I remember when ActiveRain.com released its Localism.com portal. SoCal surfin’ REALTOR dude, Rory Siems commented that he thought “Localism” was a term surfers used for defending their beach from “kooks“. While Localism is not a surfing site, the principle of “protecting your turf” is alive and well for local real estate professionals.
Bloodhound colleague Michele DeRepegny vented her frustrations with the new site:
But this morning I’m feeling a little nauseous after the much anticipated revamp of Localism, The redesign is neutral and simple, with a few twists in navigation still needed. I would have rather paid for an “outside blog” than purchased “communities“. Maybe buying the way to the top as a community sponsor will actually reduce some of the crud posting just for points, but right now I’m having very mixed feelings about continuing to drink the Kool Aid. Maybe I just need sleep.
I was privy to a pre-release tour so I know why they whitewashed the design. The concept is that Localism isn’t just about real estate anymore. It’s designed as a national host for thousands of hyper-local communities. Membership is free and available to anybody in the community, including non-real estate related businesses. The white washing was done to draw the readers to the user-generated content rather than an appealing design. Community sponsorship is available to any business and quality content providers are rewarded with featured status on the pages.
Navigation is cumbersome but the site is in its infancy. The designers are trying to create a sense of “stickiness” where the users are drawn to deep local content, be it pictures, video, or text. They have some glitches but they should work it out.
The main feature of the site is that content will be edited for quality. Active Rain hired editors to determine what user-generated content will be quality and what should be buried in the bowels of the server. The intended result? A sticky site about “your town”, for “your neighbors”, sponsored by “your Rotarians (local businesses).
Greg Swann feels it might be a SEO play:
What does it portend for you? For one thing, dumbstunt SEO plays like Localism are doomed. Read more
