I’ve been a little lax on the blogging front this week. We’re crazy busy designing some new sites and that’s been my focus. Hopefully I’ll have a few to show you in the next few weeks.
I am taking some time out today to have lunch with Kal who’s down from NSW. I’m looking forward to it. It’s not often I get to catch up with colleagues or even people who know what I’m talking about half the time. I may even come back with a post idea. 
Oh dear, I’ve just wasted half an hour drooling over the Apple iMacs. Which means I have to confess… I’m a PC user - for now.
This is the year I’ll be upgrading to an iMac and I am so darn excited. It was going to be later in the year but after chatting with a client who has one I’m not sure I can wait that long. Sigh.
Pardon the Star Trek saying. 
About two weeks ago I decided to try Google Reader after a blog post from my friend Peter. The results are in - I love it! It’s much easier to manage and organise and I love the trends. It has a few things I don’t like but nothing so dramatic that I’d go back to Bloglines.
Funnily enough since then my husband has finally decided to get with the program and subscribe to some blogs. I’d always recommended Bloglines and that’s what he went with. I showed him Google Reader but I suspect it was a little too much. Bloglines is a great way to start with RSS and feeds etc. I’d say something like Google Reader is more for advanced users. Although I don’t think I’ll tell him that.
I’ve been a member (and moderator) of Cre8asite forums for a long time and they continue to bring me so much joy.
Last year we re-designed the website and looked to monetize the forums to help Kim cover all the expenses incurred in running such an operation. Kim being Kim decided that what was left would go to an Educational Scholarship Fund to help others wanting to learn to build and market websites.
It wouldn’t be Cre8asite if we picked the educational opportunities ourselves - instead we ran a poll to get our member’s input. 5 winners were announced and each receive US$400 to sponsor someone they feel would benefit their services. The winners are:
Kal from Search Engine College went one step further and matched our $400 dollar for dollar, enabling a second recipient to benefit from SEC’s great courses. Thanks Kal!
So far Liz (nic AbleReach) and Miriam (nic SEOigloo) have been the lucky recipients of the two SEC funds. Both are planning to blog about their experiences which I’m looking forward to. Still waiting to hear from the rest but I’m looking forward to making someone else’s day.
If you haven’t already, stop by Cre8asite, I may be biased but I reckon we have the best bunch of people online.
I’ve always wanted to write - but never felt I was any good. Yesterday, after penning two blog posts I had a moment when I realised hey maybe my writing’s ok these days. I’m finally able to put across what I want to say using my own “voice”. Well I hope I do anyway.
I got thinking about how I came to that point and what tips I could give to others wanting to write better but aren’t sure how to go about it. If you’re working online being able to write well in your own voice is vital. You’ll spend countless hours emailing anyone from clients and prospective clients to suppliers and contractors. You’ll also need to look at writing your marketing materials such as websites, blogs, newsletters etc. In many instances your main form of communication will be the written word - so make sure you get it right!
So here’s my suggestions for becoming a better writer:
It may take some time but my experience has taught me not only does it become easier it becomes fun. And what’s life without a bit of fun.
