Today is both Memorial Day here in the US and the last day of our blogathon. Memorial Day is a holiday to honor those who have lost their lives in service to our country. No matter where we stand politically, the fact remains that there are many who have died, and that freedom is not something that should be taken for granted. That freedom comes in many forms, and in the US, one of those is writing what we want.
The blogathon had a wide variety of topics and with so many participants, it was impossible to make it to all the blogs, all the time. I often visited and did not leave comments, but found many thought provoking posts. Congratulations to all who participated and posted most of the month.
One of the reasons I signed up, was to push me into adding to the site on a more regular basis. However, much of what will be added to the site, is not really as much written content but quick videos to answer and demonstrate commonly requested how-to’s. So there is still much to do. It has been a stretch and I’m glad I did it.
Thanks again to Michelle Rafter for organizing and cheering us on to completion. We all submitted our favorite post from the month and here is a list Michelle compiled. I encourage you to visit and leave comments.
- Anjuli - bhulbhulaiyan – Chinese tea ceremony
- Christa Avampato - Christa in New York – A job you like
- Joan Lambert Bailey - PopcornHomestead – Sidewalk as eden, gardens of Yanaka
- Karen Bannan – Natural as possible mom – Throwaway society
- t.a. barnhart - Left Coast Foodie – Guest post: Karen Bannan
- Jane Boursaw* - Film Gecko – Tom Hanks talks Toy Story 3, Pixar and Mr. Potato Head
- Alisa Bowman - Project Happily Ever After – You get what you ask for
- Carson Brackney - Carson Brackney – Freelance writers, it’s your thing
- Danielle Buffardi* - Horrible Sanity – 5 tips for writers when speaking publicly
- Beverly Burmeier - Going on Adventures - Swimming with dolphins
- Fiona Chan - Candy Prison – My very first haiku
- Joy Choquette - One Year. 156 Fears. Life Changing – The gratefulness project
- Caroline Clemmons - A Writer’s Life – Writing is a great job
- Sue Dickman – Life Divided – Dehli Metro love revisited
- Jackie Dishner – Bike with Jackie – Inspiration schinsperation
- Tracy Doerr – Tracy Doerr – William Shatner…..we need to talk/Procrastination they name is William Shatner
- Ron S. Doyle* – Blog Salad – The digital privacy paradox
- Dana DuGan – Chick with a View – Modern Art{i}ishly played
- Cindy Elsberry - Doodle9 – I can drive!
- Heather Faesy – Blame it on the Full Moon – Run for the roses
- Jennifer Fink – Blogging Bout Boys – All boys?
- Barb Freda - Babette Feasts – 6 rules I routinely break in the kitchen
- Adina Genn – adinagenn’s blog – Be relentless
- Alexandra Grabbe – Chezsven’s Blog – Confessions of an addicted woman
- Elyse Grau – My Garden to Table – Hot preserves
- Katie Hinderer – Write Beyond the Cubicle – Changing your niche
- Amanda Hirsch – Tastee Pudding – Trust your gut
- Lisa Jaffe Hubbell – Eat, Read and Be Harried – Don’t tell me I can handle it
- Nancy Mann Jackson – Growing Food and Kids – Boys and gardens
- Robert Janelle – Without an Apostrophe – On subscription options
- Elizabeth King Humphrey – The Write Elizabeth – My circuitous South African roots
- B.J. Keeton – Professor Beej – Lost series finale review: The End
- Sara Lancaster – No.2PenBlog – Uptown Soap Co.: Expert soap making, expert mar/com pros
- Bill Lascher – Lascher at Large – The freelancedom to investigate
- Pooja Lohana – Brown-eyed Mystic – But what will the others think?
- Jenny Lynes – Welcome to the Good Life – Lessons from grammy
- Su-sieee! Mac – This and That. Here and There. Now, Sometimes Then. –What Daddy told me
- Harry Marks – Curious Rat – A letter to open source Apple bashers
- Joanne Mason – English Idioms - Big shoes to fill
- Andrea Genevieve Michnik – Andrea Genevieve - A home-made Mother’s Day present
- Kathy Murray – Out and Employed – The perils of winning one for the gipper
- Charles Newbery – Pine Tree Paradise – The giant
- Andrew Nielsen - A Green Mushroom – Innovation trumps graphics
- Eric Novinson – Costing a Green Future – Major organic farming initiative in Madhya Pradesh
- Andrea Parker – Autism Fundraising Guide – Why parents should not try to get children with autism to talk
- Tara Phillips – Two Hands and a Road Map – Around the town and a little beyond
- Jennie Phipps – WalletPop – How to make sure your complaints won’t be ignored
- Ed Pilolla – Ed Pilolla – Good morning
- Michelle Rafter, WordCount - What Yahoo’s deal for Associated Content means for writers
- Meredith Resnick – The Writer’s [Inner] Journey – A muse will not get you published, but writing even when you don’t feel like it will
- Rebecca Robinson – Rebecca Robinson – Maybe I’m just old, or maybe you’re just right: reflections on judging the Bruce Baer awards
- Joe Romano - Blogging Perspectives Daily – The Internet experience and blogging behind the Great Firewall - On the day it appeared, this post made it onto Freshly Pressed, WordPress.com’s daily list of featured posts, not bad for a guy who’s only been blogging a month – congrats Joe!
- Lisa Samalonis – Single Parent Savings – Don’t miss it
- Ovetta Sampson - Musings of a Writing Princess – Take 37 seconds for Haiti
- Lilian Schaer – Food and Farming Canada – First Ontario asparagus of the season
- Kristie Sloan – mkBeautyZone – The beauty of variety
- Stephanie Suesan Smith – Stephanie Suesan Smith PhD, Information Central – Natural is not necessarily safe
- Margarita Tartakovsky – Self-ish – When saying ‘I’m sorry’ is unhealthy, and how to stop
- Thinkingtoohard – Thinking too hard – Blessing no. 1 – time
- Jan Udlock - Imperfect Mom – Embracing the journey
- Brandi-Ann Uyemura – Brandi-Ann Uyemura – Be the super hero in your own comic book life
- Beth VanHoose – Writing in Sand – Blogs I visit frequently
- Rachel Vidoni – East Coast Musings – Cupcake conundrum
- Sarah Webb – Webb of Science – Blogathon haiku day
- Jennifer Willis – Jennifer Willis – Lech Lecha and building bridges
* These awesome participants are also WordCount Blogathon 2010 sponsors.
Thanks for joining us Kristie, the blogathon was a better experience for everyone because you were in it.
I’ve never really thought about how lucky we in the United States are to have the freedom to blog about what we want, thanks for expressing it to well.
As you’ve discovered, maintaining a blog isn’t just about putting up new posts. There’s so much else that goes along with it – updating categories, blogrolls, keeping the site design fresh, promoting the site on social networks, planning, etc. I have a backlog of blog maintenance that I’ll be working on now that the blogathon is over.
Thanks again for participating. See you at the live chat tomorrow.
Michelle Rafter
Thank you, Michelle. It has been my pleasure. A few months ago I would have never dreamed of participating in anything like this, nor even writing on a regular basis.
You are so right about all the behind the scenes activity that it takes. Not that it’s difficult, it just takes planning and time.
“See” you at the chat!
It’s great to read that you really benefited from the Blogathon. And what a great idea to run this list on your blog!
If my mother-in-law were alive and still running her Mary Kay business, I’m sure she’d be calling me about how to set up her own blog. I’m sure she’d have one. I’m not sure she’d be willing to put up videos of make-up demonstrations, but I think that will be an excellent use of your space. See you at the Twitter party tomorrow!
Jackie, you would certainly be able to give her some great advice on blogging! This will be my first Twitter party!