Actively Raining Thoughts-Room Service Home Staging

Logos Are Nice... But Hard to Talk To!  Meet Gretchen Ahrens.

No, Gretchen Ahrens of Gretchen and Mel, ColumbiaGorgeFSBO.com, is not really new to ActiveRain but I’d bet many of you would recognize them by their logo.

This week Gretchen made a comment on one of my posts leaving me with the impression that she wished that she would get more comments on her blog.   I “knew” Gretchen and Mel from comments they’d left on my posts and decided to go over to her blog and see for myself.  Let me add that the comments that Gretchen always left me were “thought-full” ones.  

First, I am ashamed to say that when I went to their post I discovered that I had not subscribed to Mel and Gretchen’s blog.  I have since rectified that.

And there it was, a post written just this week entitled “So Why In the Heck Do I Blog?”   Please go over to her post and comment!  

Why wasn’t she getting more comments?  She had written a thought provoking post and one that was written to elicit opinions and suggestions.   Then it occurred to me that their Active Rain profile was their logo.

Logos Are Nice... But They’re Hard to Talk To!

I emailed Gretchen and suggested that perhaps a picture instead of their logo would give us “someone” to whom we could relate.  I know that I rely on and relate to everyone’s profile pictures as I scroll through the blogroll.  

I received an email today from Gretchen thanking me and saying that my suggestion was just what she needed to convince Mel to add a picture.  (Mel wasn’t keen on showing his face, so we’ll have to work on him later. ) 

Take a look at her new Active Rain Profile and head to her post today!

People relate to people.  Sure we recognize logos such as the

famous Apple or  Mickey D’s Golden Arches

but we converse and form relationships with people.  

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my about.me profile!

Room Service! Home Staging
Palm Beach County Home Stager

561-914-6224   Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
www.MrsHomeStaging.com

                     

                                   

 

 

 

Why Won't You Let Me See Who You Are?

I love ActiveRain!  Where else can you write til your heart's content... learn how to Tweet, Facebook, get Plussed on Google+, and meet -real or virtually- some great friends!

If you are new to Active Rain..otherwise known as a Newbie...it has been suggested that one of the best ways to get started is to read and comment on posts.  And this is true. By commenting on posts, others will get to know you.. not only the author of the post but other commenters as well. 

But... why not make it easier on us in to see who you are?  When you make a comment on a post, the author as well as other commenters will look to see who you are.  

Take a look:

Sharon Tara  provides her name, what she does (New Hampshire Home Stager, and the name of her company Sharon Tara Transformations. 

I know Sharon, but if I did not, I would at the very least know her name, what she does and where she is from.  

But I've run across some commenters who won't let me see who they are... unless I click on their link, and go over to their Profile Page to learn their name.  Their signature looks something like this:

"ABC Realty Team, Muleshoe Texas."

I really don't want to begin my response to them with "Thank you ABC Realty, for commenting"  

I don't know... maybe I'm naive... maybe the Commenter wants me to have to go to their Profile page to find out who they are.   

But if you DO want us to  see who you are... there's a very simple way to fix it.  

Go to your Home Page>then in the left column click My Profile(Edit).  You'll see, as above, First Name: and Last Name:... You can choose to enter only your name, or as I have done, where I am, what I do and my phone number. 

For more information I suggest Brad Andersohn's post on How to Set Up Your ActiveRain Profile. 

Again..it's your choice but how about making it a little easier for us!
And... don't forget... comments can be picked up by Google too! 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my about.me profile!

Room Service! Home Staging
Palm Beach County Home Stager

561-914-6224   Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
www.MrsHomeStaging.com

                     

                                   

 

 

 

Happy Birthday... Roy Kelly!  Please Bring a Flower To Leave a Birthday Wish!

You know Roy!  We've seen his beautiful pictures of flowers left on our comments! 

Roy brightens anyone's day when he leaves a "flower" in your comment as well as sharing with us all of the beautiful pictures he takes.   Did you know that Roy graduated from the University of Virginia Law School?  

Today is his birthday so please leave a Birthday Wish along with a picture of a flower in your comment!  If you don't have one in your stash... get a copyright free one!

  I know Active Rainers love any excuse for a Party so come on ... let's celebrate!

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my about.me profile!

Room Service! Home Staging
Palm Beach County Home Stager

561-914-6224   Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
www.MrsHomeStaging.com

                     

                                   

 

 

 

Kindergarten- I Have No Idea Who that Little Kid Was!

Seriously, I really don't know who that little girl was... it was 56 years ago!!  Isn't it funny how there are some things you can remember as if it were yesterday and then there are others that had you not been told you were there, you would not have believed it. 

Well, my first endeavor at higher education was not totally forgotten by me.  I do remember my teacher, and I apologize because I'm sure she was a good teacher but I cannot remember her name, anyway, she came to my house to visit and introduce herself to my family and to me.  

I'm not sure if teachers do that today but it certainly left an impression on me.  She wanted for us to get off to a good start and also to ease any fears I had.  Even at 5,,, I was impressed.  

This was probably a good thing to do because in those days I don't think we had pre-school or pre-K.  You stayed at home until you went to Kindergarten. Our socialization came from playing outside with neighbors and family.   Outside of attending Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, this was my first experience at having to really behave and "play well with others!"

I attended a Lutheran school although we were Methodists, and the lunchroom was in the basement of the church.  What I do remember is that at the end of lunch you had to file out of the cafeteria and show  your teachers that you had eaten all of your lunch.  That presented a problem for me on days that I bought my lunch.  You see, when you bought your lunch you got a little carton of milk.  I am not a milk drinker ... didn't like it then.  The only way I drank it was if it was an accompaniment to my Frosted Flakes! 

But being the quiet-not wanting to rock the boat-obedient student that I was, I didn't dare tell my teacher I didn't drink milk.  That would have been down right un-American.  So, on those torturous days, I ate my lunch and forced myself to drink that little carton of milk.  Needless to say, I did manage to survive.

Kindergarten was also the time I learned that some kids liked the class so much they decided to take it again the next year.  In my 5 year old eyes, I believed my teacher when she told the class that little Johnny was staying behind to help the new Kindergarteners.  What can I say, I'm gullible.  

So I don't know if everything I learned I learned in Kindergarten, but I do know I learned that-
  ..... it never hurts to introduce yourself to others and be nice
 ............Speak up if you don't like something
...................Don't believe every line they try to feed you! 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my about.me profile!

Room Service! Home Staging
Palm Beach County Home Stager

561-914-6224   Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
www.MrsHomeStaging.com

                     

                                   

 

 

 

You Guys Really Want More Information... Don't You!?!

I wrote a post yesterday that covered how to locate new members.  In fact it's not just new members you can locate, but you can go back and see who joined when.  

So in my comments, Linda Jamail Marshall, a Houston agent, asked me about States.  Since I'm from Houston, I have a soft spot for anyone from there so I thought I'd show you another fun place!!

Linda wanted to know if there was a place that showed all members by state or by city.  You bet there is!

 
Go to the "Front Page" of Active Rain and in the Blue Tool Bar... Click on STATES!
 

This takes you to, for example, Florida.  You can see Steve Hoffacker is #1 in Florida.  As you scroll down on the right you will see everyone by their Points Ranking. (I'm way down at #30).  On the left of the page are major cities, and if you scroll down it will list the counties.

Now above you'll see Palm Beach County... There's Steve again, and you'll recognize Nestor & Katerina.  Scroll on down and I'm #5.  In the middle are posts that have been written to Hyper Local pages.  On the left are cities within Palm Beach County.

And, finally, the city of Delray Beach.  Notice on the left are neighborhoods within that city. 

So what can you do with all of this information?  Is it true that knowledge is power?  I think it's interesting to know who in your area is on Active Rain..  who's on it and who's active!  Why not call and have coffee with someone in your area?  

It's always interesting to see who's where and who may have dropped off in their posting here.  But remember, under AR Community Guidelines, don't send out unsolicited emails or calls.  Don't use this information for spamming. 

Do welcome someone to Active Rain!  Or set up a mini-meet and greet! 

OK ... any more questions?

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my about.me profile!

Room Service! Home Staging
Palm Beach County Home Stager

561-914-6224   Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
www.MrsHomeStaging.com

                     

                                   

 

 

 

Stagers and Realtors- This New Stager and Active Rain Member Needs Just One Thing From You! Can You Help Her?  

Debbie DeMarco of Staging by Design in Oilville, VA is a newbie to Active Rain and Staging.  What if we could treat this like a wedding shower but instead it's an Active Rain Shower.  Just go to her post and leave just one suggestion on getting started in the Staging business and/or one suggestion for getting started on Active Rain. 

If you're a Realtor you could suggest how she could work with Realtors.  Stagers, how about some advice on getting her business started.  And there's always information on becoming a Rainmaker and blogging on SEO!  

I remember when I began here... I was a lurker.  I read a lot and may have made a comment but I did not immediately jump in and get my feet wet.

It won't take too much of your time.  All you have to leave is ONE suggestion!  And if you want, skip commenting here and head there.  Of course if you want, I always love saying "hello" to everyone. 

Don't Forget... Debbie DeMarco... Just One Thing!

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my about.me profile!

Room Service! Home Staging
Palm Beach County Home Stager

561-914-6224   Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
www.MrsHomeStaging.com

                     

                                   

 

 

 

What Can You Blog About on Active Rain?  It Would Be Easier to Tell You What You Can't Blog About!

A never-ending-always blogged about-Infinite # of answers- Topic is What to Blog ABout.  I had a conversation recently with a fellow Stager and asked if they were on Active Rain.  Indeed she was but she had a blog on her website that feeds Linked-In and Facebook and already posted Staging posts there. What else could she write about?  Her response reminded me of when I started out here.   

I started out as many do as a lurker.  And when I did want to write a post my mind was blank.  Anything beyond the topic of Staging, I thought, wouldn't be of any interest to anyone here.....Au Contraire!

You need only head to the Feature page here to see the diversity in topics on ActiveRain... or look at the wide ranging Groups.  (read, for example Alan May. .  or Russel Ray)

The First Step is to read the Active Rain Community Guidelines.  They're easy to follow but as long as you have these in mind when you write, you should be fine.

Step Two- start reading!  Scroll through the Feature Page to see what people are blogging about.  For example.. right now some of the Feature Page topics are: motivational, a video tutorial, Do you get mad?,  sunburns, and blogging.

Step Three- Take a look at and join some Groups.  If you can't find a variety of topics here.. you're not looking.  There are Groups on blogging, food, Google+, photography, staging,  inspirational, BANANAS (Bananatude), jokes, music and Jack Bauer!

Step 4: Decide on the Goal or Purpose of your blog.  Not all posts will have the same goal.  You may want your post to reach and be of interest to your clients; it may be Tutorial in nature; you may want to address those within the industry; perhaps a question regarding a particular topic; as a platform; to draw Local attention... and these are just a few.

What NOT to Blog About?    Anything covered in the Community Guidelines. 

               Don't put it out there if you don't or aren't capable of dealing with it.
               Don't write about something that will land you in jail or in the courtroom... we'd miss you.

                                  So... what are you waiting for... start Blogging!

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my about.me profile!

Room Service! Home Staging
Palm Beach County Home Stager

561-914-6224   Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
www.MrsHomeStaging.com

                     

                                   

 

 

 

Thank You ActiveRain for giving me Google juice and a mug to use to drink it!

ActiveRain recently celebrated their 5th Anniversary and of course this was not a milestone to be passed over!  And in their never ending quest to get us to write about our local activities and establishments they held yet another of the infamous Active Rain challenges... Win a Piece of AR History.

No it wasn't for points and the winners were picked via a drawing but I make it a policy never to turn down a reasonable challenge!   You were required to write a local hyper-local  post on where you might hold an Anniversary event if Active Rain were in your area.  The prize?  An Active Rain Tumbler!

Ok... laugh if you will but that's not all I got... it got me on the first page of Google if you type in Atlantic Avenue Delray Beach.   I'm towards the bottom but I'll try to work my way up!

Take a look at my Piece of AR History!

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my about.me profile!

Room Service! Home Staging
Palm Beach County Home Stager

561-914-6224   Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
www.MrsHomeStaging.com