Thank you to all of my bloggy friends who have sent me wishes already for my Bloggy-versary! When I started this blog I had no idea what a blog was. My dear friend, Mary told me that I had to start a blog. She said that I would love it, and I do. I would recommend blogging to anyone who has a passion for anything.
So after 260 posts, 5671 comments, and and 650,000 page views, here are the top ten things that I've learned this year about blogging...
1. Blogging introduced me to a group of generous people who are only too happy to share their knowledge. I gave Michelle as an example on one of my last posts, but I have hundreds of examples of bloggers who have shared their talent with me. Angela from Washington (who needs to start a blog of her own), Ness from Marley and Lockyer, Joni from Cote de Texas, Valorie from Visual Vamp, Erika from Urban Grace and her friend Laura Casey, Jackie from Jackie Von Tobel Home, Gina from Willow Decor, Things That Inspire, Lauren from Pure Style Home, Julia from Hooked on Houses, Anna from Absolutely Beautiful Things, Pamela From the House of Edward, dear Anci from The Light House, Isa and her "twin" Artie from Color Outside the Lines, my new friend Greet from Belgian Pearls. The list is endless. All you have to do is visit the blogs on my blog roll to know that bloggers are a talented, passionate, giving group of designers and bloggers.
2. Blogging has helped me to become clearer about my goals. I can't write about something unless I understand the point I am trying to convey. Before each post I have to ask myself: What is the purpose of this post? Why am I posting about this? What does it mean to me? Why should anyone else care? Which leads me to this...
3. Blogging is great because it is forgiving. Is every post great? No, but that's o.k. The great thing about a blog is that tomorrow you can do a new post and the last post goes down the chain. It's also wonderful to see how far I have come from my first posts.
This is an image of my clients' home that I posted about on my third post. I still love the image, but the text read like my 9 year old daughter, Leila wrote it. No, that is an insult to Leila. She would have done so much better! Fortunately it is buried in the archives so only those of you who care about me will ever read it.
4. Blogging means using big images. The bigger the better. We want to see all of the details. My first images were tiny. It was Joni who first gently guided me to the bigger images. Oh, Steve bought me a new camera last week, so expect some better pictures in the future!
I am still getting the hang of my new camera, but Steve took this photo in Oxnard. Look how big and crisp this image is! Ok, I know one of you is going to ask, this is a plaster study from Rick Hart's sculpture he created for the National Cathedral. Rick used to have a studio in the building that Steve's Dad (Bob Giannetti) owns in Maryland.
5. Blogging helped me realize that I will never please everyone. Take #1 on my list of things I've learned about blogging. Inevitably someone will be pissed off at me for not mentioning their blog. I'm sorry. I think you are all wonderful, but this post is only so long. Do I still worry? Of course. I'm a people pleaser to the nth degree. Each time I press "publish" I think "Oh God, now I've done it. My fellow bloggers are going to hate this!"
One of my recent posts was about DIY (do it yourself) vs. DIWH (do it with help). When I finished the post, I thought all the DIY people would be
offended, but it turned out to be one of my most popular posts! Who knew?
6. Blogging is addictive. Yes, I realized that I needed to set limits. All of sudden I related to my son Nick and his love of video games. Blogging is my Madden 2010!
7. Blogging headers matter. Thank you to Maria from Colour Me Happy, one of my absolute favorite bloggers, for caring enough about me to risk telling me this bit of information. After reading my post about displaying books that I so "cleverly" titled "booked", Maria asked "What's up with your blog titles?" (actually she was more diplomatic than this). She said that I should check out the following sites before deciding on a header because it is important to choose a blog header that will be found by more readers searching for the content that I am writing about. Here are the sites:
Blog Headlines that Kick Ass (pardon my language!)
How to Write Magnetic Headlines
Greatest Headlines Ever Writen
Oh, and when all else fails...
Who knew that a post about book displays would lead to such an epiphany?
Because it would be nice if the people who are searching for my titles were actually interested in what I'm writing about! Thank you Maria!!!
8. Blogging is a fantastic way to get our work more exposure. Let's face it, the wonderful shelter magazines are getting far and few between. My blog has allowed me to show the work we are doing to (literally) the world. I don't know any other medium that has this power. I have also met people like Leslie and Lisa Newsom of Veranda who not only inspire me through their magazine but have become wonderful friends.
Leslie, Lisa and me at my home in Channel Islands Harbor. Because of V&L I have these two wonderful women in my life.
9. Blogging has introduced me to the wonderful world of blogging clients. I have had the honor of helping several of you realize your dreams through my internet design service. In the past couple of months I have started offering my services via the internet. I promise to post pictures soon.
10. And of course, Bloggers love give a ways. So, to celebrate my 1 year bloggy-versary I am giving away two sets of three vellum styled script collection books from one of my new favorite resources.
All you have to do to win is leave a comment. For those of you who subscribe to my blog via e-mail, click here to link to this post and leave a comment. I will pick a winner on Sunday, so you have all week to leave a comment.
Thank you so much for all that you have given me in the last year. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us!
xo
Brooke
