This Post was created using just some of the questions I get asked from ActiveRain members. Some of the ones you won't find posted here, I could never repeat in public!  lol~  You can't even imagine some of the kinds of questions I get. My Favorite this week has to be just "Bob?"
Now does Brad sound like Bob to you? haha!  Seriously though, no such thing as a dumb question.

Here are the TOP 10 FAQ's for the week of March 16th, 2009.  If you know of any other member who may have some of these same questions or issues, please feel free to forward them this post.  Otherwise, I think you all know where to find me...  lol~

My broker would like to change his status from Real Estate Agent to Real Estate Brokerage. but we can't find the way. Help!

  This is an "admin feature" that only the AR staff can change.  It is encrypted in the system once you sign-up.  We can change it for you easily, just send an email to support@activerain.com.  This will also give Jeremy Blanton some job security and something to do... lol~

Brad, if I have an outside blog can someone who is a member but not grandfathered or paying be on my team blog?

  If any member has the ability to post on their Blog publicly, they can also post on your outside blog after you invite them.  If they are not able to post to the public, they will be unable to post to your Outside Blog, but they will still receive the invitation.

How do I know if anyone is reading my Blog posts on AR?  Is there a way to track stats and traffic?

  Yes. There are a few ways you can.  The first is to check your "Statistics" Link on AR.  Go to "My Home" scroll to the bottom of the sidebar located on the left of your screen.  Click on the "Statistics" link, and you can view your comments, views, and clicks.

You can also install Cluster Maps, SiteMeter, or ActiveMeter on your Blog by using the HTML codes they provide, then place the code in the description box (HTML Only), on your "settings" page.  Here's How to install Various Widgets.  Oh Yeah, there's always getclicky.com and MyBlogLog.com too.

I think it was you who had done a video with what looked to be an Active Rain gathering. It was a whole bunch of people saying how great the Rain was. Could you give me a link to that video or tell me where I might find it?  Thanks!

  The video was taken at the Real Estate Connect in San Francisco, it was added to one of the ActiveRain landing pages. Here is a link:  ActiveRain Voices in the Rain.

I just purchased my AR outside blog and all the Themes are created for other companies.  My company is not available.  How do I create my own custom themes and sidebar?

  There are many company Themes available now that are branded, but there are two you can use that are NOT branded to any brokerage of company.  They are "Elements of SEO" and "Legacy".  These can both be customized by adding your own header and sidebar images.  We'll be adding additional themes (both branded and non-branded) down the road. Also, watch for the new text widget, I think it's actually "LIVE" now. (hint:)

I have been a FREE member on AR now for over 4 months and was just wondering how this Network makes money?   What other products or services do you offer, if any?  I love Activerain, thanks.

  FAQ - Pick of the week!  ActiveRain does have the FREE limited membership which many do use and benefit from, however there are other tools we offer to members that include: Sponsoring Localism Communities, Setting up Listing Router Campaigns, Creating ActiveBlog Outside Blogs,and Market Leader & Vision. FREE memberships can upgrade to an ActiveRain "RainMaker" membership if they choose.  We also have Channel sponsorships available and advertising in our ActiveRain Newsletter. There's so many ways you can benefit from some of these additional services on AR, but they are not free.

You can also just make your check out to "Brad Andersohn" and I'll see that it goes to good cause. :-)

Just curious...How many "Channels" are there and how many posts does it take in a given channel to get it visible?

  All the channels are listed on the main page of AR.  There are 8 consumer and 8 professional, then there are the top 3 topics in each channel based on member content.  The more content about a subject, the more chance it will show up in the top 3 topics for that channel.  No idea how many posts it takes, I think it's based on the majority of posts generated.  Maybe consider writing posts about the current top 3 topics in any channel for some additional exposure in those channels. More On Channels

Bad Request

Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Size of a request header field exceeds server limit.

  Easy Answer for this one.  DO NOT COPY AND PASTE FROM WORD!  Text or Images. When you do this, HTML codes and scripts also get copied over that in many cases, are not compatible with our network.  This will also happen when you try to copy too much information from any other source.  Instead, use ActiveRain to create your post, then save it in "draft" mode.  You can make all your edits in AR.  If you must use an outside source, I have used ScribeFire.com for Firefox and it seems to work well.  There are no hidden codes or malicious scripts that I'm aware of.

For some reason I have stopped receiving the daily AR newsletter. I did recently change my email address to the one above and this was also changed in the system.  Is it possible for you to remedy?

  Yes.  If you have us change your email address in ActiveRain, you'll need to notify us by email with the new email address so that you can be added to the distribution list for the newsletter.  Just send your email update request to support@activerain.com and we'll make the changes in our database. If you're NOT currently getting the AR Newsletter, and you'd like to, just email us your request to be added to the list.  

Is there a help section or link to search for answers to my questions on ActiveRain?

  There are a few areas you can find help and answers to your questions: Start with the "SEARCH" link located at the Top of every AR page.  You can check the HELP/FAQ group located at the bottom of every page.  Another place to find help is the ActiveRainGuide.com site, which has tutorials and help posts by other members.  My Profile has a few tutorials as well. If you are brand new, a great place to start is the "Getting Started" link located on the main page of ActiveRain. (below the channels area)  Then Join Groups.

I hope these FAQ's have helped some new members.  There is so much great information on AR, and now with over 1,000,000 articles/posts, you can probably find almost every answer to any question you may ever have about AR or the RE Industry.  :-)

March 2009 Related Posts:
Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume I
Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume II
Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume III    
Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume IV

Here are the TOP 10 FAQ's for the week of March 9th, 2009.  If you know of another member who may have some of these same questions or issues, please feel free to forward them this post.  It looks like a network with this many members and this many tools and options will never run out of good questions to be answered.  Thanks for all the continued support and comments, these seem to be helping reduce the amount of tickets and emails we normally get on a regular basis.  Special thanks to Jeremy Blanton for helping us get caught up in the support ticket booth.

Why does my ReBlog button say disabled?  I am logged in and have checked the box to allow reblogging? 

  This only appears in the Internet Explorer Browser, and it's only confirming that you can't ReBlog your own posts.  Nobody else can see that hover button title but you on your own Blog posts.

Brad,  What are the settings about?  I don't follow: what is their function?

  The settings page on AR allows you to customize your settings in a way that suits your personal needs.  This is where you add your Blog Title, widgets for your sidebar, description and keywords, twitter settings, general settings, email settings, and enable or disable Listing Router. 

I see members have pictures and movies on their Blog Sidebar.  How do I add these widgets to my Blog?

  A very common question asked by new members on AR.  The sidebar of your Blog is controlled at the settings page located on your "My Home" page.  Click "My Home", then the "Settings" link on the left sidebar.  The second box down (just below your Blog title) is where you place the HTML code for widgets.  Find Out More Here.

How do I add posts to my Outside ActiveBlog?   When I write them, should I do it on the outside blog? 

  This is one of the beauties of ActiveBlogs.  You don't need to write separate posts and take up valuable time.  You create your post on AR as you normally do.  Next, before you submit it, just like adding to the various groups, simply put a check mark in the box "My Outside Blogs" then check where you want it to appear. (See below)

I recently purchased an individual outside blog, but there's a link in the toolbar that says members.  Did I accidentally get a TEAM Blog?  Am I being charged more?  Can you help me?

  All ActiveRain blogs are now team blogs, and are being given to members at no additional cost.  They are now one in the same.  You will not be charged more.  The members link allows you to invite others from your Team or Brokerage (or groups) to contribute to your Blog.  This is if they choose to accept your invitation.  To invite a member, jusat click on the members link, and add just their AR profile name ONLY.  IE: activebrad.  This will send them an invite that will appear on their my home page.  Ways to use your individual/team Blog.

Hi, I am new to ActiveRain.  When I write a Blog post, my only options for viewing availability are draft, members only, or associates.  How do I get my post to be available to the public?

  Your free AR account only lets you post to "members only" or "associates" unless or until you upgrade to a rainmaker account.  At this point you will be able to create "public posts", capture more SEO, setup an outside Blog with your own custom domain name, and get unlimited tech support from the AR staff and more.  Here is a link that explains the "rainmaker membership plan"

I am using Internet Explorer because my MLS requires it.  I am having too many issues with a lot of sites including AR, since I only can use IE, what do you recommend I do?  Is there another Browser I can use without losing access to my MLS?

  This is a very common "Myth-Understanding!"  You can use multiple browsers on your computer.  They even run simultaneously.  You can run Mozilla FireFox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Flock, and many others, all at the same time if you like.  See How This Works Here.

Brad, I am a newbie here on AR, where can I go to find out information about all the things there are to learn here?  Is there an ActiveRain manual somewhere?  Who are we suppose to call for help?

  There are so many great resources and members on AR, I use the "search" function at the top of every AR page. There are a few locations you will find a more focused effort on support issues, the first being ActiveRainGuide.com.  You can also visit the HELP/FAQ Group located at the bottom of Every AR page.  Since you are new, I would definitely review the "Getting Started Link" on the Main AR Page (under the channels area)  and Lastly, you can visit My Profile on AR for some of my how-to's, tips, and tricks.  As a Last resort?  Support@ActiveRain.com

I got this page that came up on ActiveRain that said Intermission, what does this mean?

  On occasion, our programmers and tech support team need to make small enhancements or deploy new versions and releases of bug fixes, new features, improvements etc.  You were probably on-line while they were deploying the new ReBlog button onto the site. 

The Intermission screen is just our friendly way of saying, "Take A Break, we'll be right back!" 

It looks so much better than the screen that used to say, "Error - We're Down For Maintenance!"

Now it reads:

Where can I find the blog customizer tool?  I can't find a link for it on my home page.

  The ActiveRain Customizer IS on your "My Home" page.  It has been moved around a few times but has finally found a home right next to your ActiveRain Blog link.  Go to "My Home" and on the left sidebar, just below the word BLOGS, you will see "ActiveRain" and next to it a link that says "Customize", this is where you can add headers, background images, different colored fonts and text etc. 

Don't forget to check out the "NEW" Custom Blogs Page that went up at 2:00am while members were sleeping.

Later this week I'll be making a couple exciting announcements regarding our upcoming AR Webinar Training Series, the new ActiveRain Ambassadors and Badge, and something else I have been working on these past few weeks.  This is going to be a very exciting week with the announcements of some great "new" things coming to the "rain!"  Have a great week everybody. :-)

Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume I
Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume II
Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume III    
Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume IV

These are the top most Frequently Asked Questions I received and tried to answer this week.  I thought it might be a good idea to put these out there in hopes that this will help others who might have the same issues, or questions.  Sometimes just helping one person creates an opportunity to help many.

  I'm just getting started on ActiveRain. I attended a class a few weeks ago. I finally got up the courage to write my first blog, it's not great, but you have to start somewhere. I know my confidence will grow with practice and my blogs will improve.  Here's my question, when entering the blog, I only have 3 options for visibility- members only, draft, associates only. How do I make it available to the public?

  Congrats on your first post, I remember getting up the courage to write my first post.  The free basic membership on AR allows you to post in draft, associates, and members only modes.  The "RainMaker" accounts on ActiveRain allow you to post publically.

  Is there a cost involved with the Rainmaker accounts and what are some of the other benefits? 

  Yes, there is a cost.  If you are a new member on AR after 2/16/2009, RainMaker membership is 29.00 per month but it also includes your outside ActiveBlog, your domain name, registration, Localism posting, SEO, technical support, webinar training (coming shortly) and more.  Current founding members pay 19.00 for their outside ActiveBlogs.

  I need to change my email address on my account to and I can't find the area where I can do this.  On my profile, that part of the page is grayed out.  Can you help me with this?

  This is a feature that needs to be changed by our admin or staff, feel free to email any of the community builders or technical support at support@activerain.com and we will take care of it for you.  Be sure to send a link to your profile and what you'd like the new email address to be.

  Can I add google analytics to my AR or outside blog?

  Not currently, we are working on adding a tool that will allow you to add this shortly.  There are a few other widgets you can add to get stats from your AR internal blog, the outside blogs are still in development.

  I have a curious question.  Why are we not able to mark for comments to be sent to us on those post we respond to?  My in box seems awful lonely.

  The "Notify Me Of Comments" has been moved from the comments section of posts.  It is now located at the base of each post.  You no longer need to leave a comment to follow a thread or be notified by email.

  How do I get my picture to show up when I leave a comment on another members post?  I see photos on some of the comments, but not on others?  Can you explain?

  Member photos appear next to their comments when 1. They use one of the paid services like Listing Router, Sponsor a Community in Localism, or have an outside ActiveBlog or  2. When a member obtains 10,000 AR points.

  How do I get one of those cool badges other members have under their photos?

  There are two types of badges.  The first are the earned badges.  These are awarded based on points, (100k, 200k, 300k, etc) feature posts, and the new Ambassador Badge which we'll announce this next week.  The second types of badges represent the services used like Listing Router, Localism sponsorship, and Outside ActiveBlogs.  We will also be adding an opt-in / opt-out feature for members.

  Just one question about my outside blog. I have my OB up and running, but I only want to add specific content to it, and ALL my AR posts from the last year are on it. The reason is: My OB is going to be about Neighborhoods and cheap eats and great places to buy food and things to do and photos of locals etc. How do I control what goes on it?

  By default, all your posts (excluding members only) are automatically added when you create your outside blog. This is by design.  All posts for Outside ActiveBlogs are created on your ActiveRain Blog.  Before submitting your post to the public, put a check in the box that says "Individual Blog" and if you don't want the post to show up on your outside Blog, just uncheck the box. 

  How come other outside Blogs have Categories listed on the sidebar and mine are all blank?

  This is a great question. Many members are creating posts on AR and not using the "Topic & Channels" located in the edit mode of any Blog post.  ActiveBlogs use these topics to sort out the categories you see appearing on the outside Blogs sidebar.  Be sure you are adding a topic to ALL your AR posts, whether you have an outside blog or not.

  I want to start my outside Blog but I don't have a domain name yet.  Do I have to go to GoDaddy and buy my domain name first or should I start my outside Blog first?

  ActiveRain provides you with a domain name when you setup your Outside ActiveBlogs.  It's included in the price of the upgrade.  You create the outside Blog first on AR (or upgrade) then when the internal domain is setup, you can go into the toolbar and search for and claim available domain names.  It only takes about 2 minutes, and you don't have to direct any DNS nameservers.  Your new domain will come up instantly. Here's 5 tips to remember.

I'd like to keep a series of these FAQ's going for our members if there is enough interest.  Most of you probably know these things already so if you do, please pay it forward and help out another member.  These FAQ's will be located in the HELP/FAQ link at the bottom of every AR page. 

Have a great week, thanks for taking the time to review these.  ActiveRainGuide.com / ActiveRainTeam.com

Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume I
Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume II
Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume III    
Week In Review - Top 10 ActiveRain FAQ's - Volume IV