Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
BP Nation is approaching the 100,000 member mark (currently at 91,000+ and the average number of members active in a 24 hour period ranges from 700-800 each day.
My question is, will we start averaging 1000 members active each day before we hit the 100,000 member mark or vice versa?
To me, the more important mark is getting 1000+ users on each day (I am not talking about visitors, but active members using the site each day). The more active users on each day, the better the activity is. While adding more members is great and will help increase the daily count, I think it is important to recognize that BP Nation members need to be active here and not sitting on the sidelines.
Speaking for some of the newbies to this site here. I love this site and have told everyone I know about it. I have learned more then I can tell you from it. and I have been investing for a while. It took me three months before I signed in for the first time. Here's why
There are a lot of big players on this site with mass amounts of knowledge and we all know our $0.02 is welcome and accepted.
However knowing the level of talent on this site it can still be hard to sign in because nobody wants to look stupid.
I, myself have anwsered some threads and compared my thoughts to some of the others peoples comments and felt " Why did I bother' they know more than I do.
We know we are welcome. It just takes some people more time to get used to the idea that even if we feel uncomfortable with writing in our thoughts are still welcome.
I agree, active members are more important than number of members.
I think that many would benefit from being more active just not sure how to encourage that activity. I think if more investors realized the value of networking they would be here by the droves.
Bill Gulley - If you are on here any much more than you are now, the entire system will crash for overload! I guess the new influence system really affected you and your desire to stay perfect at 100!
20 psots a day will keep you there I'm sure.
Bill Gulley - If you are on here any much more than you are now, the entire system will crash for overload! I guess the new influence system really affected you and your desire to stay perfect at 100!
20 psots a day will keep you there I'm sure.
Actually, I really wrenched my back (discs) and I have been laid up and bored. I'm really not under the influence, but medicated at times.....yahooooo! Maybe I should make room for others too, just seems it's been moving awfully slowly.
Although I peruse the BP forums daily while at work, I felt obligated to be one of the first to respond to this thread in regards to attempting to be more active in posting on the forums.. as you can see from my posts I don't do so very often!
I'm currently in the market to snag my first investment (which I may just rent out my current townhome and move into a SFR capable of renting out later on - unless I refi my townhome and go from there.)
Anyways! I do enjoy your guys' posts, and learn a lot from them. Just a matter of time (perhaps by year-end) that I obtain my first rental SFR (unless I turn my primary residence into a rental, which is a townhome).
Anyone else care to join me from departing the sidelines and being a little more proactive? :)
Will, I haven't been as active as I could be and I'll try to be better. :) BP really is a great place for people of all levels of experience to help each other out. I appreciate the members such as yourself who are willing to be on here and share as much as you do.
I hope to get as active as I once was. My influence is taking a hit because of the problems in my personal life. I have had several people email me from BP but just haven't had the chance to get all cylinders hitting again.
Great point Will Barnard. Having more active members is more important than having more total members. That is why the new BP influence system is so much better than the old one.
As a newbie I try not post until I've read through threads and become familiar with the site. Most times the questions I need answers to have already been discussed.
As a newbie I try not post until I've read through threads and become familiar with the site. Most times the questions I need answers to have already been discussed.
Jennifer N. - That is certainly understandable, but do keep in mind that this site is not just about learning the answers to our burning questions, but also about networking. The more posts you engage in, the more "exposure" you get and thus, have better chances of actually DOING DEALS with other BP Members. That is one of the greatest benefits, but to get it, you have to stay active and post. There is nothing wrong with letting people know what you are looking for and what you are interested in investing in (of course, do so according to forum rules, no solicitations). The more people you engage, the better your chances of doing deals with others, or forming partnerships, JV's, etc.
I'm in agreement that daily participation is more important (and more interesting) than membership. What counts as active participation? If there are 800 users in day, what are they doing? I'm not seeing 800 different users on the message board on most days, am I? I look at the blog updates and some of the articles, and some are interesting and informative, but many are thin on content and seem like filler to get traffic to their own site.
Joshua Dorkin I've had two people PM me about posts I participated in this past week. Both said they were writing to me off the board because they are non-paying members and they can't post on the board. I sent them both back and asked them to try again. Maybe there's some confusing info when people sign up for membership that nonpaying members can't post. Isn't our top poster a nonpaying member?
K. Marie Poe - Users do not have to pay to post in our Q&A areas, however, to participate in our dealmaking and marketplace forum areas, a PRO account is required.
You can certainly connect with people via PM and off the boards, but any kind of ads or solicitations made ON THE FORUMS requires a PRO or PRO Basic account.
BiggerPockets is a community, but is not inexpensive to run. In order to provide the service that we provide, we must make money somewhere, and one of the ways we do that is to charge people for the opportunity to market or solicit via the forums.
You'll see that the vast majority of our forum areas are 100% free.
I hope that clarifies things. Let me know if you have any more questions . . . perhaps you can do so via PM or in a new thread so we can keep this one on track.
K. Marie Poe - Paying members would be Pro account members. ALL members can post in threads (with the exception of a few requiring some minimum posts and the pro account thread). The only difference is that pro account members can PM anyone whereas a non-paying member without the pro account must "request" to be colleagues before sending you a PM. That and many other benefits is what the upgraded account to Pro gives you.
Perhaps they just do not understand that free membership only limits ho you can PM, not who can post in threads.
Will Barnard and Joshua Dorkin Thanks for your replies. My understanding of posting and membership was already as you described. These members were PMing me because they believed that they couldn't respond on any forum thread as non paying members. The threads and PMs were informational only and didn't involve dealmaking or advertising. I'm only mentioning it because it happened twice with two different members. Wanted to make sure there isn't some way in which new members get the wrong impression when they sign up. This thread is about active participation of members. I personally don't find the site and the forums 100% user friendly, so thought I'd pass on my experience with members who didn't even know they could post.
K. Marie Poe - Thanks for sharing the feedback.. Perhaps you could PM the members back and have them get in touch with me. I'd love to get their feedback. In fact, I'd love to hear from you as well (shoot me a PM) with your feedback on the forums.
We work very hard to make sure this place is user-friendly, and of course, a great place to network, and I realize we're not going to get it perfect, but all the feedback certainly does help.
In support of getting more people involved on the site, here is a difference I have noticed:
I've been a member for quite a while, but my activity was sporadic at best. I started posting my blog on BP but it was a duplicate of my own blog before I realized that would impact me negatively on google rankings (duplicate content). So I starting trying to post daily, and to share some threads and links on other social networking sites. I've seen a marked increase in the number of people who contact me and mention my posts on BP. And most of those people have not necessarily answered on forum posts, so are simply lurking.
So the point is, even if it's not immediately evident, people respond as they get to know me through my posts. It's a credibility builder and a valuable part of my daily routine.
So I encourage some of you lurkers to jump in and say something. You never know what could come of it.
That's great! Thanks for sharing, Ann Bellamy. I'm glad to hear that you've found a strategy that is working for you and that is successful. You've been adding some great value to the community, and I know it will continue to pay off for you.
I have been on Biggerpockets just over 2 1/2 years, it was free to join and I don't even recall if there was a pro paying designation.
I'm probably the only guy here who does not seek any buisness relationship of any kind with other memebers.
I have had more than 2 non-paying mebers contact me, I believe I have pages of PMs of people seeking answers and business relationships. Just to let Josh know, I have thousands of emails, much of it I consider spam, but have hu nundreds where I have been asked if I would participate in deals.....my answer has always been no. So knocking off 400 emails off my email account is a weekly chore and a PIA at times.
But a few do get replies and assistance, that's free assistance!
I have sat at my desk and was paid consultation fees in real estate and financing issues comparable to attorney fees. I'm not an attorney but that is only to say that many have sought my advice and paid very well for it.
Keeping that in mind and the fact that I don't even know what the BP fees are since I have never looked them up, I can't see me paying to provide comments and advice.
However, I think that what ever the fees might be to make connections here and do conduct business through BP would be money very well spent. For those who have any plans whatsoever to make money related to this site I encourage you to do so and join at whatever would be the appropriate status to do so.
Frankly, I have received small gifts from those running other sites to participate on their site and while I have contributed on other sites, it has been nothing like my participation here on BP. And no, I'm not asking for anything of Josh.
What would help the community too is for some to be a little more professional and drop the highschool kid attitudes and personal jabs when arising out of any disagreement with another poster or from having been corrected. I have made mistakes here and I have also acknowledged them. I believe we should all consider our audiance as it continues to grow to put our best foot forward.
I'm really looking forward to the new PM system, hopefully that will be a big plus for us to communicate.....which brings me to another point;
I don't follow and make connections with others here, not because I'm being snobby or don't like anyone, but I can see that as an endorsement of sorts and I simply don't endorse others as I never know who will come up with what scheme, program or mess up with some other member. I simply distance myself from any potential associations in business dealings. Now, if I decide to change my ways, I might go there too.
Joshua Dorkin, hopefully, understands my thinking here and considers my efforts as a contribution to his efforts over the years.
Bill Gulley, I'm not even sure that K. Marie Poe was referring to you. There are a number of posters who have more posts than you do, so perhaps she didn't mean you at all. Don't mean to stir the pot here, just to calm the waters.
I'm not sure I would have read it as snide, either, I don't think it was meant to be derogatory.
I'm not aware of any 5,000+ posters who at this 100 thing level who are'nt pro whatevers, I could be mistaken and if so, my appologies, I just made the judgment based on recent posts.
I'd think too it wouldn't be stirring the pot if both of us were not mentioned suggesting a reply, then you are the peace maker in this case....well done, If i was wrong my appolgies....my explanation still has merit as to my position here. Peace!