Mouth 2 Mouth

The contest was supposed to end Friday, however somehow I screwed up my dates and days.  I have to tell you I read some fabulous posts!  There really were some terrific examples of city posts.  Some of you had some fun with these and I liked that.

Toby Boyce's "Why Would You Want to Live in Delaware?"  This was a wonderful description of the town of Delaware, Ohio, local trivia, hometown hero's and a 60000 attendee harness racing party.  

Toby Barnett talked about "Mukilteo Washington."  His post included the views that Mukilteo is known for, his favorite local chowder (yeah Toby Ivars does have quite a chowder, but it's not quite as good as the Edgewater's!), and recreational opportunities there.

Rick and Ines gave us a brief overview of "Southeast Florida and Miami-Dade County"  Of course a lot goes on in Miami so there's quite a number of things a person could write about.  Through the Garcia's we learn about a secret (not anymore) gem that few people outside of Miami know about.  This was also a well laid out post with some awesome pictures.

At 8,300 feet above sea level, Jessica Hughes tried to write about Boulder, Colorado, until the snow that kept her from leaving home reminded her that she actually calls "The Town of Gold Hill, Colorado" her home.  With the steepest county road in the in entire nation it's not surprising this is a town of only 200 residents.

Rich Jacobson told us about "Silverdale, Washington" and "Life on the Peninsula."  There's a lot going on in Silverdale due to it's central location in the waters of Puget Sound.  I love the pictures Rich used and I was astounded to learn the Trident was developed in the area.

I was fortunate to learn about "Cedar Rapids, Iowa," Christopher Smith's Hometown, where apparently alien invasions are a part of the traffic report, and the streets smell like Captain Crunch (Did you eat breakfast this morning?).

Through Leanne Paynter I was able to learn that "Fort Lauderdale, Florida"  is known as the "Venice of America" for it's many waterways.

Todd Murphy explained that "Birmingham" has birthed three of American Idols best contenders.  

Karen Villa Schweinfurth brought "Everett, Washington" to the table.  With over 1,600 acres of parks, the largest building in the world, and the second largest marina on the west coast Everett's known for some "big" accomplishments.

Talking about both Harrisburg, and Concord, North Carolina, Leigh Brown weighs in with talk of the first discovery of gold in the U.S. at Reed Gold Mine in 1799.

From Tony Marriott I was able to learn about the sleepy town of "Buckeye, Arizona" where almost 250,000 homes units are planned at this time.  In 2004 the population was only 17,550 people.

Gena Reid tells  of a "Sac of Tomatoes" as Sacramento was once conveyed to her.  The California capital has been growing, and is rapidly building a dramatic new skyline.

In that little state of Rhode Island is the Big City of Warwick where sailing is the game.

According to Charles Richey, "Las Vegas" isn't just neon lights but beautiful desert scenery and family communities as well.

And the winner is...Jessica Hughes with her description of Gold Hill Colorado.  Jessica will be awarded the 400 bonus points.

Thanks Jessica, and all of the entrants.  I had a great time reading these posts.

As many of you may know, Karen Villa Schweinfurth has been caring for her terminally ill husband for the last nine months as he has endured end stage liver disease.  Unfortunately, he appears to be in his final days on earth now.

To those of you that know Karen, she wanted me to let you know that she is not ignoring you.  Her energies are, of course, devoted to her family at this time.

Karen, our thoughts are with you and your family. 

I've seen a lot of blogs on ActiveRain.  Many of you are talking about so many different topics that it's hard not to stay interested. 

I've seen posts specifically related to sales, the tried and trued tips, and the trials and tribulations that many of us in this industry go through.  Those have helped me gain an understanding that there are others out there going through the same issues, and I've learned from those experiences.

At the same time I've read posts talking about members themselves their lives and their families, nothing to do with real estate or this industry.  I enjoy those posts too. They are not always relevant on the surface nor do they need to be.  They have their value and their place here.  Others will always have the option not to read them.

There is however one type of post I've seen that I do not appreciate and honestly, I don't feel is appropriate for this space.  The posts I dislike are those type of posts that bread unnecessary anger fear or resentment.  Often these are rants, but not just rants, they posts that often specifically target another individual here on ActiveRain, or otherwise.

I learned long ago one way to be successful in sales is to never disrespect anyone.  That is especially true when it comes to the blogs that speak to ranting.  There is a way to constructively express criticism.  There is even a right way to express anger. 

It's most often true that when you speak judgmentally of someone else you are usually opening up yourself to the same type of judgments.  I learned the hard way that when a potential client is speaking poorly of another agent they have been working with then it's likely they'll soon be finding fault with me.

This is a network of professionals.  Professionalism isn't just about the content it is also about the character of the content.  I do believe that ranting has its place and is appropriate here as are most posts from the membership.  However be aware that how you talk about others reflects more upon you than it does them.

These are friends and colleagues.  In competition or not, be a good sport.  We are all here to grow. Please do not degrade The Network or yourself.

Related posts, please let me know if there are others I can add.

The Tone of ActiveRain By Karen Hurst

ActiveRain Bloggers By Gena Riede

Hey, We Are Being Watched... Maureen Francis & Dmitry Koublitsky

"Singing In The Rain" By Rich Jacobson

Happy Halloweiner By Maureen McCabe 

ActiveRain Blogging? By Jennifer Giraldi