Awkward Dinner Parties

April Blooms in Crofton, Maryland

Margaret Woda, Maryland Real Estate (Long and Foster, Crofton Real Estate) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:35:18 -0500

Crofton, Maryland, is located in Anne Arundel County, home of the U.S. Naval Academy, Fort George G. Meade, NSA, BWI, and Northrop Grumman; about 35 minutes from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore Maryland.

Crofton is a "community," however, and not just a subdivision or zipcode . The distinction is in the residents who make Crofton one of Money Magazine's Top 100 Best Places to live.

One of the residents responsible for making Crofton, Maryland, the community it is today is Kaye Callahan.

As a young mom in the late 60's/early 70's, Kaye spearheaded the effort to line Crofton Parkway with flowering cherry trees and other sections of the community with Bradford Callery Pear trees. Crofton residents have enjoyed the fruits of her efforts (or should I say "blooms" of her efforts) for four decades. Here are a few pictures to show you April in Crofton, Maryland, thanks to Kaye Callahan.

Don't you love our Cherry Trees?

Thanks again, Kaye, for bringing such beauty to a community that could have been just another suburban subdivision of cookie-cutter homes. It truly is the people - not just the location or the homes - that make Crofton a special place to live!

If you're relocating to the Baltimore-Washington area for a new job at Fort George G. Meade, Andrews AFB, the U.S. Naval Academy, BWI, NSA, NASA Goddard, Northrop Grumman or anywhere in the D.C.-Baltimore area, consider Crofton.

Want to see homes in Crofton? Check out this slide show:

Note: These homes are not for sale. They are intended only to give you an idea of what to expect in the community.

Getting your Invite Points

Nicole Rae (ActiveRain Corp.) — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:00:35 -0500

Continuing in my series on Technical Support Tickets: Invitation Points

I am going to answer some of the most common questions that I get on invites.

Why does it say "NOT ACCEPTED"?

Think of the "NOT ACCEPTED" as a place holder until the invited person accepts the invite. Our system automatically classifies unaccepted invites as NOT ACCEPTED. Don't take it personally.

I sent 'so and so' an invite and they joined, but I am not getting points for their joining?

There are a few reasons why this could be happening

They joined, but did not join under your link. In this case you will want to have them e-mail me nicole@activerain.com with their username and YOUR username as the person that invited them.
They have not activated their account yet. Be patient!

The e-mails I am sending are not getting to people, what can I do?

You can ALWAYS send them a personal e-mail and insert in the e-mail the URL that is on your "Invite Others" page. This URL is located in the blue box at the top and will look something like this: http://activerain.com/action/referrals/(YOUR USERNAME)

Here are some good (In my humble opinion) tips when it comes to inviting members onto ActiveRain.

When inviting someone in your office, sit down with them to make sure that they got the invite and help them through the signing up process. If you help them through the process then you can make sure they use YOUR link and that their account gets activated. Giving you points.
If you can't work together in the same room, call them.
Be patient (Are you noticing a theme?). Just because they didn't accept the invite within the first 24 hours, doesn't mean they won't.
Once they are on ActiveRain, offer to help them. The more they spend their time on ActiveRain, the more points you will get from their participation on ActiveRain! I'm not saying be a point hussy about it, but it never hurt anyone to be a little more assertive with their peers :)

Remember, you can always send them to one of your local community builders for help!

At this point, I'd love to get some suggestions from YOU on what you'd like to hear me talk about more? I have ideas, but I'd like to know what you all want to hear, after all I am trying to help all of you, and it doesn't work if I keep writing about what I think you want to hear.

Meme'd

Nicole Rae (ActiveRain Corp.) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:17:56 -0500

Darn you Bob Stewart. Darn you.

Okay, well some (most? all?) of you are at SF Inman Connect, I am here at ActiveRain Command Headquarters in a top secret Location (Bellevue, WA) holding down the fort!! Be very afraid...

Anyways, I forgot to do this MeMe in which Bob tagged me, hence the "Darn you Bob Stewart". So enjoy getting to know me a little bit more, while I go to chew on a couple of wires on the server...I mean support tickets.

1. Who is your favorite musical artist?

This is a tough question. It changes almost daily...My dad was a music major in college so it was important to him that I listened to EVERYTHING. He told me I couldn't dislike something if I never listened to it. So I learned to pretty much like everything. Currently I've been listening to a lot of a band called Vampire Weekend. But if you want OVERALL favorite musical artist, it's a tie between Kurt Cobain and Harry Chapin. They are the reasons I started to play guitar and really get into music.

I learned this song for my dad and I've sadly forgetten how to play it, but I'm teaching myself again so I can play it again.

2. Who is your favorite artist?

Dali and VanGogh. Hands down. Next Question!

3. Who is your favorite blogger?

Me :P No really: Warren Ellis. That man cracks me up. I also read a web comic by him called Freak Angels, comes out every Friday.

4. If you could meet anyone (alive or dead), who would it be and what is the most interesting thing about them?

I would like to meet someone alive, because dead might be awkward. So, I think I would like to meet Johnny Depp because I look up to him as an Actor (one of my degrees is in Theater).

5. What did you want to be when you grew up?

Happy. I think in general that is a good answer for that question. I wanted to be a vet, but then I realized I would have to kill pets when they got old or sick...then I wanted to be a doctor, then I realized that I hated needles and blood. Then I became utterly amazed with rocks and dirt and wanted to be a Geologist...then I started writing and I wanted to be a writer and went to school for Journalism. I don't really want to be a journalist anymore, but I still want to be a Geologist and a novelist.

I would also like to point out that I am not done "growing up" I am 23 years old and still get my behind handed to me by my parents on a regular bases.

6. What is the most interesting piece of trivia you know?

That neon lights are made by hand. I heard this piece of information once and now it's pretty much stuck with me.

7. If you could live in any point in history what would it be and why?

I think I like living in the now :)

8. What is the most interesting job you have ever held?

Community Builder for ActiveRain. My day is never boring.

I'm not going to tag anyone. If you feel the need to do the meme then do so :)

Now, back to chewing-I mean working.

One Year...and Counting

Nicole Rae (ActiveRain Corp.) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:15:45 -0500

Believe it or not, I have been working for ActiveRain for about a year now. Today is the day I joined ActiveRain, on June 8th was my first official day...or was it the 6th?...I don't remember.

Doesn't it feel like it's been much longer then just a year? I mean it only seems like yesterday I was harassing all of you about your Localism photos. Hahaha, those were the days, *wipes away tear*. A lot has happened in a full year. Last year I was right out of college, and had no experience in the "Real World". ActiveRain was my very first job outside of being a nanny, working as a media technician, and a videographer in college. And other odd jobs that I would rather not experience again.

So what has changed in a year? Everything. My role here on ActiveRain has changed within this past year, but I have adapted. My job still continues to change and grow. Without growth we are nothing.

What about my life outside of ActiveRain? I think all of us here at ActiveRain can say, ActiveRain is a huge part of our lives. My day/night on ActiveRain effects my mood. I smile with the community, and I cry with the community. I have made some amazing friends by working here, not only with my co-workers (past and present), but with our members.

So, here's to one year at ActiveRain, and hopefully many more. Have a piece of cake, just leave me a piece :)

Changing Your Username

Nicole Rae (ActiveRain Corp.) — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:13:46 -0500

I've been looking for a subject that I can write about on a regular bases. Easy enough answer, Tech Support Tickets!

One of the main questions I get asked at the support desk is how can you change your username. You cannot change your username, but I can change it for you.

Here are some easy tips for when you send in a ticket like this:

Make sure you give me your current username. If you are not logged into ActiveRain when you send in this ticket, I will not know what your current username is. So just in case, let me know what your username is.
Have a NEW username already picked out. To see if the username is available, put http://activerain.com/(username) into your browser, and change "(username)" to the username you want to use. If you get someone's profile then the username is in use, and you need to pick another one.
A username cannot have capital letters, or spaces.
Make sure that the username I have changed it to is spelled right. I copy and paste exactly what you tell me you want as your username, so it is up to you to make sure that it is spelled correctly.
Log into your account after you receive my e-mail saying your username has been changed.
Write your new username down somewhere. Some good places are a piece of paper on your desk, in a Word Document on your computer, an old shoe, business card or even your spouses forehead...I'm kidding!!

After I have changed your username, I will let you know. So there will be no need to keep e-mailing asking if it has been done :)

Keep watching for more blog entries from this series!

Forgot your Username and Password?

Nicole Rae (ActiveRain Corp.) — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:22:52 -0500

If you have sent in a support ticket and asked about your username and password this is the message that I sent to you:

To retrieve your username and password please go to the login screen and click on "Forgot Your Password?" and type in your registered e-mail address and click "E-mail Me". An e-mail will be sent to you with your username and password. If you do not receive an e-mail check your spam e-mail as e-mails from ActiveRain sometimes get sent to the spam e-mail box. If you still do not receive an e-mail please let me know and we will go to the next step.

Here are three FAQs when it comes to this subject:

Well, what if my e-mail address is invaild?

Let me know! I can always change your e-mail address for you so you can have your username and your password sent to you.

Can you find out my password for me?

No. This goes against privacy regulations. We do not store ANYONES password on the system. This means that no one, not even the ActiveRain Staff can view your password.

I haven't gotten an e-mail, now what?

Again, let me know. I can find your username in the great ActiveRain halls, and I can even change your password for you. You will want to give me the password you would like to use as if you have me picking the password it will be something really lame and vegetable related :)

The other side of this support ticket is, what if you are signing up for ActiveRain and you get an error message that says that your e-mail address is already in the system, what do you do then?

You could try searching for your name or e-mail address in our search menu, but if your profile is not activated then it will not show up in our search. If you CAN'T find your profile, then click on the Contact Us link at the bottom of every page, and let me know. I can find your profile for you and either activate your account for you or give you the link to activate your account.

Soon you will be able to find links to all these blogs on the "Contact Us" page. This way, before you send in a support ticket you'll be able to see if it has already been answered here.

Where's My Link Points?

Nicole Rae (ActiveRain Corp.) — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:29:19 -0500

In continuing with this series we are moving along to Link Points. Here's some tips for Link Points.

Make sure that you already have the link on your page.
Please have the link be visible and not hidden. It's easier if it says "ActiveRain" if you are using a text link.
Make sure the link works and is not a dead link. You can click on it and it sends you to ActiveRain.
BE PATIENT! I go through Link Points One-By-One and it can take longer then the three to five days.
Do not send in the multiple times. This causes a back-up in the links, so instead of three pages to go through I can have up to 10. Trust me, it happens. :)
Review the Linking Guidelines
Make sure that your website works with FireFox, as that is the browser that i use when i am going through links. I do not have IE on my computer as I run a Mac and Linux.

I know that there is some confusion on what websites do not get points. These are the websites we are not giving out points for. This list will be updated as needed:

FaceBook
MySpace
Wannanetwork
Your Own ActiveRain Profile (seriously people, come on!)
Websites that no not have an ActiveRain link on them
You only get ONE set of points per domain
If you have a Blogspot blog, have at least more then 4 Blog entries. Make it look like you use it. :)

Keep looking for more from this series as it continues.

PS: Happy Cinco de Mayo! Remember, Tequila is NOT your friend.