It’s anniversary week here at ShaiCoggins.com! Yes, this site turns 9 years old on the 24th of August 2009. And, I thought we can all celebrate it together. Here are 9 ways -
1. Posting 9 different posts for the week. I don’t know how I’m going to do this, but I will definitely attempt a 9-post week.
2. Holding our 52WoC Virtual Party #9! I’m hoping to host another 52WoC party for our anniversary week. Coincidentally, it will be our 9th celebration for this project. Yay.
3. Best 9 Posts from 2009. As part of the 9-post-week, I’m planning to share the top 9 posts from this year (so far).
4. Random Commenters’ Week Raffle. I will add an extra giveaway during our 9th 52WoC party. So, anyone who comments during this week-long anniversary (between 24 August – 28 August 2009) will be entered in to the raffle
5. Top 9 Commenters of the Month Feature. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed that we have a sidebar feature showing the top 10 commenters of the month. During this week-long celebration, I plan to do a short feature, showcasing those whose names appear in our top commenters section.
6. Small site revamp. Yes, to celebrate, I did a quick revamp of the site. I just added a ‘Featured Content’ area on the sidebar. And, I basically decided to clean up the sidebar a bit. I finally went for the two-column format rather than the three-column format, as I feel this may de-clutter the sidebar. With this, I ended up re-adjusting a few things. Hopefully, this makes it all a bit better. I’ll probably try to tweak this as I go along as well, as the new format somehow threw some of the original design elements out of whack.
7. Designing a Cool New Header! I’ve been bored with my old header for a while now. But, I never had the time to redesign a new one. Since I already started the site revamp, I thought this special occasion might also be the best time to try my hand at creating a new header. I’m not sure how I’d feel about this in the long run, but I’m pretty pleased with it right now. Especially because it’s the first time I used Gimp for this purpose. Created using a digital collage method, I’m happy to have been able to incorporate different elements here – typography, accents, digital doodling, and even a self portrait photo… Anyway, I hope you like it too!
8. Name readjustment. I know I’ve been trying and testing different names for this site. I’ve called it different things over the last 9 years. The most recent name has been “S Studio”. Although it sounded like a good idea at the time, it didn’t quite stick with me. So now, I decided that I’d try readjusting the name to “Studio Notes” – flowing through to the ‘tag line’ of “on the creative geek life”. Let’s see if this one sticks better! 
9. Sharing 9 Goals for Studio Notes. Here’s to looking ahead…
Anyway, no matter how long you’ve been around to support this site, I just want to say that I am really, really grateful. It’s incredible to have you take part in it all. My life has definitely become richer and happier because of you and this wonderfully crazy world we call the world wide web.
So again I say, THANK YOU.
Much love,
Shai
This is Post 1 out of 9 for the Studio’s 9th Blog Anniversary
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Kari 08.24.09 at 10:05 am
Nine posts in a week? I’m going to feel spoiled when I check my reader each day – it’s been so bare! I can’t believe it’s going to be your ninth year. What an accomplishment! Everything around here is of course looking great
I never disliked S Studio, but I do think Studio Notes flows better like you are saying. Between the posts, drawings and parties I’d say it’s going to be a pretty festive week around here! Happy Blogiversary!
[Reply]
Shai Coggins reply on September 2nd, 2009:
Hey, Kari. It is amazing. I can hardly believe it myself. In any case, thanks for the feedback. Glad you like the changes and the planned celebrations.
[Reply]
Melissa W 08.24.09 at 12:08 pm
The new blog header is gorgeous! I wish I could do something as artistic but alas I must stick with my poorly sized photos (one day I will figure out why mine is so oversized!) And good luck with the nine posts in one week, on top of your already jam packed schedule. I reckon a few photo only posts would be fine though, perhaps showing your ‘creative space’ as it looks right now or even your ‘quiet place’ if you have one.
[Reply]
Shai Coggins reply on September 2nd, 2009:
Aw, thanks, Melissa. GIMP is a free download. Maybe you can try to check it and play with it too. And thanks for those ideas. I’ll try to do those some time!
[Reply]
Em Dy 08.24.09 at 3:02 pm
Happy 9th and congratulations!
[Reply]
Shai Coggins reply on September 2nd, 2009:
Thanks, Em Dy! Good to hear from you again too.
[Reply]
Rachel Cotterill 08.25.09 at 1:50 am
Happy 9 years!
Love the new header, it’s very cute. Looking forwards to see what the other 8 posts say!
[Reply]
Shai Coggins reply on September 2nd, 2009:
Thanks, Rachel. I hope you enjoyed the rest of the celebrations!
[Reply]
Kay 08.25.09 at 10:45 am
Hi there and Happy 9th! It’s amazing you started so long ago and are still going- most people change their way of living and give up when they change jobs, countries or have a baby, but you’re still writing madly!
Profound observation of the month for me (on your blog)- I find I feel a lot closer to you as a “psychological self” when I meet you in person than from the character of your blog(s)! Now go figure!
[Reply]
Shai Coggins reply on September 2nd, 2009:
Thanks, Kay. Yeah, sometimes, I can’t believe that I’ve been doing this for so long. Anyway, I’m now curious what you really meant by your last statements. I sort of understood it, but not sure if that’s what you really meant. Hmmm…
[Reply]
blue rose 08.26.09 at 12:24 pm
oh! i like your new header.
happy 9th blog anniversary shai and congrats!
[Reply]
Shai Coggins reply on September 2nd, 2009:
Glad you did! Thanks, blue rose!
[Reply]
Nicola 09.01.09 at 10:24 am
No wonder I can’t keep up with the posts in my reader! I keep getting behind (partly fixed the problem by unsubscribing to a few blogs I don’t so much read as click the link to make them go away). Congrats on NINE years!! Amazing. Love the new header too, each of the different elements are cool and you brought them all together so well.
[Reply]
Shai Coggins reply on September 2nd, 2009:
LOL. Yeah – a bit of a post overload, eh, Nicola? Anyway, thanks so much. I’m glad you like it too!
[Reply]