BiggerPockets Founder's Blog

Connecting on BiggerPockets: Followers & Colleagues

Connecting with others on BiggerPockets couldn't just got easier. There are two ways that you can connect -- as a Follower and Colleague.

Followers & Colleagues: What are they?

Following

When you follow another user, what you're telling our system is that you're interested in seeing their various activities around the site, including posting of property listings, blog articles, and files, as well as other actions.

Colleagues

Colleagues can see everything that Followers can see, but they can also send one another private message. In addition, if you've got a profile that is private to everyone but colleagues, your colleagues will be able to see the details you've got posted, whereas followers or others will not.

How to Connect as a Follower or Colleague on BiggerPockets

On a user's profile, next to their forum posts, and next their blog posts, you'll find a Connect link. Once you click that link, you'll see a dropdown that will allow you to follow or send a colleague request to that user.

Simply click follow and you'll start following them. If you click "Send Colleague Request," you will be taken to a page where you can send a personal message with your request. It is in your best interest to provide a professional introduction, and to explain why you're looking to connect with that user.

Once you've entered your note and click "Send Request" the other user will be notified on their Notifications on site and by email of the request. If you've entered a message, that will appear in their inbox.

They can then choose to accept, reject, or ignore the request.

Now, the recipient of a colleague request can also elect to respond to the message in the request before or after responding to the request itself, just as you would respond to a private message.

Other Conditions:

Adding a Colleague Request After Following Someone - Just click the connect link and you'll see that you can send a request there.

Spontaneous Colleagues - When users follow one another, they become colleagues spontaneously.

Removing a Colleague - Just go to the Colleagues link on the left of your dashboard and click the red circle with the minus sign in it to remove any colleagues.

@Mentions Come to BiggerPockets

Hey Everyone! We wanted to start the New Year with style, so we've brought you a new feature that we think will better help you to connect and communicate with others here on the forums.

We've adopted what has become standard protocol on the large social networks -- @ mentions.

Users can now mention their colleagues and those people who have already posted in a thread that you're responding to with the @ symbol.

Simply type your forum post as you normally would, and when you want to mention someone, type @ followed by their name. Once you enter the first two characters of the person's name, it will appear below. Select the person by clicking on their name and you'll have created a mention. You'll know you did it correct when you see the name highlighted in blue.

When you post your message, the person you mention will appear highlighted with the @ symbol in front and they will receive a notification on the site and in their inbox of the mention.

Jump on the forums and give it a go; you can test it out in our thread announcing the feature: BP Update 6.5.1: @Mentions Now Enabled on BiggerPockets

Announcing BiggerPockets PRO Basic: Better Networking, New Search, and More

Today is a big day for us here at BiggerPockets, with the launch of Version 6.4 of the site!

Here's a look at the new changes:

Introducing BiggerPockets PRO Basic!

Since the launch of our BiggerPockets PRO accounts, many users have requested that we add an additional tier of membership that is less expensive, but which has valuable features to enhance their experience on the site. I'm happy to announce that we've created that tier -- BiggerPockets PRO Basic -- and have brought many of the old PRO features to our new PRO Basic members for the LOW price of ONLY $5/month

FEATURES OF PRO BASIC:

Better Networking:

We've rebuild our "Find Members" page. The new page still shows the newest members and our PRO members, but there is an important addition.

Find Users Using our Label Filter System!

We've created a new search functionality that allows our users to find members based on the labels they have set in their profile, including occupation and interests, the markets the service, the number of deals they have done, and any certifications they may have.

Our PRO Basic members can also click on labels on a user's profile and find other users sharing a similar label.

We expect the label sorting and search functionality to vastly enhance the way users find and network with one another. Even if you're not a PRO or PRO Basic member, we strongly URGE you to edit your profile and label yourself!

Send More Colleague Requests:

Instead of being limited to having 10 standing colleague requests at a time, our PRO Basic members now have 15

PM both Colleagues and Followers:

Instead of only being able to send a private message to your colleagues, our PRO Basic members can also send a PM to those people who follow them.

Join More Groups:

Instead of being able to join only 20 groups, our PRO Basic members can join up to 40 groups.

More Property Notifications:

We've upped the number of property notifications you can set from 3 filters to 10 filters.

Manage More Tasks:

Instead of only being able to create 5 tasks in our Task Management system, our PRO Basic members can create up to 15 tasks. Additionally, ALL members can now create Categories to better organize all of their tasks.

Download More Files:

Our PRO Basic members can download up to 15 files from our FilePlace per week, an increase from the 10 per week our free members can download.

Make Private File Uploads:

Our PRO Basic members can now upload and save their real estate files in their own private file repository. Whereas our free members can only upload files that they wish to share with others, PRO members can utilize their own private, cloud based file-management system.

Search Your PM Inbox:

Our PRO Basic members have the ability to search the contents of their private message inbox. Those users who regularly use our PM system to communicate with others will find this search quite helpful in locating those messages you were looking for.

Post in Our Dealmaking and Marketplace Forum Areas:

Posts in our Dealmaking and Marketplace forum areas generate hundreds to thousands of views each. We've made it so users now must have either at least a PRO Basic account in order to start a new thread in some of these forums, and in others, you will need an upgraded account to post or reply.

Our Q&A forums will forever remain free to view, post, or reply in, but we felt that charging to access the areas of the forums where users directly benefit financially, was a necessicary change to ensure the ongoing future growth of BiggerPockets.

All forums that require a PRO Basic or PRO account clearly designate this on their main index page, but include:

DEALMAKING:

Make Deals, Find Partners, Mentors & BirdDogs, etc.
Promote Your Real Estate Buyer's List
Property Wanted
Seeking Financing, Money, or Loans
Tax Liens, Notes, Paper, & Cash Flows Dealmaking
Bulk REO Discussion and REO Dealmaking

MARKETPLACE:

Mortgages & Lending
Residential Property, Land, & Farms For Sale
Real Estate Events & Happenings
Commercial Properties for Sale or Lease
Domains & Website Reviews
Classifieds - Promote your Website, Newsletter, or Product

More to Come . . .

We are also working with our partners to bring offers and incentives to our PRO Basic members. As these are announced, we'll be sure to let everyone know about them!

What are you waiting for?

Upgrade to BiggerPockets PRO Basic or PRO Today!

Spreading the BiggerPockets Message Through New Syndication Partners

We've been working hard for years to create the best destination online for real estate investing information, knowledge sharing, & networking, and that hard work is starting to pay off. While we've had some fantastic press mentions over the years, the BiggerPockets message is just now starting to spread.

Over the past two months, we've completed several hugely important deals, which have not only spoken to the credibility that we've built here, but which have begun to help us spread the word that BiggerPockets is THE place for investors. I believe that the time has come for real estate investing to become the property of real estate investors, not the gurus, snake oil salesmen, slumlords, and other folks who have for years given us all a bad name.

It is my mission to help empower investors, and to make sure that everyone knows the important role that we play in shaping our neighborhoods and the overall local, regional, and national economies. We have compiled a team of expert contributors who are second to none in real estate, and the deals I'm about to share with you couldn't have happened without their dedication to bettering others.

With all that in mind, here are the highlights:

Just today, we put out the first syndicated BiggerPockets article on Business Insider. The site, which is one of the top destinations for business news, commentary, and information, also happens to be one of the busiest sites on the web. Look out for future BP posts over there, and be sure to check our first, For Investors, Renting To Own Is The Ultimate Win-Win.
Last week we kicked off a new BiggerPockets column on AOL Real Estate. I’m extremely excited about this syndication deal and the opportunity to bring the expertise of the BiggerPockets team to AOL; I very much look forward to the doors that will hopefully open as a result. Don’t miss my article, Real Estate Investing: Learn What the Pros Know or today's piece Thinking About Investing in Real Estate? Take 5 Tips from a Pro, which actually made the front page of AOL.com.
Before AOL and BI, BiggerPockets established our first blog syndication deal over at Realtor.com. Make sure to check out some of the awesome articles from the team over there.

Lots of thanks to our new partners; I'm honored to be working with such great people and companies.

AOL Brings BiggerPockets to the Masses

I'm excited to share some important news about a new relationship that will not only help spread the word about BiggerPockets, but which will help expand our credibility and will hopefully educate a whole new breed of real estate investor.

On Friday, the first post in a new BiggerPockets column on AOL Real Estate went live:

Real Estate Investing: Learn What the Pros Know

This column, along with our relatively new column on Realtor.com, expands the reach of BiggerPockets; it helps to bring the vast amount of real estate investing expertise that we provide to the masses. I'm also excited that the incredible contributors to the BiggerPockets Blog will get even more visibility and hopefully, business.

Thank you to everyone for continuing to stand by and support me and BiggerPockets. It has been a long and difficult ride, but we're starting to make some real strides, and I believe that we are changing both the real estate investing community and the general public's view of that community, for the better.

Here's to the future . . .

BiggerPockets Re-Integrated with Facebook!

Today we wrapped up one of the last steps in our re-integration with Facebook! BiggerPockets members will now be able to connect their BiggerPockets accounts to their Facebook accounts and can elect whether to share their new discussions, blogs, property listings and other content both here and on Facebook.

New members of BiggerPockets can save time by registering using our connection with Facebook, and those members who are connected can do a one step login instead of entering their username and password.

How to Connect to Facebook if You Have a BiggerPockets Account

Simply go to the Account dropdown and click on our new Connections link.

There, you can connect to Facebook and set your sharing preferences.

To Come . . .

We haven't yet added the ability to invite your Facebook friends to join you on BP, but that will come in the days ahead.

Please Connect Your Account to Facebook!

And help spread the word about your posts and activities here on BP