The numbers have been tallied and the results are in.  As we shut the door on business in 2009, everyone is laying their bets on not only what the New Year will bring but the start of a new decade.  

 

                                               

 

Once again, I took the opportunity to review the activity you and other community members brought to commonground over the last 12 months.  A dismal economic landscape certainly set the tone for many member concerns.  That said, members came through in record numbers to not only read but to say their piece loud and clear - and occasionally not always in the most professional of ways.  Late in the year one of our more active members, Max Eng, posted this comment to my blog where I announced that commonground had won the prestigious Forrester Groundswell award for a B-to-B community for providing support to its members.  I think it captures the value to those who - regardless of whether they come to join, learn, comment, opine or lurk.

Camaraderie, wisdom, intelligence, connections, opportunity and good humor.  

posted 11:17am by MaxEng  December 19, 2009:

 

 

Comment:

As a relatively recent member of commonground, let me add to the congratulatory comments above.  This place is like a bar populated only by environmental professionals who like nothing better than to share "war stories" over a beer. We are all drinking beer when we post here - right?

Quite unscientifically, I have compiled the second set of commonground year-ending awards for posts, bloggers and members who have made what could be argued as the greatest mark on the community to date.  It could be argued that these are not "awards" in the purest sense as no one voted on them in any kind of formal way.  That said, they are the people, posts and topics that most grabbed your attention this year.

So, going by just the numbers, here are the recipients of commonground's Second Annual Weople Awards 2009.

 

 

 

10 Most Popular Blog Posts:

 

1.      HUD Takes a Stand on Vapor Intrusion

     From Market Maven

 

 

2.      HUD Environmental Reviews: Not Just “Phase Is for HUD-Funded Projects”

     From View From the Trenches

 

3.      Business Environmental Risk

     From Watch the Language

 

4.      The Commercial REO and FDIC Market

     From Where’s the DATA?

 

5.      Historical Recognized Environmental Condition

     From Watch the Language

 

6.      Just What the Heck is Environmental Due Diligence?

     From Tech Chatter

 

7.      Why do environmental reserves not go down?

     From Ear to the Ground

 

8.      Types of members of social networks

     From The Uncommon Denominator

 

9.      Lender not Liable for Phase I that Failed to Flag Contamination

     From Schnapf Judgment

 

 

10.  SBA to increase 504 Loan Amount to $5,000,000!!

     From Kulka’s Corner

 

 

My take on it?  Our blog roll is one of the most active sections of commonground. Members have clearly gravitated en masse because the have come to know cg bloggers take on the most timely topics and issues facing all those who work within the commercial real estate industry.  Little wonder top views went to the Market Maven. The keen observations and trend spotting about our industry by Dianne Crocker have become a must-read for environmental professionals everywhere.  Some of our top bloggers, including Watch the Language and View From the Trenches have grown straight out of our membership.  Watch for changes coming soon to the Blog Roll to help find what inteests more quickly and improved search of past posts.

 

 

  Top 3 Viewed Discussion Forums:  

 

 

Pricing Pressure   - posted by dcrocker     No. 1 for the second consecutive year!!

 

Phase I Marketing Strategies  - posted by readude

 

Phase I Site Stories  - posted by Geologist 62   No. 3 for the second consecutive year!!

 

 

My take on it?   Pricing Pressure was the HOT topic in 2008 on commonground.  Is it little wonder why it remains fresh and debatable?  Again, many members opted to get answers as to how to navigate through the shaky economy.  Phase I Marketing Strategies was one of hundreds of posts that sought advice.  CG members were anxious to log in and read what was being said on the subject.  When it comes to the popularity of Phase I Site Stories - well, the stories just keep on coming and capture the imagination ranging from dead bodies in the basement, haunted houses and brothels from an era gone by.  
  

 

 

Top 3 Commented on Discussion Forums:

 

Conflicting Recommendation from Environmental Firms 78 comments -- posted by Randy Kammerer

 

Business Environmental Risk (BER)  67 comments – posted by R. Scott Powell

 

Does the Greenhouse gas effect exist?  54 comments – posted by cleanwater

 

 

My take on it?  Hot topics will bring out the opinion in many of us.  Such was the case when members posted new discussions that impact everyone in their business.    

 

  

 

   Top 10 Most Vocal Members

 

 

Matt Fox

McCarthy

Tom Speight

WGlennon

Max Eng

jessedphillips

readude

Plato

lavajumper

Scott J. Dahlgren

 

 

My take on it?  Word is spreading and the comfort level of many of our members is increasing.  Of this year's top contributors, only jessedphillips remains on the list.  Is that because the other nine fell off our radar?  Hardly.  Many of the top 10 of 2008 became bloggers and/or members of our Advisory Panel - and were some of the most prolific on the sites.  LSchnapf, mkulka, EdG to name a few.  To best shine the light on our main membership, I've excluded members of the commonground Advisory Panel and our bloggers from this list.
 

 

 

 

Most Active Companies with commonground Membership

 

 

URS Corporation

AECOM

Environmental Resources Management (ERM)

 

 

My take on it?  Word has obviously spread in these companies that commonground offers an easy access value to environmental professionals and are sharing that with their co-workers.  We're just surpassed 2,600 companies represented on commonground.  Are you spreading the word.  The community is free you know and available 24/7.  Why wouldn't everyone in your company join? 

 

 

 

Top U.S. States in Membership

 

 

California

Texas

New York

Florida

 

 

My take on it?  I can tell you that all 50 states are well represented on commonground.  (But if you are asking, Mississippi, Missouri, and Minnesota could use a kick in the pants.)

 

 

 

Top Countries Outside the US for Membership

 

 

India

United Kingdom

Australia

 

My take on it?  Keep it coming!  The more we expand to offices around the world the more valuable the commonground community will become to everyone. Virtual connections can mean a transform to business opportunities and new ways of solving problems. In the spirit of the Winter Olympics, our door is wide open to the world!

 

 

 

With several hundred people visiting our community daily and new posts steadily flowing in, you will want to make commonground your daily destination for expert advice, industry expertise and a way to make connections that will help build your business in 2010. 

Enjoy reading who is the top poster, most popular blogger, or most frequent visitor to the site?  You may be interested in what we have coming later this month:  a member ratings and rankings feature.  More on that and other easy to use tools available on commonground in a coming blog post. 

Commonground is a very different place than it was a year ago.  More than double the members, more than triple the daily activity and more than a few "regulars' who keep things lively.  We grown into a community that includes many members with strong opinions - both positive and negative - about what we do here, how we do it, and what is said within these virtual walls.  I think that's great.

That means we have more than arrived.  We're here and we have come to matter to many of you.  Keep it coming.  The best of commonground is yet to come.

What do you think?  Agree with the blogs and disuccsions that received a weople award?  If not, what did you enjoy?  Let me know.

Here's to 2010 living up to its name.  May it be a "10" for us all.