For the new year, I’ve joined hundreds of other bloggers and writers in the WordPress.com online Blogging 101 course.
What? you might ask me. You already have a blog.
Yes, I’ve been blogging off and on for the past five years. And in 2014, I dedicated myself to blogging daily.
So, why am I taking a course in blogging? If I’ve been blogging for several years, what can I expect to learn?
My son asks me the same question every time I register for a new course. He’s in college and can’t wait to be done with classes.
Me, I’m a lifelong learner. Though I finished high school and graduated from college years ago, I always seek out learning opportunities.
No matter what type of course I take, my goal is to learn one new thing and share it with others. I’m delighted to meet new people in the community, connect and learn from them, and hear their stories.
Who Am I?
I’m a reader, bicyclist, birdwatcher, and someone who likes to make things easier for people to use.
I’ve worked as a naturalist, catalogued lichens and mosses at an herbarium, and led hundreds of people through the sugar bush.
I was employee #7 at an Ann Arbor software startup and helped expand the company to 25 people before I left, oversaw software application releases and translations in three languages, and photographed and wrote about U.S. presidents, Michigan governors, and mayors of Detroit as they volunteered to build houses in Detroit.
Along the way, I’ve taught English as a second language to adults, tutored children in reading, and taught Junior Great Books. I’ve bicycled over 250 miles across the State of Michigan with 700 other people. Twice.
I graduated from taking photos with a Polaroid to shooting with a digital camera. Ten years ago, I had a two-page spread of my articles and photos in the Michigan Chronicle. One of my photos landed in a social studies textbook in Texas.
And I worked at a community college for four years in the web department, helping to design and develop the college website.
What Do I Do?
Nowadays, I create and maintain websites for small companies, organizations, and individuals.
Along with co-leaders, I organize WordPress, user experience, and web design and development meetups and conferences for people in southeast Michigan.
I’m active in the metro Detroit social media and entrepreneur communities where I meet fellow entrepreneurs, learn about new products, and businesses in our area.
I write about user experience, WordPress, web design, accessibility, and technology. And I share a weekly resource post for fellow web designers and developers.
How I Started Blogging
Years ago, my friend Nick inspired me to get started blogging. I shared lots of tips and resources on Twitter, and Nick asked:
Why don’t you blog? You share great resources and info, but I can’t keep up with your tweets.
I’ve been blogging ever since.
I like writing, and though I know some basics about journalism, I know I can learn more about developing a story, writing articles, and building a community. I’m looking forward to meeting other bloggers in this course!
