Well, at this point, neither have quite arrived, but they both will before the end of the week. I wanted to go ahead and write this and get it out of the way. It is good to reflect back on what was, but I am more of a person that lives in the "now" and what could be. Changing the past is not an option; paving the future is a requirement. Here is my story.
On August 15, 2007 I reluctantly joined ActiveRain. The reason that I say reluctantly, is because I had joined similar networks and nothing had panned out for me. Boy was that far from the truth here. I was invited to join by Lee Parrish, a former employee of mine when I managed a branch for Countrywide's Full Spectrum Lending in Fort Myers, Florida back in 2004-2006 before moving back to Georgia. One of the things that I knew about Lee was that he had no hype in his pitch. If he was behind it, it was solid. So, reluctantly, I bit.
My first post was something simple. It was called "Introduction" and it did not get a lot of response. As a matter of fact, there was a total of 3 comments ever posted to it. The first person ever to comment on it was Pamela Williamson St.Louis, Missouri Real Estate. And so started my blogging life. I can't say that I follow Pamela. I should since she is in a state that I do loans in. Even though I do not follow her, I feel a special connection as she was my first here.
One of the reasons that my first post flopped was the fact that it was not in any groups. I think the biggest reason for the flop was the fact that I sat around trying to figure it all out for myself. And boy was that difficult. I never knew that you should post your comments to Groups until I wrote "Where to post at. - Help please".Then is when it came together as the first comment that came off that post was from Bill Gassett. Well, that was all that I needed to hear. For you that know me, you know I do not do anything half-@$$. Here is what Bill said;
Danny - You need to post your blogs to groups that are here on AR. The are literally thousands of them. You are able to post to five groups of your choosing. You should post to a group that would be appropriate for your topic. From the main login in screen you can see what some of the most popular groups are. Join a few and start posting to those groups.
Now really, that was quite easy to understand. So, I went and joined and that was when it all changed. Since that time, I have written many tutorials as have other people on how to work on this platform and hopefully making your time here easier. It is also where I met one of the most influential people to my blogging life. He was instrumental in keeping me on the path when all else seemed bleak. The time that I wanted to quit, he told me that if I loved it, stick with it, If I didn't, then it was not meant to be. Rick Gelinas, better know as BLR Guy around these parts, became the friend and mentor that I needed and I owe him for that. He is not here as much anymore and he is greatly missed, not just by me, but by the people that loved his jokes.
I took Bill's suggestion about groups to another level and decided that I would create my own. Soon, I gave life to Fantasy Sports 101. Since that time, I created The Movie Club, Wine Lovers of ActiveRain, Baseball Talk 101, and the most recent was Nothing but the Positive. This was my way to give back to the community that had given me so much. Nothing but the Positive has to be the most successful group as it houses 267 members that have share closed to 1000 post. I am proud of all the groups that I have created.
One of the groups that I joined was ActiveRain Addicts founded by Adam Waldman. I am not sure what made me wait almost 30 days from joining this group as I was addicted after the first week, Adam's group lead me to so many new people that I was jonesing and I swear that has to be me in that picture. I needed more and more. When I joined this group is when things started to open up for me. I met the other two moderators for this group, Jason Crouch and Paul Slaybaugh.
Once in this group, and from influence of BLR Guy, I wrote funny post like Spider Research - How drugs effect spiders, SEC Quiz, and Bubba's new Truck. These pushed me up in exposure and I had found somewhat of a niche. I could make people laugh in a time of gloom and doom. It felt good. I would find out later that my writing would change.
One of the first Realtors that I met on-line was Brande Bradford of Bradford Realty Group out of Morrow, Georgia. Brande was someone that I could relate to. She was a direct, to the point, straight shooter, and knew how to stay positive. I can still today remember our first conversations. "This is Brande Bradford. I am one of those pesky Realtors on ActiveRain." That was all I needed to know I liked her style. Over the time she has evolved and grown under her new tutor. Brande also gave me my first closing referral from ActiveRain.
In November, Rich Dansereau joined though an invitation that I had sent him. He is a loan officer that came over when Coutrywide started shutting down branches. He is a great loan officer that understands customer service. He is also the second part of The Thornton Team. Rich would become the developer of our website as well as one of the biggest referrals to ActiveRain that I would experience. He has evolved his own voice and carries a following that loves to read his style of writing. In his evolution process, he was able to start and outside blog called LocalExpert. He was also very instrumental in the developing and naming of Athletic Alley.
As I had said before, my writing would change. What I did not know was what would spur it and how it would change. On December 3, 2007 I wrote a post titled ActiveRain is a WHOLE community. It was in my case defending a person's right to be themselves without persecution. Little did I know that it would spur so much response. The purpose that it was written for opened the door to another opportunity.
I had started a series on 11/28/2007 called the Power Quotes Series. Since that time there has been 98 of them written. This Friday will be number 100 and I plan to make that a special one. Anyone have suggestions for the topic, please email it to me.
I have greatly enjoyed my time here. I could sit back and talk of all the experiences that I have met. I could introduce you to people that I have talked to for hours and people that I have talked to for minutes, but I think you get the point. As for me, my membership with ActiveRain is not so much what I can put in as it is so much what I can get out. For those that do not know, I have always been one to wear my emotions on my shoulder. Times are tough for us all in this industry. I have learned to branch out and use the blogging knowledge that I have learned to make a little pocket change. I have even been able to realize a dream and start my own website that has become a small source of revenue through small contributions and through Google's Adsense program. As we struggle through to make ends meet, you can count on one thing from me. I will always be here to bring as much "sunshine" to your day as I can.
Friends are plentiful here in the rain and I wish that I could sit here and name you all out, but I can't do that. What I can say is this. I am very appreciative of my subscribers as they are my regular readers and without them, we are nothing. I also want to thank all the people that moderate groups for me. They have a thankless job and I do not want to be part of the group that does not say THANK YOU.
I have enjoyed my time here and look forward to another year and another 200,000 points. Thank you for your continued support.
About the Author
If you are in the market to purchase a home or even refinance an existing loan and you want a loan officer that will walk with you every step of the way, then contact Danny or Rich of the Thornton Team at Home America Mortgage today. We can have you pre-approval in as little as 4 hours. You can visit our website or send an email to thorntonteam@homeamericamortgage.com or call us @ 865-951-0522.
