I'm sure this topic has been posted "to death," but I am tossing it out there again for the folks who are newbies: WHY DO YOU BLOG? (I am speaking about Active Rain postings).
When I first discovered AR and began posting, I admit it was MOSTLY for the POINTS. That was the competitive streak in me. Generally, I am not really very competitive. But still, in the beginning, this POSTING FOR POINTS went on for some time. Too long, in fact. Then it began making me feel like a cheater of sorts. Made me feel kind of dirty. You know, like when you were in school and hadn't studied for a test and craned your neck to take a peek at your fellow student's paper. Though I wasn't copying anyone's posts in AR, I still felt creepy about just writing "anything" to gain some points. The "great bloggers" on AR spend a lot of time and put a lot of thought into their posts. Me, I was just throwing anything out there to see if it would stick.
...Now, though my posts are never earth-shattering or inspirational or long and poetic, I do TRY to write about something that may be helpful to a fellow Realtor or a client. I also keep them short because that's the only way I know how to write---to the point.
So...back to the question:
Do you POST for POINTS 
if so.....it's OKAY. Just keep blogging. We are ALL welcome here!!!!
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I've seen people comment for points, but I post only things that I think people should know about.
If you want to earn points, play World of Warcraft. If you want to earn business, demonstrate your expertise in that business.
While I am competitive, I post mostly to increase traffic to my site, increase my page rank and market my listings. I love Googling the address of one of my listings and being listed down the entire first page (thanks, AR!)! I use this on listing presentations accompanied by the same search on a listing in the same neighborhood that is with another office; if they are listed more than once, it is unususal. Internet savvy sellers get the power of this!
Be of service! The rewards will come!
Kathy:
At first I was so new that I got jazzed about just signing up and doing my first blog, then I kept seeing all this information on points, and I wonder what the heck is this all about. So, I looked into it and found that for the amount of time one has to dedicate to blogging --- to get the points,---it would so cut into the real estate business that I need to do. So, I use the old adage to do things in moderation, I comment on blogs that I find interesting and I write on subjects that I feel bring something to the table.
That was brutally honest :) Fame, points, ego....I presume it all starts out that way for all of us. Do it for google juice and you get even more competitive with the whole world lol!
I write because I like to. Up until 3 weeks ago I never planned any Blog, just wrote if I had something to say. But now I am changing my Marketing so have a Monday and a Tuesday for sure new Post.....and then if I feel like writing one later in the week, fine, if not that's fine too. I mostly love reading and commenting. Points...yea give them to me if I earned them, but I won't write just to get them :)
Kathy, neat post. I've been blogging for a long time. It's so nice to be in an environment where I can connect with people of like business interest. I can honestly say I blog to inform and share my thoughts on matters of importance to me and hopefully others.
Ced