So word on the street is that someone was able to hijack the AR code base and they are now making it possible for ActiveRainers to 'myspace' their ActiveRain blog.
I am dying to see what our members have done with this new ability, but since this type of activity has not been officially sanctioned I cannot make a directory featuring all of the creative Rainers that have taken advantage of this new discovery.
So the only option I have left is to create an ActiveRain Blacklist; a list of all of the most aggressive rule benders in our network. These are the type of people that are always on the cutting edge, always finding some way to capitalize on a new technology to make more money. These are the type of people that we really need to watch closely.
This blog post will serve to become the official ActiveRain Blacklist and will show the first 25 custom ActiveRain blogs that are submitted to me, or I find through my own research. (Please note: my personal research will include the use of my super secret agent police force.)
Depending on which direction we formally take regarding these custom ActiveRain blogs, the members exposed on this list will either be permanently banned from ActiveRain, or given a few hundred bonus points.
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Before I get to the list, I would like to draw attention to the type of custom design that will not receive bonus points under any circumstance!
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The ActiveRain Blacklist:
1. Brad Carroll (the linchpin of this revolution)
2. Bobby Carroll (the linchpin's father)
5. Jonathan Washburn (I have been notified that someone has apparently hacked into my account too!)
9. Cindy Bryant
10. Alan Kirkpatrick
11. Gina Kay Landis
12. Maureen Henry
13. Jeff Turner
14. Kris Wales
15. Dorene Shirley
16. Steven Odierno
17. Veena Grover
18. Leslie Prest
19. Anthony Clark
20. Miriam Berstein
More to come...
P.S. Thank you Jason for being one of my top informers.


Thanks Penny! What operating system and browser do you use? We will look into it.
Jon - I was hoping to go with the Coyote Ugly theme, but couldn't get it to all fit in the banner! LOL!~
I chose doctors and nurses under the pretense that mine is still just "A Practice!"
BTW - love the van and the see through windows, nice!! :-)
Jo, Thanks for filling us in with more details. We will work on it.
Brad, The Coyote Ugly theme was my original background but Bob made me take it down. What a dictator! ;)
Courtney, You have been added to the blacklist. Good work!
I love being one of the cool kids!
http://activerain.com/blogs/anthonyclark
Anthony that red in your header looks great! Thanks for the heads up.
Me too, http://activerain.com/blogs/maxwell
Just love the way this looks,
I have been good and followed the rules and request to wait.....so what now?
Miriam, Great job!
Cynthia, Somethings coming for sure....
Ok - here is mine for now - that was fun - sort of!!
http://activerain.com/blogs/jososs
Wow! Totally cool and Amazing......jeez, more homework assignments !!
I love it..up and looking good!
http:www.activerain.com/blogs/midori
How did Kevin move his A|R logo to the other side and how did Nicole get curved edges???
Here's my first attempt: http://activerain.com/blogs/spengel
Is there any chance that the first 20 will get flip video cameras from AR?????? :)
I'm in - but I need to keep working on my animated background image.
Maybe I'll settle for a static one. I think my image is so big I should be banned forever!
http://activerain.com/blogs/mikemueller
Still working on it
It looks ok here
I like what I see - this is the 2nd one I noticed. Give me a day or two and I'll be there.
PS - is that really your time machine with the canoe on top?
Well, I am going to be a reverse rebel, and leave mine just like it is.
After a few months when everyone is dizzy from the flashy colors, and tired of waiting for some of the slow loads times, they'll be asking me where my clean and simple design came from! Did you notice some of the new hacked pages with particularly complex backgrounds do load a little slowly?
It seems the rebellion is in full swing. Me thinks I need to write a blog design 101 post for those among us who have been living on MySpace to long absorbing to many freaky page designs. :>)
Here are some examples of good designs that mimic their websites:
Betty Cutler
Meg Zoller
Just finished my header but will work on a better one once I know AR is not going to pull the plug on these(so I don't spend too much time on something I wont be able to use for long).
http://activerain.com/blogs/kansascityrealestate
Yippie......I finally got mine working. Take a peak and you can add me to the BLACK LIST
http://activerain.com/blogs/gainesvillehomes
Okay...
You got me...
<CLICK OVER>
And decide whether to laugh or toss me out of the Rain :)
TLW...ROAR!
I love it!!!! Here's mine.
http://activerain.com/blogs/tutas
Now I think you may need to really scrutinize TLW's new Crap-A-Rama Blog.
Hi Jon, as one of the rule benders I've decided it was time to turn myself in.
Here's a link to the evidence... The Art Of Marketing You blog
Nice blog header BTW!
I wonder if this is having an effect on the painful slowness of the blog pages to load? Or is something else causing the technical difficulties today?
I never noticed this before the upgrade, but since the upgrade it seems the individual posts get scrunched up a lot more than the total blog (not enough horizontal space). Was this an issue before? It's bugging the hell out of me, and trying to get my posts to behave is a real pain..... : )
Here's a thought ---- How about setting it up so people can use one design on Localism, and a different design on Active Rain.
http://activerain.com/blogs/missycaulk
Probably didn't make first 25 but I was one, missed the post. :(
Jonathan,
I had a funny feeling Jason was a 'plant'!!! LOL Thanks, Fran
Geeze, I'm gone for a little while and all this coolness breaks out without me. I promise to never leave again. I'm in!
Sweet! I've never been blacklisted! (At least not to my knowledge!) Before becoming a teacher....I was always the teacher's pet. But, at least I'm using my Super Tech Power for good....focusing solely on benefits for agents!
Thanks for the mention Jonathan...I'm proud to be on your list and will continue to share helpful tech and marketing insight with the AR community!
And here's my counterpart....the supertech guru himself, Reggie Nicolay's AR blog: http://activerain.com/blogs/renicolay
Johnathan - I've got my active rain blog customized! Put me on the list! I'm working on it now, trying to make it even better. I'd like to add a few tools I see on Nik Niks' right side bar like feedburner feed, etc. but not sure yet how to do it. I'll stay up all night if I have to!!! http://activerain.com/blogs/blue60