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.
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 am not quite sure what that comment was intended to be or who at, but I read it as a funny joke pointed at Josh, being the owner, he is obviously not a "paying" member and has well over 5000 posts.
I too am well over that count, not at 100 influence anymore, but also a paying member through the "pro account". I agree with you Bill, anyone on this board with 5000+ posts has at least shown a commitment to being here and giving back, and are likely pros at what they do (perhaps not in every case, but I would venture to guess highly likely).
Getting back on topic, I certainly hope more members read this thread and use it as an invitation and challenge to engage the community on a consistent basis. Those who do will get results, plain and simple. Results can equate to deals, business, friends, education, etc.
I thought about paying but I figured my good looks and charm were already contribution enough!
I hope you are right.
At any rate, this is not about paying vs. non-paying members, it is about getting all members to engage on a regular basis.
For instance, over the last 24 hours, a total of only 707 members were active here. That number should be much higher each day with us close to 95k members.
That's a tough problem. Activity will likely be fed by new posts, new questions... if there is already sufficient coverage from the hyperactives among us to answer those questions, those who are less inclined to participate have an enabler not to need to answer the questions. To get past that, we either need to cut back on the hyperactives (say limit someone to 10 posts a day) or overwhelm them with so many posts they can't answer them all... this would require a large influx of new people on a pretty regular basis.
I understand the desire for activity... from a deal making and networking point of view it's obvious... but on the flip side, what I see as a casual observer is 90+% of questions quickly responded to and thoroughly answered. The knowledge base and activity level of our experienced members is phenomenal... and while diversity is always nice to hope for, I'm curious what people believe it truly adds?
Will Barnard - Don't forget that many members visit the site, but never login. With our forums and blogs open for anyone to read, there is a downside and that's it. On the upside, our new Dashboard only allows people in your network to connect with you, so that will certainly incentivize people to start logging in and engaging more.
That said, you are right about one thing . . . there are far too many users who simply aren't fully utilizing the site for their benefit.
Many people are just not comfortable participating in an online community for whatever reasons. Luckily for those people they can browse the forums and get a lot of answers for free. Unfortunately for those people, they will never get the full informational benefits, much less the networking.
In the end, the fact that the forums are open is a good thing in my view, as many people end up joining after reading for a long period of time and many people would never sign up if they were not able to realize the amazing value of a membership via the forums being accessible.
@Bill G-I doubt that I did this at thing correctly but I wanted to chime in on this thread. I haven't checked recently how many posts I have but I am also not a pro member simply because I don't like the designation. I have been a donor on BP several times and I do try to reply to questions or e-mail messages from those that want my input. The previous poster could attest to that as he requested some answers from me and several other stereos BP members for an item that he is doing. I immediately responded with a response to his request.
I also have to agree with Bill on almost everything he said including the nitpicking or arguing. I have not spent much time on BP lately for exactly that reason, as it just isn't worth the hassle.
I am trying to be more involved the past few days as I have had time available. I do prefer to travel and when doing so it becomes more difficult to take time on the computer. In answer to the thread question, I believe we will hit 100,000 members first. Rich
That said, you are right about one thing . . . there are far too many users who simply aren't fully utilizing the site for their benefit.
This is true, but could not be realized by anyone who has not seen the value come back. All you can do is keep making improvements to the site to draw new members.
As it sits, it appears that we will easily hit 100,000 members before we even get close to the 1000 active members in one day mark. Perhaps that can be the next goal.
That said, you are right about one thing . . . there are far too many users who simply aren't fully utilizing the site for their benefit.
This is true, but could not be realized by anyone who has not seen the value come back. All you can do is keep making improvements to the site to draw new members.
As it sits, it appears that we will easily hit 100,000 members before we even get close to the 1000 active members in one day mark. Perhaps that can be the next goal.
Just curious Will Barnard or Joshua Dorkin, what exactly constitutes an active member? Are there certain criteria that must be met?
I try to log in and see what's going on here every day, but I may not post everyday. I'm still new so posting to some of the active threads at times is over my head and I don't want to give misguided or wrong information, but the upside to that is that I learn from those threads that I might not be able to post in. With that being said Bill Gulley and his wealth of knowledge was able to enlighten me as well as Dion DePaoli and there is one other I'm forgetting at the moment. I would say there will be 100k members before the 1,000 active in a day. I love this site, just wish there were more in my immediate area to contect with.
Michael Pilarski Loging in to your account and viewing the site (reading psost and such) is being "active" but "engaging" the site by posting is even better. regardless of your level of knowldge, you can still post. If not answering questions, then ask them.
Will Barnard I do try to post when I believe I can help. I'm just very careful. In regards to asking questions, most of the ones I need answers to have been answered previously so doing a search is easier than asking for the 800th time "how do I build a buyers list?". I believe the project that Joshua Dorkin is working on will eliminate a lot of the reposting and put a lot of information into a central location making it easier to find. I will and have posted questions when I haven't been able to find what I needed and will continue to try and engage daily. I'll definately be active daily.
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.
Scott Williams - Nice post, I think your thought process is in line with many newer users of this site and likely the reason for many of them falling into that situation you have laid out. Not sure if there is any way to "fix" that problem (not sure if problem is the right word here) but you expressing that provides some valuable insight for Josh and all of us "big players".
Your comments are appreciated and thank you for adding value to this site.
Scott Williams - Those users who are actively participating and engaging on our forums and blogs are also the ones who are growing their networks and opportunities more quickly than others. Posting gives people the chance to get to know you and your business and gives them a reason to reach out to connect with you.
Over the 7+ years that we've been around, what has remained constant is that the most active posters are also the ones who tend to get the most business/opportunity from the site.
Whether you are just welcoming new members, giving your feedback, or getting involved in one of the ongoing debates on board, just being visibile will absolutely be helpful to you and your business.
Don't fear not being the smartest one in a conversation . . . just share what you know, what you've experienced, and what you want to learn and you'll be fine!
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.
...
One thing that adding posts to a thread does is it continues the discussion, so if you think a topic is deserving of more / further discussion, then post to that topic.
But don't ignore or undervalue the possibility that when you post some other alternative message in a reply, that the other users who have already posted may not have even thought of your alternative. I know I certainly pick up good tidbits both from those who we can point at as expert level and from those who haven't reached that sort of level of expertise.
Steve Babiak makes a great point. There's not one way to skin a cat in real estate . . . I can't tell you how many threads I've read where someone with little experience comes in with a brilliant idea/observation that others may not have said or thought of. Bottom line -- don't be afraid to participate.
@Josh Dorkin. I think the problem for a lot of us is simply that we have too many irons in the fire. It's easy to look up find that you have spent an hour or more just taking in all the articles, comments etc. There is no doubt that it's a great place to learn and participate in discussions with "great minds".
Sharon Vornholt - That's where time management comes in . . . it BiggerPockets and social media is part of your learning, deal making and partnering strategy, making this or any other site/online work part of your schedule will just make it second nature.
I do it for various sites that are important to my business or I'll just forget.
I'm pretty good at time management Josh, but I'm basically a "solopreneur" building two businesses with some outsourcing. I'm looking for another VA at this time.
Sharon - I wasn't saying that you weren't good at time management -- the YOU referred to everyone, myself included. I know I'm not good at time management, so I use systems to organize.
Back to 100k . . . we're inching closer with just over 1,600 users from the milestone!