Image via Wikipedia
Written by Karen D. Swim
This time last year, I was an occasional blogger. I had done a fair amount of ghostblogging for clients and had tackled a few posts for my own blogger blog. I started blogging in 2005 – well kind of, I wrote 7 posts that year and 3 in 2006. In 2007 I wrote a little more but I still had not embraced the full experience of blogging. That all changed on December 17, 2007.
I received Copyblogger in my email, it was at that time my first and only blog subscription. The Copyblogger post was about drawing headline inspiration from Cosmo magazine. It was a writing challenge (at the time I had no clue about group writing projects) and Brian posted the round-up with links to everyone’s post. I dutifully visited each one, eager to learn headline techniques (my weakness). I clicked on Joanna’s link and here is the comment that started a wonderful friendship.
I was inspired and the next day wrote a post with bullet points! I continued to flirt with posting, but became more fascinated. Joanna hosted a group writing project and I participated with this post. People visited my blog from her link and actually commented. Blogging is fun but man it gets even better when you’re not talking to yourself! Joanna not only befriended me but selflessly shared her community and writing tips with me. Her support gave me the confidence to keep blogging. I stumbled, experimented and did my first meme. I won and lost readers as I found my way.
As I look back on these past twelve months, the greatest gift of all are the friendships made along the way. All the stats in the world can never communicate the value of meeting, connecting and sharing with all of you. I may not have 5000 subscribers (that’s next year’s goal!) but I could not ask for a better group of friends. So, today is my Joanna Young Anniversary but I truly am celebrating all of you!
Do you remember what it was like to read your first blog? How about writing that first post? Share your own memories or funny moments in the comments. I would also be pleased as punch if you’d tell a friend about Words For Hire. Introduce a newbie to the awesome gift of blog reading. Remember you don’t have to be a blogger to join the conversation.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=f5ef1160-4421-46f9-9b3f-47eb82943624)
Hi Tabetha! You and Luke are quite the dynamic duo! 🙂 I am so glad you like blogging and may I officially extend a warm welcome to you? Your voice is a welcome addition in cyberspace.
I was not thrilled with blogging at first. I just didn’t get it. That is really odd because I have kept a journal since I was 9, but blogging just didn’t click with me. I really just did it because my husband asked me to.
I agreed to blog daily during the month of November, fully expecting to have writer’s block and really struggle with it. I was amazed to discover that ideas were stumbling over each other trying to get me to blog about them.
Now I love it, and since my hubby is thrilled to have me blog, I get to do it with his approval, and that makes it twice as wonderful!
Tabetha´s last blog post..Winter Wonderland
Luke, isn’t it cool? I love Joanna to death and I can’t tell you how much I’ve come to appreciate the friends I’ve made through blogging. I don’t consider them online or virtual friends, but friends period. I care about them, I pray for them, I cheer their successes, and mourn their defeats. I was really lucky to have fallen in with such an awesome group of people that continues growing. Welcome to the tribe dude! 🙂
So cool! Another piece of the history of the tribe. I am going to have to do a map of the tribe soon.
Karen,
I love this post! What fun to read how your blogging history unfolded. Me? I read about Thoroughly Modern Millie in my local newspaper. I had heard of blogs before but that was the first one I ever read, about two-ish years ago.
The first I ever commented at was ProBlogger, and probably Copyblogger soon after that. I wrote a dozen or so posts and started thinking about whether I should start a blog to put them on.
Through Darren I ran into Caroline Middlebrook when she was just starting out, and thought about it more seriously, but it was Brian’s series on blog launching that made me jump, for which I thank him in every milestone post!
What a lovely thing a Joanna Young Anniversary is. (Now I’m thinking of who I have exact anniversaries with.)
Congratulations and many more. I’m so glad this blog got a fire lit under it, because I love reading here!
Regards,
Kelly
Karen,
Your post for Joanna’s Love Affair with Writing group writing project was my first visit to your blog. I’m a big fan of both of you!
LOL! I think we’re too smart to ever have a falling out but if we ever do we’ll call James! 🙂
Glad to have matched two smart people together.
But… if you two have a falling out, you can’t call me to mediate.
🙂
Jamie, ROFL! I remember that post and I remember having a fever, and laughing at myself after I posted. I really found it quite scandalous at the time, of course months later I featured a toilet on my post! LOL! Just wait until your turn comes, oh boy , fun stuff! 🙂 hehehehe, remember we all had to come up with creative ways to call you HNTW? LOL!
Joanna, I am blown away by the connections and interconnections. I hope it encourages more to blog, comment and participate. 🙂 I can’t wait to see what the next year holds!
Happy anniversary!!! 🙂
So, this post made me go way back into the archives on my site and pull out *this* post:
http://www.hownottowrite.com/others-not-writing/5-ways-your-blog-is-like-a-bra/
What a long way you’ve come!
@Ulla, big hugs right back my friend! You ARE welcomed here Ulla and you have definitely inspired and delighted me. You have this wonderful way of sharing yourself and your city in a way that makes us all feel closer to you. You are also single handedly responsible for me adding Berlin to my “must see” list. 🙂
@Alina, wow, 4 years! We have to throw you a party! Please let us know when it comes so we can celebrate! I love your blog and am so thankful for all the great information you provide. I love jobblogs by the way. Another great recommendation from you. Your passion for blogging is still evident in all that you write. Here’s to another 4 years! 🙂
Wow, it’s been great reading all these interwoven connections being shared here. This is a powerful testament to blogging at its best. Thanks again for writing this and celebrating our 1st year of friendship Karen
PS Lisa – ‘brianology’ – I love it!
@Rhodie, lol! Thank goodness for technology! The interwebs would be a bit dark and dreary without your wit. 🙂
@Lisa, LOL! PhD in Brianology. I loved your guest post at MWP and liked you right away. You prove me right! I was so fascinated with Copyblogger too, and can remember explaining it to friends who did not read blogs, thinking about my fascination cracks me up now.
Hey by the way everyone Lisa is a GTD with soul guru, if you are one of the two people on the planet not reading MWP, go read her post , you’ll love it!
@TwinToddlersDad Welcome to the blogging family! Copyblogger continues to be a great resource and the frequent guest bloggers, Sonia Simone and James Chartrand are worthy of adding to your feed reader. The blogosphere is filled with wonderful people and I know that the more you blog the more you’ll love it. So glad to have you pop in and look forward to reading and cheering you on!
@Daisy, thanks! It can be addicting but I had also just started writing for a living. I was so busy doing it for clients that I missed the fun for myself! Blogging is a great way to reconnect with your own voice, very happy Joanna nudged me along. 🙂
@Robert, your Texas sized heart comes shining through every post and you are another beautiful benefit of my friendship with Joanna. Big hat tip right back at ya! 🙂
@Karen, Joanna strikes again! When she met you at SOBcon she adored you and I’ll never forget the skype call with she and Amy where she talked about your warmth and great smile. I’m really thankful that I followed up by promptly stalking you! 🙂
Karen, this is an amazing way to celebrate friendship, blogging and new experiences. I’ll soon turn 4 as a blogger, but I can still remember the the excitement of publishing my very own post. I’d link to it, but it was in Romanian 🙂
I remember reading other blogs, the first one was written by a professor of mine, and then deciding I wanted my own little place 🙂 I still read older posts from time to time, to relive experiences and feel what I felt years before.
Alina
Karen,
a big hug from Berlin! I have been blogging since July 2008, and your blog, as well as Joanna’s has been a continuous source of inspiration to me. It is wonderful to know you via your blog and twitter. I always felt welcomed here! Congratulations!
Hi Karen,
Curious thing…I followed you here from Men with Pens…and knew I would like your site and blog. I had a laugh at your post, because I too became a devotee of copyblogger back in the day when I had (now defunct) Design Your Writing Life. in fact I devoured Brian’s archives, and told my husband I was getting a PhD in Brianology to cover for how much time I was spending reading.
Congratulations to your perseverence, and I’d say a huge dose of curiosity!
Lisa
SURE I remember my first post! But it was back before the internet started, so it was kind of an exercise in futility. The clackity-clack of the typewriter solicited a “what are you typing, honey?” from my wife. She leaned over, read a bit and chuckled. I finished it up, ripped it out of the machine and wondered what to do with it.
It turned out to be ideal for potty training our new puppy.
Happy Blog Anniversary! I’m surprised you were able to blog so little your first years. I find it addicting. Fun, but also addicting!
Congratulations on keeping your blogging passion alive for a year. I have heard that bloggig is a marathon and not a 100m dash. So looks like you are still up and running, which is excellent!
Funny you mention Copyblogger. I just stumbled upon it and found it so good that I have added it to my ever-growring list of RSS feeds.
I am a new blogger, so still soaking up all this new information. So far, I am loving the blogging experience.
Good luck
Karen, a big hug and congrats on your blogging journey! I do believe that I met you through Joanna and then later on Twitter after seeing your tweets there. I know I don’t often comment, but I do appreciate what you share through your writing. Here’s to many more blog posts!
Hey, I want to add my congratulations – and hearty hugs – to you Karen for the many things I’ve had the privilege of sharing with ya! I remember checking your site from a link at Joanna’s (sorry; I’m a, y’know, man, so I don’t remember the exact date – heck I’m doin’ good to remember it at all!) The truth is, Words for Hire is on my “must read every day at all costs” list.
Thanks from the bottom of my Texas heart for writing stuff that makes me think – even on those days when I only have one functional brain cell left (alas, more often than not, these days)! As others have pointed out, you’re a natural at this. It can only get better!
And of course, a big ol’ hat tip to ya! 😀
@Rosa, I know that Joanna and many others would say that you my dear friend have been a wonderful example to all of us in creating and engaging an active community that respect and learn from one another. Because of Joanna I met you, her friendship has been a gift that keeps on giving. I am looking forward to the next 12 months of happy collaborations and conversations and sharing it with even more readers. 😉
@Joanna I echo your words my dear friend and Scotland is on my top list of destinations! When I am feeling overwhelmed, I close my eyes and imagine myself there. Soon, dear friend, soon. xx
@Meryl, lol! I love that ego trip 2.0.! Those who think that are just hanging in the wrong places! 🙂 Let’s light the way and show them the beauty of the real 2.0.
@Amy, I remember stalking you after your comments at MWP (I could dedicate a post to them too) and then being blown away by your writing. You were one of the first that I gave link love to in a post. 🙂 One year later, I love you even more!
@Rhiannon, I am so glad you started sharing your voice through a blog and I share your encouragement to non-bloggers to give it a go. The community and friendship were totally unexpected but quickly became the thing I valued most.
@Brad, we met through Joanna and I still remember your first comment on my post. It made me cry (in a good way). Look at all the great things that have come of our friendship. You’re so right I could never have imagined either, but I am so thankful for that Copyblogger post that led me down the path. Thanks Brian!
Happy anniversary, Karen and Joanna. You are birds of a feather, and it’s characteristic that one or both of you would remember and memorialize this date. Joanna’s was one of the first blogs I read, along with Robyn McMaster’s and a few others. I never imagined where those blogs would take me and how much they would inspire me.
I can’t remember the first time I read a blog – years ago in any case. However I was always pretty sure it wasn’t for me , to join those actually doing the blogging.
This year though, I decided to become a bit more “visible” (because of this http://christinekane.com/blog/word-of-the-year-reveal/ ) and started a blog.
As you say Karen, you don’t need to have a blog to join in the conversation, and I often commented. But an interesting thing happens – once you blog yourself the connections move to a different level.
It has been such a rewarding experience, so to anyone not already blogging I’d say, give it a go ! 🙂
Karen,
I remember meeting you first through comments at other blogs. I think Men with Pens was the first place I met you. I can’t believe it’s been a year already, but wow — it has.
Time flies when you’re having fun, eh?
Happy anniversary. 🙂
Lovely. Social media isn’t ego trip 2.0 like some folks think. Your blog post shows what wonderful things it can do… spark friendships, help other, grow network, etc.
Karen, what a wonderful way to celebrate a year of blogging friendship! Thank you. I’m so glad that something I did helped to light the spark, because you are a blogging natural. You write so many wonderful things here, and are a kind, generous and thoughtful commenter. I don’t know how many times your comments have picked me up and kept me going when I was wondering if I was going in the right direction or not.
It’s been so great e-mailing, tweeting, and skyping each other this year. I don’t know if it’ll be in the next 12 months but I do know we *will* get to meet some day.
Joanna
xxx
Happy Anniversary to you both Karen! Joanna’s headline that day – of how to be a reader magnet – could have also been “how to be a community magnet” in both Joanna’s case and yours, for you both are exceptional at it, bringing people together generously and so graciously. There is quite a journey still to be taken between being a reader and in someone’s community, and I so appreciate being able to follow your example. Blog on my friend! (I am pretty sure Joanna will too 🙂