I know, I know…said that, did that before. This time I mean it.
Active Rain is not the site it used to be. They wined and dined us, gathered our content, got us hooked and addicted..then…….
Don’t get me wrong. AR is a great place, but just not how it used to be. It’s not even about the money. It’s aboutActive Rain using the people who made Active Rain what it became..the most dynamic social networking business site on the web.
They used our content, got us Google juice and then started charging for that honor. They know that people are visual by nature and now they put the commenter’s avatar on the comments along with bling..the more you spend with AR the more bling you have on your photo. Guess whose posts will get the most features?? Yep..the ones who pay the most into the Rain.
I emailed Bob Stewart this morning and had him delete my accounts totally. Bob’s a nice guy, but honestly…one of reasons I’m leaving the Rain is because of all the butt-kissing posts that get featured. Write something sappy about Active Rain or the AR “gods” (that phrase makes me cringe) and you’ve got that pretty little gold star.
It’s not about the Real Estate business anymore…it’s about Active Rain.
I loved my time on Active Rain because of all the awesome people I met…real people, real friends that I adore. But, I can visit with them on Twitter and Facebook or even call them on the phone…don’t need the Rain.
6 responses so far ↓
Todd Clark // March 12, 2009 at 9:20 am |
I MISS YOU! I need your new number… It took me awhile to find you, as I was disappointed I couldn’t call you tonight as once again your Dallas Mavericks had Portlands number!
Your friend in Oregon. I don’t pay for anything on Activerain, but I do know what you are talking about. I’m getting lots of features, even without mentioning the rain but once.
I still want to be friends and hope when I get down your way, your fishing offer is still good.
Todd Clark – broker
Kastings & Associates
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
http://www.IFoundYourNewHome.com
Nannette Saunders // May 9, 2009 at 8:47 pm |
I totally understand how you feel. I have been feeling the same way for a while. While I have yet deleted my account, in fact I contributed 3 times last week, which was the most I have contributed in months! I am really contemplating what I am going to do with AR. It really doesn’t fit what I want to do with the exception of the google juice I get. However I can do that on my own. Then again every little bit helps. I don’t pay for anything on AR. I am kinda upset that I didn’t take the few hundred posts and put them on a site of my own for the past four years. But that is hind site. I appreciate the rain for what it did do for me. It is a cool place to begin to blog. I equate it to kind of like kindergarten blogging for RE. I don’t like having enough control over my site or content. Once you delete your account you can’t take your content with you. I am going to hang out for a while and see where we are with AR this time next year. I think it is going to be different it already is.
Chris Griffith // May 31, 2009 at 1:01 pm |
I left a while ago, before they jacked the content under the prodding of a few smart people (Bob Carney, Linda Davis, Sarah Cooper) that said I owed it to myself to have my own content on my own url. They were right. I am eternally grateful.
Sarah Cooper // May 31, 2009 at 1:06 pm |
That’s the nice thing about friends – they aren’t tied to a place, they’re tied to YOU.
justinu84 // May 31, 2009 at 1:13 pm |
I don’t blame you. I’ve been feeling the same way for awhile myself. I still post to AR but I find myself spending much less time on the site than I used to. I’m one of those AR members that doesn’t pay for anything but I knew as soon as these payment options were offered that the site was going to change drastically. And it did. I don’t see myself going so far as deleting my account but I can myself getting to a point where I don’t post there anymore.
Kathleen Buckley // May 31, 2009 at 1:28 pm |
I was late to the game on AR and I’m glad that I don’t have too much invested. Now if I could just figure out how to get my blog onto my own URL–wonder if there’s a post about that on AR??