ActiveBob.....It's always Raining!

I'll overlook the fact that he is from the East coast. I'll overlook the fact that he is a Boston Red Sox fan (although I will rejoice in the fact the Mariners finally got a win against those Red Sox yesterday). I'll overlook the fact that he won the ActiveRain video contest and took my seat at the Seth Godin seminar.

The guy has a great sense of humor; for that alone, I think we could be friends.

Today however, he crossed the line. Waiting in my inbox this morning was a piece of blatant spam from Mr. 'I think we could be friends'. Luckily he has a great sense of humor so I think I can overlook the assault on my inbox (but I am seriously reconsidering the Red Sox thing.....)

Check out this video and you tell me if you think we still have a chance to be friends.

(Vote for him, digg him, support him..........he could be my friend)

Rarely a day goes by that I don't find myself roaming the (cyber)halls of ActiveRain. It's my job. I have never confirmed this with Matt (I don't know if he can confirm it) but you would be hard pressed to find someone that views as many pages or spends as much time on this site as I do. Rich, Brad or Nicole would certainly give me a run for my money but they wouldn't beat me by much. Every now and then I take a break. It usually coincides with a weekend and the chance to spend some time with my family. Sometimes all it takes is two days out of the 'Rain' to make me feel like I have completely missed out on what is going on (My editor said this makes me sound conceited and really doesn't add to the purpose of this post.......so to show him who's boss, I have chosen to leave the content and force you to try to read through the line...hahaha)

For you, our great members, there are probably stretches of time when you don't get the chance to engage here as much as you may like. Some commercial ringing in my head said......"Life Happens" and it couldn't be truer. Business also happens and you have no doubt found yourself with so much on your plate that stopping by and checking on ActiveRain didn't fit into your schedule. However, Once you catch the bug, many members fit ActiveRain into their daily schedule no matter what. Until you figure out the real benefits to you, some members may struggle to fit it into their daily schedule because they can't quantify the benefits.

So we are going to bring ActiveRain to your inbox. We just put the finishing touches on our ActiveRain newsletter (thanks in large part to Glin, our new designer). We plan on doing something daily (five days a week) and I wonder if that would put any undue burden on your inbox? As long as we make the opt-out painless, I would think the burden would be minimal. Since you had no opt-in decision when you first signed up, I'm looking for feedback on how you feel about it.

Here's what the newsletter will look like (image on the left........as if you, my perceptive reader needed to be pointed to only image on the post :-) )

The newsletter will contain a collection of featured posts, tutorials, messages from ActiveRain, featured video content, a featured member of the day/week (someone whose contributions to the network are above and beyond what you would expect of someone.....and there are many of you), a featured group of the week, a few advertisements, and some other goodies stashed in there every so often. 

Our goal is to keep our members up to speed when they aren't able to actually visit the site as often as they might like. We also stand to make a few dollars on advertising, but it will be unobtrusive much like the current advertising we run on the site. It will be very easy for you to opt out as well (although we hope the prospect of some great content will keep you involved) 

I feel like the benefits to our newer member, and those that have stopped by but never really took the time to get engaged will be immense. We are so excited about the growth and evolution of ActiveRain and we want to share that excitement with all 86,000+ members. So.........let me have it! Where do you stand?

Let me start by wishing all the Mom's out there the very best and happiest Mother's Day.....Beverly my wife and best friend and especially Shannon, the newest Mom I know and the Mother of my grandson, Luke.  

I have a true appreciation of the "profession", as I believe that it is one of the hardest and yet most satisfying of all, at least that is what my Mom always said.  My Mom always gave to us, long before she took care of herself.....she was of an old school that everyone ate before her, she never sat still at the table and made sure all was cleaned up before she moved out of the kitchen.  I never knew what the day truly meant until I had lost my Mom, and then it hit me.....this day was to "honor" my Mom for all the BIG and little things she so unselfishly did for me....I miss her dearly.

I miss my Mom and I hope that our children and grandchildren remember (and they do most of the time) all that they have to be thankful for when it comes to their Mom......always let Mom hear that you love her and always thank her (sometime just because).....I will always pray for all Mother's and remember that it isn't just about the one day a year, Mom's day should be everyday......as far as I am concerned, Mom's never let us down!