I have discovered a couple of items here at Active Rain during my time here, and I thought it might be valuable to share this information with my friends.
I am probably not the first to write about this, but I only recently figured out that it is possible to invite others to any group in which you are a member. I guess I have spent a lot of my time in the groups where I am a founder and/or moderator (Family Ties, Active Rain Addicts, and Inspired by Song!). I have invited countless people to my own groups over the past few months, and I thought that this ability was limited to the groups that you help to run, but this is not the case.
If you are a member of any group that you think would be of interest to one of your AR friends, simply click on the "Invite a Member" link to tell others about it and to invite them to join as well. The only thing that you have to know is your friend's profile name (e.g. "jasoncrouch", or "rayandpaul", or "coolestdangagentinthevalley"). In any group that you belong to, you should see this on the left ("Invite Member" is highlighted here):
One other Active Rain feature that I find myself using more and more often is the "Search" link at the top of the page:
After clicking on this, you can search by Profiles, Blogs, Blog Comments, or Groups.
There are many uses for this terrific feature:
- Have you ever wanted to go back and find a comment that you thought was interesting? You can use a keyword and the name of the commenter to search the Blog Comments.
- If you are looking for a specific type of group, this is a great place to begin.
- As a prolific blogger, I have had posts of mine mentioned on occasion in posts by other bloggers. An easy way to find these posts (and perhaps make a new friend in the process) is to search for my own name under the "Blogs" section. I was surprised not too long ago to find about 20 articles that mentioned my name for one reason or another. The more you write, the more likely it is that this will happen to you as well.
EDITED: This comment from Brad Andersohn was compelling enough that I felt I should include it here:
BTW - another great search tool is the tag word search. Just type in http://activerain.com/blogs/tags/ (then anything you want to search) this will only pull up specific posts where those keywords were used. It's a more refined search, but saves you the time weeding through many blogs to find what you want or need.
Thanks so much for reading this one! Let me know if you have any questions.
If you enjoyed this post, why not connect with me elsewhere or subscribe via email?
If you're looking for a home in the Austin area, you can also visit my primary Austin real estate website at www.austintexashomes.com. If you're interested in social media training, visit 210 Consulting. Thanks!
Jason, as a newbie from last week I thank you. I appreciate the help with navigating and being more efficient while in AR. Happy New Year!
Jason,
I use the search feature all the time, but must admit, I don't find posts by groups too often. I mostly read those I've subscribed to and branch out from there usually by reading an interesting comment, then checking out the persons blog.
Jason,
Another Great post. You just keep them coming.
Christopher
Hey Jason,
Good info for all of us.
LYNDA - Glad you found it to be helpful.
BRENDA - That was probably me on REW. I used to spend a lot of time there before I found Active Rain. That is a good, informative site as well. Happy New Year to you as well!
It is always great to send out reminders, most of us read the blogs before we get started here on AR. So from a newbie, thank youl.
Have a wonderful New Year!
LISA - You're welcome! I am happy to help.
ELAINE - Now you know. Thanks for stopping by to check out these tips. I think you know more than half of what is going on at AR, based on what I have seen from you thus far.
MARLENE - I don't know all of the intricacies myself, but I have picked up an awful lot during my time here. I am glad to help you learn!
Thanks for the tip Jason. I am new to blogging and Active Rain, so I can use all the help I can get!
I am sure I will be looking for more advice in the future...
Have a Happy and Safe New Year!
Great post Jason, you make us all proud! Happy New Year my friend!
BTW - another great search tool is the tag word search. Just type in http://activerain.com/blogs/tags/ (then anything you want to search) this will only pull up specific posts where those keywords were used. It's a more refined search, but saves you the time weeding through many blogs to find what you want or need. Just FYI.
Jason,
This was a good review for everyone here. While I knew about these options, I simply was not using them. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Jason. This is a good tip as well. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
Don
Jason, I use the search information all the time both to find comments about myself, other people that I remember said something. I have invited so many people they just don't get it... oh well, I've tried.
Great tips! We are definitely newbies and really appreciate the "inside" information. I love AR so far! I can see why you had to start a group for addicts!!!
Jenny
BOB - Thanks for your comments and for the congrats. I hope you are able to make use of these tools.
MICHELLE - You're welcome! I am glad that you enjoyed this post, and I hope to see you around "the Rain".
BRAD - Thanks! I actually edited the post to include your advice (and a link to your blog). Happy New Year to you and your family!
ADAM - Thanks for the congrats. You make a great point here - it is often best to just experiment with the links and buttons to get a feel for the site.
DIANE - Thanks very much for your kind words. I figured that many members knew about this stuff, but I guess there are lots of people who had no idea. Have a great day!
BRIAN - I actually just discovered the "invite" thing a few days ago. I had no idea that you could do this in any group in which you are a member. Cool stuff!
KIM - I stumbled across that one a couple of months ago and I had meant to write an article sooner. The new "find" (inviting others) made it seem more worthy of an entire post. Glad you liked it!
MARGARET - Thanks for your kind remarks. I agree - any help comes in handy when we are starting a new task.
DON - You're welcome! I hope it comes in handy for you.
MISSY - I am not surprised that you already actively use these features. Thanks for your comments!
SIMON - Your comment made me laugh. As for REW, I don't have one of their sites. Would you mind emailing me and letting me know how much yours cost? I am curious.
SEAN - You're welcome. Happy New Year to you as well!
JENNY - I am glad that you liked this info - I hope that it is useful for you. I didn't actually start the Addicts group myself, but I am a moderator there. My friend, Adam Waldman, founded the group.
Hey Jason.....good for you. You are rockin' that's for sure. Always enjoy your personal touch when you post. One reason of many I subscribe to you.
Jason - Nice newbie post. I think that the ActiveRain Guidelines even suggest that we search before we post to avoid posting about duplicate content.
P.S. Nice hand drawn arrows. Did you let your kids draw those for you in crayon?
EMILY - I agree wholeheartedly. I hope that this info is useful for you as you make your way around the Rain.
JOSETTE - You are welcome. I hope you are able to make use of these tools. Thanks!
DAN - It is not a perfect feature at this point, but I have used it a number of times lately. Thanks for your input!
Great tims Jason. Brad is one of my ActiveRain heros too.
Sometimes I realize that I have just scratched the service of the power of ActiveRain. In fact, I know I have a long way to go.
I've been cleaning up tags in the past week or so and concentrating on good key word phrases for my market area. Problem is, my market area covers about 25 counties. It's hard.
Have a great new year.
Jason, thanks for the tip! All I need is more time to read & blog! ;)
Happy New Year From Idaho!
Jason... a good job here with some good information. But in regards to searching blogs and comments and such, it's not always consistent nor does the search get me what I am looking for. Especially when searching for topics of blogs. Otherwise, nice job here.
Jason - that was too kind of you, I received a couple comments on that post today and wondered why they came up. Then I came back and saw your edit! You didn't have to give me credit on your post, but since you did, I want to say thanks!
I use that search method when looking up topics with multiple words: ie: Open House, or Real Estate Tools, then it only finds the posts that have ALL 3 words together in the TAGS or Keywords. I hope you'll use it often. It really is an effective way to find anything you want here in the "rain"! Here's a link to the detailed post I wrote on it! Delete it if you don't want it in the comments here.
Happy New Year my friend! All the best to you and your family this next year! :-)
Thanks for the tips
Joey
Jason - Thanks for the quick tip.
Danke Schoen
Hi Jason,
Active Rain was built on sharing so this post exemplifies what we sometimes tend to overlook. Thank you for sharing this exercise. May you have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!
TANA - Glad to be of help to you.
MICHAEL K - Thanks, man. I think a bunch of newbies saw this one.
TERI - Thanks for your kind words about my "personal touch". I appreciate that very much.
PEGGY - I'm happy that you learned something from this one. Thanks for stopping by to read this one!
AL - You are more than welcome. Thanks!
RYAN - I thought it was good newbie information, too. I don't know that I ever use the "search" feature for that purpose, but it is a good idea. Thanks also for dissing my hand-drawn arrows. I am not a graphics wizard, so I was happy to make it look this good. By the way, I guess Dallas won't be playing Seattle unless it is in the NFC Championship game. Good luck to your Seahawks next week.
LENN - Thanks for stopping by to comment on this one. Yes, Brad is a great resource. Your SEO challenge does sound difficult. How large are those counties?
JOEANN - I was frankly surprised that this one got featured, but I am happy about it. I am happy that you found it helpful.
DON - Happy new year from Texas! I hope you are able to use these tools during your time here on AR.
WAYNE - That is the truth. Thanks for stopping by!
JEFF - The search tool is by no means perfect, but it is helpful sometimes. Thanks for your comments, as always.
PAUL - What dubious groups?
BRAD - I am happy to give you credit for this tip. I wasn't entirely sure that this topic hadn't already been addressed, but I wanted to give some ideas on how I use the Search feature as well. I hope that you and your family have a happy and blessed 2008! We should talk sometime "live".
BRIAN - Glad to be of help. Happy new year!
JIM D - There is a lot to learn around here, but it is well worth taking the time to do so. Welcome!
JOEY - You're welcome.
NATE - You are welcome.
ADAM - I just made them using MS Paint after cropping the graphic. I could explain it over the phone very quickly.
TOM - I agree with you, and you're more than welcome, my friend.
LISA - I try to "pay it forward" as much as I can. As you said, that is how this community was built. I wish you a very happy, safe, and healthy new year as well!
Jason,
Thank-you for this information. I am leaving here right now to experiment.
DEBRA - Thanks for stopping by to check out this post. I got inundated with comments over the last several posts, so I just now got a chance to come back here. If you want to find my posts REALLY easily, why not subscribe to my blog? :-)
TROY - You're welcome - glad it was helpful.
MIKE - I hope you enjoy these features.
ROB - You are more than welcome. Glad to be of help to any newbie.
Another informative post Jason. Thanks. As a relative newbie (4 months I think), I am always learning new things every day about Active Rain and of course through Active Rain.
Great and useful information
Thank you
I've been reading so many posts, I seem to be a little lightheaded with all this great information. Thanks, still reading yours. I need to find more info on "associates", and I'm sure I'll find it on one of your posts.
Hi Jason...I just subscribe to your blogs...a lot of information that I plan to read soon to make the most of my Activerain account. Thank you!
Thanks for the tips. I am new to ActiveRain and Blogging. I'm hoping to learn alot from everyone.
Jason, I'm a newbie. If I go to the Austin page, I see you and Donna Harris as Featured Real Estate Agents toward the top of the page. Under this, I see "Austin Real Estate News and Questions". If I want to post a "question" it is to the right in the box. How do you post under this heading as "news" so the title is underlined?