Realtor ®-The Woodlands Real Estate

Every month in the Eco All Stars Group we have a Challenge/Contest on a certain topic for the month.  janeAnne is usually the one that posts it, but as some of you know, her computer is MIA right now. :)  So, I am excited to be personally putting this out there for Feb.

For this month we want to hear your thoughts on Earth Day and Stewardship.  If there was one message that you would get out by combining the forces in your area, what would it be?  What is a Big Concern or Message that needs to get out in YOUR area? 

If you have a hard time with that one, then we would like to hear what Earth Day and Stewardship mean to you.

Here are the Guidelines:

• The post needs to be atleast 300 words
• The deadline, since we are starting late, is March 7th.
• Post it to Eco All Stars
• TAG it February Challenge...VERY IMPORTANT!

We will post the Results on Monday March, 10th. 

Sound like fun?  :)

I have more links to put in, but I'm having a heck of a time inserting them...so I'll do them later.  I'll try re-booting or something.

Active Rain has so many Members now that it is hard to keep up with the massive amounts of Posts that go through the Dashboard every day....let alone for the whole week.  I have had a busy week and I remember logging on for a few minutes, seeing a post that sounded interesting but thinking I would read it later.  It had something to do with 'SEO'.

Now that I have time to read it, I can not for the life of me remember what it was titled, let alone who wrote it.  So, here is my idea.  Can we add the search tool in one more area?  Please?

By adding the Search Tool here we could search posts that are relevant to the search term within a certain timeframe.  For example, I could search SEO within the last 1 Week.

Does anyone else think that this would be a Useful Tool?

Out of curiosity the other day I was searching information on Earth Day.  Many Communities have Gatherings.  The information that came up was all sales.  A site to buy BRANDED 'Eco Friendly' items,  BRANDED Earth Day Posters, BRANDED anything that said Earth Day. 

Then I was thinking about the actual Festivals that we have every year around Earth Day.  What is it?  More companies.  More companies that hand out cute stuff, on paper usually, and many tell you how they can help be Environmentally Friendly or are advertising a service. 

Is Commercializing Earth Day losing the meaning? 

John McConnell is the original founder of Earth Day.  Happened back in 1970 actually.  On one site, he discusses why he wanted Earth Day to begin with:

"This special moment of nature's equipoise provides a sound basis for members of the human family to simultaneously join -- each in their own way -- in silent prayer or reflection : a time for dedication and commitment to the care of our planet, a time for thanksgiving and celebration. Earth Day is on the first day of Spring -- nature's symbol of renewal and new life."

To me, that is exactly what Earth Day should be.  Come together as Stewards that understand our Limited Resources on Earth.  Learn about how we can make a difference.  Get away from the Daily Rut and Remember how important the Green Recycling Bins are outside and how so many decisions that we make affect, somehow, the Planet.

I believe that we should come together and unite for a cause, just as Mr. McConnell stated in 1970.  Unite for the cause of Educating and Spreading the word.  All Professionals from all corners of the Commercial World combining as one to make a very loud statement.

If you combined all of the Companies in your area to spread the word, what would it be?   What is important in your area in regards to Earth Day?

Active Rain represents something different for about every on the network. 

I personally stumbled across Active Rain by complete accident one day.  Found it to be pretty interesting so I visited every day for a few days reading whatever was on the dashboard.  It blew me away how everyone knew everyone, everyone openly shared information to build each others business and the VAST amount of information there was.

Finally, after a few days, I joined.  I hopped in to conversations, wrote a few posts out of sheer curiosity, and then found out almost immediately that Active Rain was probably the Best Kept Secret in the Real Estate Industry.  I continued to read, write, comment, learn...

Here is what Active Rain has done for me.

• I have a Kodak V705!  I do not know what I would do without it now.
• I use Real Estate Shows for every listing!
• I can put together amazing charts and graphs for clients!
• I actually know what a blog is.
• Pictures of the Community!  I never would have dreamed to post anything like Localism content.
• I understand the National Market like none other from my AR pals.  I don't have to be mislead by Media.
• Friendships!  So many amazing people!  That in itself is worth it.
• EcoBroker!  Who knows how long it would have been before I knew anything about Green and Sustainable Building.
• Internet Presence.  Don't think would have EVER happened.
• Internet leads and sales...well, DUH!
• Social Media- Had no idea it existed prior to AR.
• Technology and Software-  Learn about a new one everyday

And maybe most important...an Upper Hand and a way to stand out in the Local Market.  All of the above items play an important role in being a Better Real Estate Agent because of Active Rain.  The amazing amount of knowledge that I have gained by being part of Active Rain is Unreal and slightly overwhelming. Joining Active Rain, for FREE, was probably  IS the best thing I ever did for my career.

Here is a small video of Photos that I absolutely would not have if it were not for Active Rain.