With over 35,000 members and a galaxy of stars in the Featured Posts, we all have our favorites within ActiveRain. Many Rainers have gone on to create quality blogs outside the Rain. I was curious to see how some of the best posts right here on ActiveRain compared to what the general web public considered the best real estate blogs.
The first challenge was in identifying what the "top real estate blogs" were. I began by searching Google, and here's what I found:
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- I Am Facing Foreclosure
- housingPANIC
- Freshome - Tips, Gadgets & Inspiration for Your Home
- Housing Doom Housing Bubble Blog
- Dr. Housing Bubble
- Mortgage Fraud Blog
- Real Estate Investing for Real
- Las Vegas Real Estate
- Irvine Housing Blog
- The Real Estate Bloggers
It was disappointing to see that so many 'doom and gloom' blogs were getting so much traffic. Encouragingly, The Real Estate Bloggers offered up Foreclosure Picture Not As Dire As Media Makes It Out To Be.
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"As the real estate bubble begins to fizzle, so too will most real estate bloggers. There are hundreds or even thousands of people out there blogging about real estate, and most of these blogs stink."
Joshua's list includes Mortgage Fraud Blog, Real Estate Investing for Real, and The Real Estate Bloggers from the Blogflux list, along with:
Also on the first page of the Google search results, and definitely worth a look was a post on Altos Research Real Estate Insights about the Real Estate Blog Carnival: Consumer Edition. And be sure to check out Consumer Focused Real Estate Blog Carnival, which is administered by Toby Boyce.
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- Curbed
- Bloodhound Blog
- Transparent Real Estate
- Rain City Guide
- The Real Estate Tomato
- Zillow Blog
- Brownstoner | Brooklyn Real Estate, Architecture and Renovation
- Real Estate Blogsites
- St. Paul Real Estate
- The Phoenix Real Estate Guy
So how does the best of ActiveRain compare? ... Many of the best individual posts here would fit in quite well on the top blogs. I think the biggest difference lies in our perceived audiences. While Rainers generally tend to write much more locally-based content, the 'top blogs' have more of a global news and issue-oriented focus.
Another difference is that most of the 'top blogs' are based in or write about large metropolitan areas. So even the best-written small town blog will have difficulty competing in terms of traffic and search engine awareness. In this situation, ActiveRain levels the playing field by giving each of us an equal voice within the community.
Aside from traffic and search engine stats, what makes a blog one of the best is very subjective. To paraphrase a former U.S. president "It depends on what your definition of 'top blog' is." Always remember to focus on your intended readership and be true to your beliefs and values in your blogging.
Can we still learn from the 'top blogs'? Absolutely! Look at the topics these bloggers are writing about. See how they develop their posts; encourage conversation; and use formatting, graphics and layout to improve readability. Look at their links and blogrolls to see what they're reading.
ActiveRain just turned one year old; many of us have been blogging for less than that. But those who have put in the time and effort have grown tremendously. We grow both from within and from what we learn outside. Take a look at some of the other real estate blogs 'outside of the Rain' for motivation, inspiration, or to challenge yourself. You'll be surprised how much you and your blogging grow over the next year. Blogspeed!
Wow John, you really put a lot of though and research into this. I love what you said about AR: "ActiveRain levels the playing field by giving each of us an equal voice within the community."
BlogSpeed!
Chris - That's a great distincton to make. While the business models of some of the top blogs are based on traffic and advertising revenues, for the individual agent it comes down to listings and sales. I'll take contracts over comments every time! Thanks for commenting.
Mariana - It was fun and really eye-opening to see what others are writing about and how they're doing it. ActiveRain takes away any 'barriers to entry' into blogging, and there's a tremendous amount of encouragement here for new bloggers. Thanks, and BlogSpeed!
Bryant - I've had a few contacts (usually phone or email) from my AR blog that have lead to listings and sales, so I know that we're making solid connections with consumers. Not sure the AR Team can do this, but it would be interesting to see just how much traffic our blogs are getting from outside of ActiveRain. Thanks for your comment!
Lola - Thanks for your comment. The 750 Blogs originally started as 500, and you're right, it's also a great source for outside reading.
Linda - Thank you! The time that I spent was worth it for all of the great content and ideas I found.
A note about this article. It was featured in Active Rain's Week in Review 6/18/07---6/24/07
This post was one of the Top 25 picks for the week! Congratulations and thanks for writing a great blog!
John, this was wonderfully informative and insightful. I've bookmarked it so I can check out all of the other blogs you provided. Thanks to Angie's picks of the week, I found your article. I've also rated it a 5!
Question? What is a blogroll? I'll add that to my list of items prepared on my blog. Thanks for the post.
John... this was great. Thanks for sharing this. Your last paragraph summed it up completely. Great summary... and I am ready to learn. ;o) And I gave this a 5, just for the sheer volumes that it speaks in regards to your insight of AR, compared to other sites. kudos
David - You're welcome. Enjoy the links.
Angie - Thanks for the recognition! I really appreciate it.
Teri - Thanks for the 5! A blogroll is a list of other blogs that a blogger posts on their home page. (There's also been discussion lately about creating a separate 'Links' page for them). They may be blogs on the same topic, blogs the author reads, or any other criteria.
Jeff - Thanks for stopping by. There were a few good lending blogs on the lists. Hopefully that will lead you to even more.
Jonathan - Thank you. With all of the encoraging comment, I think I'll expand on this over the next few months.
Midori - Thanks! There's so much great content out there that it's tough to keep up. Maybe a feed reader would help streamline things? That's something I need to research for another post.
Joanne - Thanks for your comment. It was more curiosity than research for me, but glad I could share this and help others learn as well.
John-I just went through the links...Wow, this is awesome...You got the best of the best info....I love it....
Thank you so much for sharing.... I am really considering a RSS feed, my husband really thinks it will help too!
Scott - ActiveRain will definitely get you started in the right direction, but it's important to look outside the Rain as well. Thanks for stopping by.
Midori - I really appreciate the recognition and inclusion in the Spotlight. You've also inspired one of my next topics -- RSS feed readers. Thank you.
Lola - Thanks for creating the Blogger's Choice group. It's a great way to create an audience for some overlooked and deserving posts. I an honored to be selected for the Spotlight.
Hi John,
Great post, thanks for all the research. I am most active on active rain, although I do blog on my website (www.tomplant.com) and on wordpress. I find this is a wonderful community. I have received so much helpful feedback. I am trying to find my voice and will continue to post as often as I can with something I hope will be of interest. Does anyone else think it's funny that the AR spell checker doesn't recognize the word "blog"?