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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

          

 

Two weeks seems long enough to get a clear snapshot of where our businesses stand as we closeout 2009, the unofficial Year-to-Forget of the century.  

This month's commonground Quick Poll asked How's business this December?  We polled members with a similar question back in February and then again in April, with the intention of monitoring how we were doing across the country - and around the world for that matter -- in terms of hiring and downsizing - not necessarily in that order.  You can view the results of those two polls in my post:  We're Going in the Right Direction and see how close or far off I was in my interpretation.

Which of the following best describes the current status of your staff?  Hiring; Neither hiring or downsizing; Downsizing? The numbers tell a story.   

The poll found 75 percent of member companies neither hiring or downsizing right now.  That sounds good.  That means they are dealing with the status quo.  Holding there own.  Making due with strained resources and ultra-lean staffs dealing with double the burden.   Grateful they are part of the employed population. 

The other piece of good news is that of the remaining 25 percent, 16 percent are currently hiring as compared to just 8 percent who continue to downsize.  Safe to say the hemmoraging of jobs being eliminated has all but stopped, right?  

Not so fast.     

There are rumblings and No.3 pencil predictions about a second wave coming through that could set things back again.  Things might be getting worse before getting better.  No time for reckless optimism.  Who can figure what to do?  

I've got to go with taking the optimistic stance.  It's in my DNA.  How will we get anywhere if we don't believe we can make good things happen?

I am looking forward to ushering in 2010 in hopes that good things for all are just around the calendar.  But that's me. 

This is your industry, your market.  I'd rather you take a look at the numbers. Read the tea leaves in your life.  Tell me -- tell us -- what you think.   Is a second wave coming?  If it is, how are we going to handle it?

I know we will handle it - but what will it take of us?

 

Thank you!  That's really it in a nutshell.

Commonground was presented with the most prestigious award in the social media industry tonight (...as I post this, I suppose it was really last night).  We are collectively bursting with pride.  We have received a Forrester Groundswell Award in the Business-to-Business Supporting category.  The honor recognizes the advances we have made in providing support for you and all of our 5,000 plus members here inside this community.

(Update 10:45 am Wednesday:  Just uploaded a short video of our award being announced in Chicago.  Blurry picture, fuzzy sound, but I love it! Play close attention -and you won't miss it.)

With less than 18 months under our belt as a live online community, we are humbled, tickled and so very grateful to all of you who have, quite literally, have helped us build commonground into what it is today.  If you'd like, you can read more about the award.

Thank you for logging on, spending time, asking questions, responding with answers, opinions - and contrary opinions.  A special thank you to our prolific posters and bloggers who frequently get the place fired up.

We were recognized for the support we provide you but I think one of the most stunning attributes of commonground is the support our members provide one another - many of you have experienced that first-hand.

We got here talking about mystery photos of water pipes, volcanoes, RECs, the downfall of AIG, the rise in distressed assets, pricing pressure, and - yes- even where to find a great tasting sandwich.  All that -- and much more.  For the environmental professionals who work in the commercial real estate industry we'd like to think we have broken new ground as a way for everyone to grow existing businesses and build new opportunities through this medium - this "social networking" for which several of you are still shifting around in your seats trying to find your comfort level.   So again, thank you. 

This is just the beginning. This is only the start of great things for all who participate in our community.  Congratulations to all of you for taking the time to become a part of us and for being the "pioneers' who forge the new path for the many thousands who will soon make their way here.  

Take a bow because this award is yours.

I look forward to seeing you back here soon.

Barbara

We've got a great new blogger on board here on commonground who I think you are going to enjoy reading. He's Chuck McClain and his first post has already spurred a little memory lane response from a few members.  His blog is Zen and the Art of PCAs. 

With many years in the due diligence industry under his belt, he describes his blog as "a balanced and practical take on the challenges and opportunities for EPs working in and around the world of engineering due diligence services."  His first post is takes a light and entertaining look at how technology has evolved over the last 25 years.  Take a minute to check it out.

Speaking of new features, frequent contributor Ed Greene -- or member EdG -- as you may know him better as has just opened the doors on a new group open to all interested in Environmental Risk Trends. If that's of interest to you, why not become a member and start building up some great debates among your colleagues?

I think this is going to be a big week ahead for the community.  Looking forward to your contributions.

Have you suggested to your co-workers to join commonground yet?   The more who join, the better for everyone.

Have a fantastic week!

Barbara

 

 

         

Last week commonground saw a lot of activity from a new member who has brought an uncharacteristic yet unfortunately unavoidable tone to many of our discussions. 

Having established itself as a real value to so many in the community, I must admit I was a bit saddened by the repeated personal attacks this anonymous individual has issued to many members.  As Community Manager and, perhaps more importantly as simply a person with a job who goes home at the end of the day, I have always been amazed, pleased and proud of the rare yet consistent tenor with which our members have personally chosen to exchange, debate, disagree - and even cast dispersions.  

As unnerving as harassing comments from a given member can feel in the moment, know that it is not the norm.  It is the exception - at least in this community.  My message to all, be they civil contributor, silent observer, or offensive troublemaker, we are here to monitor the activity as it transpires to strike a balance between an open forum free to all those who want to participate in a professional discourse and harassment.

Civility is the word that has run through my mind several times since the nasty jargon began several days ago.   Civility and Mr. Rogers.  Yes, the one with the neighborhood.

Laugh if you want.  The truth is he modeled his "community" in civility, self-respect and tolerance.   It's the trifecta that works across the board if your goal is effective communication.  Business is just one part of our busy lives.  These fundamental golden rules with which we approach our communication in other life situations should not take a complete holiday just because we are talking business.   

Civility.  That is the way we have chosen to deal with any members who violate the community rules.  When the Rules of Engagement are clearly violated, warnings and opportunities to edit posts are sent - and when necessary, posts have been removed. On several occassions, other posts have been automatically deleted in cases where 5 members activated the Report Abuse function. 

That said many borderline posts from the past week remain.  Despite being volatile in content and quite possibly crossing the line of appropriate expression, they remain.  They remain because we are what we say we are: a global forum for environmental and due diligence professionals to come together to get answers, share information and debate relevant issues within the industry in the hopes that knowledge will be shared, business connections will be made, and the bar will be raised in best practices everywhere.  Kumbaya as that may sound - that is our mission.  With that understanding, that's why I do my job.

Crazy as it may sound to some, hard as it may be to believe, we have created commonground to serve a need, fill a void, start something new that we hope will have value to any and all who stop in - including EDR the company that came up with the concept and worked diligently to build it to what it is today.  With well more than 5,000 members as we speak, we are pretty certain it was a good idea.

But wait!  The most important piece in all of this is you - and other members like you.  If you have been paying attention for the last week you will see members have once again shown an extraordinary quality of civility and professionalism in your responses, even among those personally targeted.  Many are choosing to speak out about what they find offensive and have come to "police" the community on their own and defend the honor of others.  That is awesome.  Thank you.  Heck, you don't need me.

We are building something here that has the potential for offering many new opportunities to all who join.  Your visit to commonground, however often, and the comments of those who choose to share are invaluable.

As always, feel free to let us know if you disagree or agree with my post either by either commenting on this blog or sending us an email at commonground@edrnet.com - whichever you feel most comfortable doing.

Have a great week.  I hope I'll see you back here again soon.

Barbara

I can't think of a more appropriate time to post what is available at the bottom of every page in our community but perhaps not necessarily familiar to our members.  Commonground's Rules of Engagement.  Take a quick look at them -- then read on below.  Pay particular attention to Nos. 1, 2 and 4.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction

In order to keep the community running smoothly, please follow these simple guidelines when participating in the commonground community. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us by submitting feedback to commonground@edrnet.com

General Network Guidelines

1. commonground is a professional business environment. As such, we do not permit posts that are objectionable in nature or violate our standards. The editorial team shall be the sole arbitrator of what does and what does not violate community standards.
2. While passionate discussion, idea exchanges and heated debates are encouraged, we will not allow posts that are insulting in nature, deemed a personal attack or needlessly inflammatory. We reserve the right to moderate the posts of community members and remove any we deem inappropriate at our discretion.
3. Please refrain from posting meaningless threads, one word (or short) nonsense posts, etc.
4. All members are expected to refrain from overt self-promotion, advertising or spamming on commonground. This includes using members' email links and the chat system to contact other members with the intention of offering products/services for sale.
5. Any discussion of illegal activities such as the piracy of software or other intellectual property violations is not allowed.
6. In order to maintain the level of integrity expected within a professional business environment, usernames should be created that will afford the account holder the desired level of privacy without being objectionable. User names should be of a professional tone (i.e., do not use slang or obscenities).
7. When commencing a thread or uploading a file, please use a title that describes the content of your post. Please refrain from using all caps or special characters unless they are of a copyrighted trademark or signature mark.
8. A note about posts and attachments: Each post will be reviewed by a moderator to ensure the security of content being posted. The moderator reserves the right to remove posts and/or attachments at their discretion.
9. This site contains links to other sites. Environmental Data Resources Inc. is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of other Web sites.

If you have any questions about the rules of engagement, feel free to contact us.

__________________________________________________________________________________________ 

While the entire list is vital to maintaining the professional tone, spirit and content of this community, Nos. 1, 2 and 4 which are most critical to our success. 

These rules and our Terms of Service are guidelines every member agrees to when they join commonground.  As community manager, my responsibility is to ensure these are followed so that the community can maintain the professional exchange and discourse it set out to establish more than a year and a half ago for the global population of environmental professionals.

In the rare instance when one of these key rules is violated, the member is sent an email to the address they have include in their profile.  They are asked to revise or delete the offensive content before the end of that business day. If they do not, the post is automatically removed.

Just as important as being familiar with the Rules of Engagement, is the need to provide accurate information within your member profile.  When that is not the case, such communications cannot be successfully made - and the member's credibility comes strongly into question.

Commonground has never been stronger in its level of member activity and steady influx of insightful comments on environmental due diligence and related subjects all in an open forum that is entirely free of charge to all of its viewers. Thank you to all of those who have come to rely on commonground as a place to ask questions, express opinions and make business connections.  You have helped us build an industry forum unlike anything else available.  Our one request is that everyone be cognizant of the rules of engagement. 

Continue spreading the word to your colleagues and please stop back again soon.

Have a great day,

Barbara

 

 

We welcomed our 5,000th member to the community yesterday - quite a milestone for us working behind the scenes of commonground!  You've got to know I rang the bell big time when we crossed that threshold. 

You may have noticed the increase in activity lately with members posting their comments, adding new discussion topics, tossing out questions and offering opinions.  Last week there were well over a hundred new comments made, many to some of our more pressing and controversial topics.

Since we switched to our new platform in late May and debuted "commonground 2.0" as we like to refer to it, traffic to our community has grown exponentially each month.  Nearly 10,000 professionals have visited commonground this September - almost a 400% increase since June.

My guess is that many of our members are beginning to find real value in reaching out to the community for opinions and getting solid answers and recommendations from seasoned cyber-colleagues.  Our newest group offerings, including Due Diligence University, Environment, Health & Safety, Young Environmental Professionals, and Green Building Due Diligence, are each turning out to be an appealing destination for members for whom those areas of key interest.  They are a new source of networking and sharing among an even more laser-focused interest group.  Be sure to check out those that may interested you.

Thanks for coming -- and even more so -- thanks for coming back often.  Your fellow members benefit from all you have to say. Any new ideas for how we can make it even more valuable - we're all ears.

I look forward to seeing you back again soon. 

Enjoy the community,

Barbara

 

Congratulations to the winners of our first ever Where did you take commonground this summer? photo contest! 

Thanks for keeping us in mind during your travels and sharing your adventures with us. Your winning entries were a combination of entertaining, creative, ambitious, and fun.  So what have they won?

First Place Prize:

 Ultra Flip Video Pocket Camera

2nd and 3rd Prizes:

   A Gift Card for a full tank of gas!

A big thanks to all of the members who requested mugs and T shirts to take along wherever they went this summer and to those who brought it full circle and submitted entries.  Our submissions covered adventures from coast to coast and in between - even from as far away as Bangladesh! 

There were so many good ones, we have selected a few honorable mentions as well.

And while both the contest and the summer are over, keep those photos coming of wherever you take commonground with you.  If you still need to get your commonground T-shirt or mug,  just ask (while supplies last) - and we'll get it out to you.  We'll be setting up a page soon in the community where all snaps of the cg mug or Tshirt on the road will remain on display permanently.

And the winners are.....

Lots of issues have been bandied about in recent days within the community but some are drawing more attention that others.  Here's a shortcut to some of the forum, blogs and groups that are capturing the interest of many of our members.

First up:

• The million dollar question as to when is a qualified EP, ...well, qualified?  Member R. Scott Powell has drawn much response in his post EP? I don't think so.
• Heating up the membership is also a post by member readude on properly conducting an assessment in the discussion Phase I On A Volcano.
• Member dcrocker throws out the question about what about what kind of reception EPs receive when arriving on site and, from the response it would seem it is often quite warm. Check out Any EPs Ever Get Hugged On Site? 
• The ultra-popular EP gear forum found new life with member Tom Speight's recent inquiry Essential Gear?

On the Blog front:

• Market Maven Dianne Crocker looks at turning blight in to beauty in Fore! Contamination Didn't Stall Liberty
• When it comes to energy renewal initiatives, member EdG opens the door with one his latest post, WSJ Today: Renewable Energy, Meet the Newbys.

As for Groups:

• The Environment, Health & Safety Group (EHSG) opened up to the public just a few weeks ago and is starting to pick up members and content rapidly.
• The Green Building Due Diligence Group, also opened to the public recently, is becoming a location to check out - and join.

As a member of a group you have a chance to participate on a concentrated and be notified by email when new content is added.

There's all that and a whole lot more.  Enjoy the community and stop back to learn about the latest activity on commonground.

Barbara

We've received a great response from members over the last few weeks for free commonground mugs and T-shirts. The idea was that they would take them along with them as they enjoyed their summer travel plans and snap a photo of wherever they went. It's a chance to be a little creative, show off where you traveled to and - possibly win a prize.  The entries are starting to come in and we've posted them for you to enjoy.  You can  click here to view the entries  - but be sure to click on Show Info in the upper right hand corner when you get there to see the name of who submitted the photo and where it was taken.

Take a minute to look.  People have gone to great lengths and heights (literally!) to get their winning shot. I'm hoping more of you will send us a shot for consideration. You can just email us the photo and we'll post it for you. Seeing the photos and reading the emails has been great.  We've learned from many that commonground has really become a part of the day for some. 

Take member Jeffrey Korman who requested T-shirts for both himself and his wife, Rebecca, owners Environmental Compliance Inc. in Louisville, Kentucky.  Jeffrey shared that they are becoming big fans of commonground.  "Thanks for the shirts!  We're just learning to use the site, but really love it so far," he wrote.

Another member, Richard O'Brien, an environmental engineer in Chicago, Illinois, opted for a mug but not without sharing his thoughts about commonground.  "I like your website - very informative.  Thanks!

Thank you Richard and Jeffrey -- and all those members who have written to us and let us know how we're doing.

The deadline to submit photos is September 7. If you are thinking about submitting an entry, do it soon!

 

Here's just one of the entries submitted -- taken at Yosemite Sequoia Grove, Yosemite National Park.

Things are changing.

The economy is demanding it.  Technology is inspiring it.  People are embracing it - though some more quickly than others.  The voices on commonground are talking about it and the most outspoken this last week in the community were all about change.  Some are asking for change, some defended the wisdom to refrain from doing so.  Some shared examples of where change has already occurred and opened our eyes to strikingly new ways of doing business we should consider.

 

If you have a few minutes, and you haven't already, click on and read as many of the links below as you can and take in some serious food for thought.  (If you only have time for one, then read Jack Huntress's Learn from Netflix.  It will really give you something to think about.  This is a company that has no vacation policy whatsoever -and in this post you can find out why.)  

____________________________________________________________________________

Changes to commonground    (I'd really like your feedback on this one!)

A discussion about whether we should be making some changes to commonground to suit your needs better sprung up between two bloggers.    

 

*Read Larry Schnapf's post Is this Facebook or a Soap Opera? in which he questions the business value of some content and suggests changes to commonground's format.

 

*Read my last post summing up the issue, Blogger debate on appropriate cg content raises questions

 

Change in how we do business

*Read Mark Wallace's post on Innovation and see if it rings true with you. 

 

*Read Jack Huntress's Learn from Netflix with an eye-opening, conversation-starting attachment of a powerpoint from the world's largest online movie rental company, with a whole new twist on doing business.  

 

*Read Rob Barber's post Changing Business Tactics - Or Not 

His house isn't selling and he might have figured out why.

 

Change in attitude

*Read new cg blogger Dan Moran, on career management, Change It Up

 

Another change that happened this week is that we welcomed several hundred new members to the community.  To each of them, we hope you find value in what we have to offer you, enjoy the experience and know that we welcome your input and feedback on everything you see.

 

Keep spreading the word about commongorund and stop back soon!

Barbara

Whether commonground is helpful to its members and easy to navigate is our top concern.  If we don’t satisfy the needs of our membership we are not doing our job.  That is why the debate that sprung up late last week between two of our bloggers is probably the best thing that could happen to our community since our re-launch in June – or maybe ever.

 

What commonground is and what it is not has come to matter to our members.  I take that to mean we are really starting to provide value and that is good news.  We're evolving it gradually to be whatever the community wants it to be.  While feedback helps us make useful changes,  the  opinions of only a few are not enough for consensus.  That’s where you come in.  What do you think?

 

The issue:

 

The value of including information through discussions and blogs on topics that are on the periphery or beyond the immediate subject area of environmental or property due diligence has been called into question.  Also, the ease with which one navigates around the site is up for discussion as well.

 

The suggestion has been made that we create a separate location on the site where all non-environmental and property due diligence discussions would be located.  (Read more about the suggestion here.)

 

In doing so, it has also been suggested that their presence be removed from the home page, which presently displays the most current blog posts, new discussions, and comments made to existing discussions.  This is currently done to provide an at-a-glance view of what is new to the community without having to dig.

 

The green navigation bar at the top of the page includes a drop down menu should you prefer to go directly to a specific topic area i.e.  click on Discuss and select Regulations or click on Insights and select Blogs and you will go directly to a page with only that relevant content.

 

The question is what is “fluff”?

 

Examples of the type of information that is being suggested be moved include, details on the photo contest, and discussions such as Best place to get a Sandwich and Deciding between the Yankees and Red Sox, as well as Mark Wallace’s blog, The Uncommon Denominator, that focuses on helping business professionals leverage social technologies to establish stronger relationships, increase visibility, and establish a strong web presence, with the ultimate goal of generating business.  (Read the counter view here.)

 

In considering that, it opens the door to consider if the proposed separation should go further and include other topics (some of which have been the most highly viewed on the site) like multiple posts on the impact of the stimulus package, Mike Kulka’s blog about the NCAA tournament, EDR CEO Rob Barber’s most recent blog in which he takes a Lesson from Netflix, Dan Moran’s new blog on career coaching, and Jack Huntress’s blog, Tech Chatter to name just a few.  Note that the latter are not exclusively relevant to environmental or property due diligence.

 

We need your input on this one.

 

I am counting on you to provide a little guidance on what works best for you so that we may move commonground in the most useful direction for the overall community’s needs. 

 

While only a small percentage of our membership comment, vocal or not, every member of commonground is a valuable addition to the community.  An online community is never “done.”  We look to change and evolve as our burgeoning community grows as is the nature of all communities. 

 

Before we make any changes, I encourage you to let us know if you find the non-environmental or property due diligence discussions and content distracting as it is now displayed or not -- and welcome any suggestions on the subject you have.  To make it easy for you to provide feedback, here is the link to a discussion I started earlier on this topic. Or, if you would prefer your comments be private, email us at commonground@edrnet.com.

 

Your feedback on this or any other issue is always welcome.

 

Thank you and stop back soon!

 

Barbara

 

We here at commonground thought it was time to have a little summer fun so we've set up a contest for all of our members that will run the rest of the season that could result in you winning a prize! 

The idea is for you to take along your commonground mug or T-shirt (the ones with the little footless, armless, faceless figures we call "weoples" - though we can't really explain the reasons behind those omissions) on whatever trip you take over the next few weeks and snap a photo of it showing us where you and your commonground mug or shirt have been.  Creativity is encouraged!

Don't let the fact you don't currently have a mug or T-shirt hold you back.  Just email your address to us at commonground@edrnet.com today, and we will ship one out to you pronto for no fee!  That's right.  There's no charge.

Already the mug has spent the day at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway during a NASCAR race where you can see it rubbed elbows with everyone from Driver Rusty Wallace and the Jack Daniels race crew, to the pit crews, the fans, the mascot and much more (see photo below) as you can see for yourself on our home page slideshow.

Where else will it go?  Deep sea diving?  Eiffel Tower?  Para sailing?  Fly fishing? You show us.

The winner receives a FlipVideo camera, a great pocket-sized camera for shoting video out in the field or anywhere, and the 2^nd and 3^rd place winners get a tank of gas.

Just take a great photo then post it on commonground.  Contest ends August 29 - so hurry if you don't have your mug or T-shirt yet.  

Enjoy!

Barbara  

 

Just coming off of vacation with the clearest head I've had in a year on what's right and wrong, important and irrelevant.  Pouring over the community there have been lively debates on all sorts of new topics and lots of new members commenting - which thrills me.  Seems to me you are getting more comfortable sharing your opinions on what goes on here and that is just fantastic.  In the last week we've added a new blogger to our roll, Scott Powell's Watch the Language.  Scott rose from the membership after posting frequenting on many subjects and asked if he could start a blog here on commonground and has targeted the many aspects of the REC to offer comment. We enthusiastically welcome him to the Blog Roll. 

I think it's great we have the discussion running again on If the greenhouse gas effect exist with member cleanwater weighing in gain.  This is one of our most viewed discussions since we opened our doors.  Among the latest blog posts, my colleague Mark Wallace's entry about Goldman Sachs grabbed my attention like few before.  I opted to sample the 7-minute video and my jaw is on the ground. Be sure to check it out.

I believe every word Glenn Beck says and so my answer to Mark's question is yes, this could have really happened.  Are the "people in Washington" actually the same "people" Washington is bailing out on Wall Street?  Seems that may be so. And now I am just wondering - what will it take for this madness to stop? 

I blame the media.  They are so enamored with their celebrity-based catastophe coverage marathons, few of them spend any time digging below the surface of any real issues we as Americans are dealing with right now.  That would apparently be anyone but Glenn Beck.  Okay, so now he's put this out there for all to view.  Where are the other members of the media from competing outlets to directly confirm or disprove his conclusions?  Something is missing in the national media pool water.  Could it be a collective passion for finding clarity and truth?

Consider what has blanketed the national news since the inauguration (about which the First Lady's fine fashion sense was an enormous part)?  The Octo-mom, then Jon and Kate, then the King of Pop's sudden demise.  That kind of thorough reporting provided me the opportunity to hear perspective from Blanket Jackson's godfather about Michael Jackson's childrearing skills on at least three occassions in the mainstream media.  

Ironic that the father of journalism should have passed this weekend bumping MJ from the lead story everywhere (begrudgingly I am sure).  Walter Cronkite is remembered for being the reporter synonymous with ensuring a reporter reported the entire story with the gold-standard of a job well done being that the full truth was converyed to the public.  Try to envision Mr. Cronkite interviewing Blanket's godfather or Kate on how she plans to handle her breakup with Jon - and you will see how far off course our checks and balances system of the Fourth Estate has gone. 

Something has to change.

 

Barbara

PS  This is what a little R&R can do for you. :)