.

ActiveRain awards “points” to members for building a profile, blog entries and comments, and for inviting new members. The more points a member accumulates, the higher they are listed in the “featured members” sections. Given the competitive nature of real estate professionals, accumulating points has become almost an addiction for some. Countless blogs in the ActiveRain network speak of the ActiveRain Addiction.

ActiveRain has become so popular that it’s spawned many terms unique to the network. “ActiveRain Speak” is quickly learned by new “Rainers” and the lexicon is continuously growing.

While there is a lot of fun to be had on ActiveRain, there are business benefits to be gained. Members profiles are indexed in Google and submitted to Google Base, and the astute member can pick up some great one-way links to their main website and blog. Search engine benefits are just the beginning. Like other social networks, it’s easy to “meet” people and the blogging platform provides a unique insight into members business practices and personalities. Much of the real estate business is built on referrals, and the members of ActiveRain have a unique place to go when searching for another real estate professional to refer business to. There are also reports beginning to come in of consumers finding agents and lenders through the ActiveRain Network.

While two-thirds of the network is made up of real estate agents, members also include loan officers, title companies, real estate trainers and coaches, virtual assistants, lawyers and more. Anyone connected to the real estate industry is welcome to join and participate in the network.

I joined the ActiveRain network in the early days because the concept of social networks has always intrigued me. As I watched the growth explode, I quickly realized that the network provided a unique opportunity to learn and to socialize with my fellow real estate professionals. I now count several members as true friends, and look forward to making many more friends and expanding my business. I encourage any real estate professional interested in learning, increasing their web presence, or just wanting to meet other professionals to join the ActiveRain network!

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