Wednesday
October 3rd
2007

The 9rules Network Connection

What do Diary of a Website, Bright Meadow , Start Cooking and 456 Berea Street have in common? They’re all members of the 9rules Network.
I just found out that Quilt Epiphany has been accepted for membership in the 9rules Network too. So what is it, you ask? 9rules is a community of great blogging content. From the About page:

9rules is a place where members and readers can connect, build relationships, gain exposure, learn new things, and have fun. 9rules started in 2003 with a set of 9 rules:

1. Love what you do.
2. Never stop learning.
3. Form works with function.
4. Simple is beautiful.
5. Work hard, play hard.
6. You get what you pay for.
7. When you talk, we listen.
8. Must constantly improve.
9. Respect your inspiration.

These rules are the backbone of 9rules, implemented in everything 9rules does.

Since I discovered 9rules, I’ve become a part of the community through 9rules Notes, and I’ve met some folks from around the globe that I enjoy interacting with. I try to live by those nine rules myself, (okay except maybe that “simple is beautiful” one; I know I’m rather complicated and high maintenance, but we all must work toward something!). I watched with hopefulness (and a bit of envy) during the last round of submissions in 2006, hoping to see that my blog was considered good enough to be accepted to the hallowed halls of the 9rules Network. It’s worth the wait, I say.

Finding out that your blog can wear the 9rules badge is like walking into the quilt show and seeing a blue ribbon on your quilt: the Best of Show ribbon is about excellence in quilting design and execution, and 9rules is about excellent content. Winning an award at a quilt show is one of those Quilting WFF’s, exciting, exhilarating, satisfying, but humbling and scary at the same time. The first time I won an award for one of my quilts at a show, a little part of me wondered if my quilt really deserved the honor, and if I’d be able to do it again. That same little part of me is wondering if my thoughts turned to blog posts can really hold their own when placed next to some of the great content found at 9rules. Kind of raises the bar a bit, no?

This blogging thing

I’m finally here at the computer to write a post (not that I haven’t been at my computer all week for various reasons, just not this reason), and I have so many different things that I intended to write about that I don’t know where to start or which one to choose. I thought about doing a “Sunday Stitch’n'Bitch” type of post every week, with all the little things in it that wouldn’t make up a whole post on their own, but then I remembered that that’s why I created the “Scraps” over there on the right: so that little things can go in there as they happen. You can see I’ve done so well with that.

Another thing I did a couple of times was the Thursday Thirteen. I thought it would prompt at least that one post per week, and some of the lists might be interesting or encourage some fun thought processes and conversations through comments. Problem is, I don’t always worry about what day it is around here. If I don’t have to leave the house and it’s not a weekend (when ITMan is around all day, so it’s obviously either Saturday or Sunday), I don’t necessarily pay attention to the fact that it’s a certain day and I should be doing a certain something. Thursday Thirteen ends up being done on Friday, or worse, Monday the next week!

If there was a way to transfer my thoughts directly to the “Write Post” box on the screen…you’d be seeing new posts daily or more often even.

As I’ve said before, maybe I’m just not a very good blogger. I think about writing sometimes, and if it’s a subject that’s long and I don’t have time to really get it all down right then, I just don’t even start. Yeah, I know, that’s what the “draft” feature is for, right? Start something, save it, come back to it later. I don’t do that much, and when I do, those drafts seem to sit there forever and I never post them up, which says to me that it wasn’t important anyway. If it’s something I really want to say, I want to say it now and get it done, not save it as a draft and finish it later. Of course, sometimes I wish I’d made drafts, Read the rest of this entry »

The 2000 Bloggers Connection

Last month, I heard about a project called 2000 Bloggers. The original idea was the brain child of Tino Buntic. In his words:

55 million blogs…

I’d like to showcase all of them, but I’ve settled on just 2000 bloggers.

Bloggers come from all walks of life! Some are SEO experts. Some are writers. Some are sports enthusiasts. Some are affiliate marketers. Some are business professionals. Some are political. ALL HAVE OPINIONS!!!

Some bloggers blog to make money. Some do it for fun.

I thought, what the heck? Might as well join in. Since then, I’ve had a lot of traffic, of course, and I do hope that the folks who have stopped by have enjoyed, and possibly become regular readers. I think the whole project is interesting, and has spawned another whole “community” inside the blogging community. Speaking of community, I found the 2000 Bloggers project through 9rules, another sort of blogging community, where I’ve been hanging out a lot recently. 9rules is about great content, interesting blogs and fun people. I did submit this site to Round 5 hoping to be accepted as a member, but the jury that is Mike, Scrivs and Tyme is still out on that one. You don’t have to be a member to enjoy 9rules, of course, and I spend quite a bit of time over there lately in the Notes section, chatting with folks from around the world. Who knows, I might be the token textile artist over there.

I’m trying to write the right mix of quilts and quilting, cats, fun, and life. Sometimes those things juxtapose, and, well, sometimes they absolutely don’t!

Back here at home, I still consider myself new at this blogging thing, and I want to get better at it. I’m trying to write the right mix of quilts and quilting, cats, fun, and life. Sometimes these things juxtapose, and, well, sometimes they absolutely don’t! Right now, it’s time for an assessment of where this blog is going, and I’d love to hear comments and suggestions: what is great about this blog, and what could be better? Is it content that keeps you coming back, or could the design be improved? If you’ve been lurking, come out, leave a comment, say hi and share your thoughts. Blogging isn’t just about reading, it’s about communicating, too. It’s a two way street. It took me a while to break out of my lurker status on a few of the blogs I read regularly, but now I “get it” and it’s so much more personal and fun.

At the new home of 2000 Bloggers, Malditang Pinay sums it up:

Once again this proves that the blogosphere is not just about links and content, but about people from all parts of the world reaching out to each other, crossing geographical and communication boundaries, and connecting. The possibilities are endless.

That’s what it’s all about. Make it so.