Shai Coggins

Due to some unexpected turn of events, I’ve lost a bit of puff today. This is the flip side of blogging community, I suppose. I’ve done all I can to develop a thick skin, but sometimes, these things still get to me. In any case, whatever remaining energy I have for now, I need to use it on my “real work stuff” - and tune off everything else at the moment. I’m sure I’ll bounce back soon enough.

Anyway, I hope you don’t mind that I take a break from today’s 52WoC. I’m leaving 52WoC#16: Bring-a-Friend open for now. Will post a new task in the next few days. Or, worst case scenario: next week.

Hope you have a good week ahead.

Hi, everyone. Yes, it’s Week #16 of our 52 Weeks of Blog Community Project. This week is the second to the last task for our Month 4 Virtual Party. As some of you might know, all participants for Weeks #13 to #17 are eligible for our Virtual Party #4. Our raffle prizes for the month are (2 winners; 1 prize each): US$30 Winner’s Choice Award (via Paypal) and a new Gocco print.

Anyway, this week’s task was inspired by visiting everyone’s ‘Getting to Know Readers’ posts from last week’s task. You see, I realised two really cool things when I visited some of the 52WoCers’ posts:

1. Many participants of 52WoC gain new friends/blog readers through this project. 52WoCers are beginning to read (and comment on) each other’s blogs. And, I think that’s really, really wonderful. That is part of the reason why I started this project. To help people to network, to make friends, to support each other…

2. Many 52WoC participants have great friends and supporters. I read some of the comments and visited some of their blogs… and thought that it’ll be cool to get to know them too.

So, I thought, what if we all brought a new friend to join 52WoC this week? Ask even just 1 new person to join 52WoC? Introduce at least 1 new friend to some of our existing 52WoC friends? Wouldn’t it be great to grow our circle of blog buddies?

Now, how do we go about it doing this? I don’t know how easy this is going to be, but I thought I’d try anyway.

Basically, I encourage all of you to introduce a blogging friend/contact to 52WoC. Point them to 52WoC Central, if you need to. It’s up to you how you do it - write a blog post, Tweet about it, chat to someone, send an email… And, encourage them to leave a comment in this post. They don’t need to introduce anyone else - just say: “[Insert 52WoCer’s Name] sent me here!”

Once you’ve introduced 52WoC to someone, leave a comment here - and tell us what you did and leave at least one URL of the friend that you introduced 52WoC to. Even if they don’t visit and they don’t leave a comment, you’ll still be entered as a participant for this week.

If your friend says hello here, then you get TWO entries for the raffle this week. And, your friend gets entered in to the raffle too.

Does that make sense? I hope so. In any case, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this week’s task.

I’m really looking forward to meeting your friends. And, I hope that they find more new friends here too!

Anyway, thanks so much again to all who joined last week’s task, 52WoC #15: Get to Know Your Readers. Do check out their posts and perhaps, participate in them too!

• Denise - Asks “Who Are You?”
• Nenette - It’s All About You
• Hanna - Celebrating a blog birthday soon, Hanna asks 3 questions to get to know readers.
• Toni - Shares her Weekend Soiree
• Nicola - Holds her first delurking day.

Unfortunately, I didn’t add those who didn’t leave any links (or background info) on their Getting To Know You stuff. If you left a comment and haven’t left your URL, just let me know. So I can add you in here too.

Hello and welcome to 52WoC. It’s Week #15 of our 52 Weeks of Blog Community Project

This week’s task is pretty much a continuation of last week’s task. This time, though, I encourage you to do something to get to know your readers better. If you already do this on a regular basis, share with us what you do. If you have a sample post on how you get to know your readers, share them in the comments section below.

If you do not have any ideas on what to do to get to know your readers better, here are some suggestions:

1. Start a Tell Me About You project. You don’t have to make it an ongoing project, if you feel it’s too much to cope with. A one-off session might do you for now.

2. Post some of the questions last week’s task (with a link to the originator of the questions, if possible). Encourage your readers to answer those questions.

3. Do your own “Getting to Know You” session in your blog. Ask a question, encourage commenter #2 to answer your question and post a new question, etc etc etc.

4. Hold a delurking day!

Whatever it is that you decide to do, please share your post’s links here, so we can visit them and send them some love. Maybe even take part in them!

In any case, I hope this task will help you to bring some readers closer to you…

Anyway, thanks again to all who shared a little more about themselves in last week’s task, Getting to Know You (52WoC #14):

• Heather
• Nicola
• Hanna
• Nenette
• Christie
• Sushi
• Toni
• Jayme
• Jami

I really enjoyed reading all the answers and questions. When there was a bit of confusion to begin with, I was really impressed when you all managed to get things back on track. Well done, all. Thank you!

Since Jami posted the last 3 questions, I promised to answer them here. So, here you go…

Hey, hey, hey! It’s Sushi + Vodka Cruiser Day here on our 52WoC Virtual Party #3. Thanks so much for your patience with the delay. Hope our third party’s worth the wait!

Anyway, we’ll be holding TWO raffle draws in this party, with 3 winners. In Raffle 1, the first 2 names listed by random.org will be chosen as the winners of the main art journal + b5 gear respectively. In Raffle 2, the first name listed will be the winner of the mini art journal, from the collab project.

So, without further ado, here’s the round-up of our 52WoC participants. Will also share some basic stats below…

52WoC#9: More Social Networking Fun -

• Amy Palko
• Nenette
• Kari
• Nicola
• Jami
• Em Dy
• Toni
• Kay/Murfomurf

52WoC #10: Collab Project Help -

• Em Dy
• Nenette
• Nicola
• Kari
• Amy Palko
• Heather
• Toni
• Chloe
• Jami

52WoC#11: Get a Gravatar! -

• Em Dy
• Amy Palko
• Nicola
• Lin
• Toni
• Heather
• Nenette
• Jen
• Jami
• Kari
• Marlowjust

52WoC #12: Give a Blog Star Award -

• Em Dy
• Toni
• Jami
• Jen Hill
• Nenette
• Nicola

It looks like we have FOUR special mentions for completing all four tasks: Nenette, Nicola, Toni, and Em Dy. Thanks so much for being here every week!

This month, we had a total of 15 participants. And we welcomed 5 new 52WoCers - Heather, Chloe, Jen, Lin, and Kay. It’s always great to have new folks join 52WoC.

Again, thanks to everyone who joined 52WoC this month. Really enjoyed it all too!

Well now, go and grab and drink as we announce our winners… The first 2 names are the winners. Name #1 will win the main Art Journal & Name #2 will win the b5 gear. Afterwards, the 1st name in the 2nd draw is the winner of the mini art journal.

So, let’s raise our glasses and send our cheers and congratulations to…

Yay! It’s Week #14 of 52 Weeks of Blog Community Project. And this week, it’s Getting To Know You Time. With a twist. Inspired by Toni’s Weekend Soirees.

Basically, the idea is, I’ll post 3 Questions here that Commenter #1 should answer either directly in the comment section or through his/her blog. If he/she posts on the blog, please share the link via Comments.

Commenter #1 will also ask 3 new Questions. Commenter #2 can then answer those questions either directly or via a blog post. He/she will also post 3 new Questions. Commenter #3 will answer #2’s questions & ask 3 more questions, etc etc. I will then answer last commenter’s 3 questions next week, after I close this task.

So, if in summary:
Me > Post 3 Questions
Commenter 1 > Answers my questions via comments or blog + Posts 3 new questions
Commenter 2 > Answers Commenter 1’s 3 questions + Posts 3 new questions
Commenter 3 > Answers Commenter 2’s 3 questions + Posts 3 new questions
….
Me> Answers Last Commenter’s 3 Questions

Hope that makes sense! If not, you’re always welcome to Contact Me. To see my questions, please see the bottom section of this blog post.

Just note that all participants in this week’s task will be eligible to join our Virtual Party #4.

Anyway, thanks to all who shared their Best Posts of the Month (52WoC #13):

• Hanna: Crafting a Business
• Nicola: Change of Pace
• Denise : How Tos Day: How to Kill Time While You Wait for Your Lasagna to Cook
• Chris Guillebeau : How to Recruit a Small Army
• Toni : My Last Entry for the First Quarter of the Year
• Amy Palko : How To Live A Life Less Ordinary
• Sushi : Sunday Confessions Launch
• Nenette : Earth Hour: Family Fun By Candelight

Welcome to 52WoC, Chris! Hope you’ll continue to join future 52WoCs.

My 3 Questions for Commenter #1:
1. Who is the biggest influence you have as a blogger?
2. If you can ask someone to be a mentor (from blogging or elsewhere), who would you choose and why?
3. What’s your favourite book of all time?

After all the virtual dusting and planning for today’s 52WoC Party (Part 3), I ended up running out of time to prepare the finishing touches. So, I hope you don’t mind that I postpone the party for another couple of days or so.

Besides, I really want to post the complete version of the art journals first before we announce the winners. And, I’ve been really swamped with work and stuff, so I didn’t get to do that. Unfortunately, last week’s illness delayed my schedule.

In any case, I closed the Collaborative Art Journal Project today. I’m no longer accepting submissions for the pages. I think we have more than enough pages to fill the books. I’ll be working on the remaining pages - and choosing a winner from those who submitted their words for the pages during the 52Woc virtual party. I really enjoyed doing this project - and I’m looking forward to doing another one with you all one of these days.

Anyway, watch this space. We’ll have our virtual party soon!

Hello and welcome to Week #13 of our 52 Weeks of Blog Community Project. As you can tell from the title of this post, this week’s task is all about choosing best posts of the month.

Here’s how you can take part -
1. Choose your best - or most favourite - post from your blog for the month of March 2008.

2. Share the link in the comment section below. You can also tell us why you like it best.

3. Send some love to the commenter before you either by Tweeting about their favourite URL, Stumbling it, Leaving a comment, Blogging about it, etc. You can also do all, if you wish. But, just one way of sending some love is enough.

Note: Commenter #1 can simply send some love to this post or to 52WoC in general. Commenter #2 can send some love to Commenter #1’s best post. Commenter #3 send some love to Commenter #2’s best post, etc etc.

Hope that’s all good. If you have any questions, as always feel free to ask.

Also, please note that this is the first task for Month #4. Tasks/Weeks inclusive for Month 4: Week #s 13 - 16.

Prizes for our fourth monthly virtual party? 1) $30 Winner’s Choice Award (via Paypal) and 2) A copy of a brand new gocco print (still to be created/announced)

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who participated in last week’s task (Give a Blog Star Award) -

• Em Dy, who gave a star to Toni of Wifely Steps
• Toni, who gave a star to Meredith Matthews of Lemonade Stand
• Jami, who gave stars to Mythbuster Beauty, Cheap but not Easy, and Life Candy in her post.
• Jen Hill awarded stars to Bionic Beauty, Fried Green Madness, and Grammah Hansen in her post.
• Nenette awarded these stars to Bionic Beauty, Mrs Mogul and April’s CR Diary in her post.

I’ll be updating the Blog Star Awards page soon to reflect our Batch 2 Awardees. Congratulations to all!

And yes - we’re holding our 3rd Virtual Party on the 11th of April! So, mark the date and check who will win the customised art journal and b5 gear.

How’re you all doing? It’s now Week #12 of our 52 Weeks of Blog Community Project. And yes - it’s our fourth and final task for our Month Three Party.

So, what’s up for this week?

Well, this week, I invite you to give someone a Blog Star Award. That is, if you know a blogger (or bloggers) who made a difference in your life - I urge you to give that person (or persons) a Blog Star Award.

To read more about the background of this award, check out the Blog Star Awards page.

So, how can you give someone a Blog Star Award?

Well, you can do so by either:
1) Sharing your nomination in the comment section here; or
2) By giving the award on your blog (write a post about it). If you do this, please share the URL to your post so I can link back to it.

If you decide to blog about it, you’re welcome to use this image:

You can either save it to your computer and upload to your own photo hosting service. Or, you can use this code (just change [ to < and ] to >):

[img src=”http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/scoggins/blog-star-award-general.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”You Are a Blog Star Award”]

To help with your Blog Star nominations, here are some questions that you might want to use as a guideline -
1) How long have you been reading the blog you’re nominating? And, how often do you visit?
2) How did you find out about this blog?
3) Can you describe this blog in 3 words?
4) What makes this blog/blogger a Blog Star?

All those who get nominated during this week will be added to the Batch 2 awardees list on the Blog Star Awards page, with corresponding links to you - the one who nominate the awardees.

So, I’m looking forward to seeing who you’ll give this Star to this week. I’m excited to discover more amazing bloggers out there - and recognising their contributions to the blogosphere.

Again, just a reminder that this is the LAST task for Month #3. All participants in Weeks 9 to 12 will be eligible for the raffle draw on our third virtual party - scheduled for 11th April 2008. Prizes for the month: A custom-made art journal + a b5media gear. We will choose two winners in this round.

Anyway, it was really cool seeing everyone’s ‘faces’ via Gravatars in last week’s task. And, I’m loving that I can now associate images of 52WoCers in other posts (as well as in other blogs). So, here are folks who joined last week’s task…

• Em Dy
• Amy Palko
• Nicola
• Lin
• Toni
• Heather
• Nenette
• Jen
• Jami
• Kari
• Marlowjust

Yay! This looks like a record-breaking week in terms of number of participants. So, thanks again, everyone. Always happy to see ‘regular’s And, a big warm welcome to Lin and Jen to 52WoC. Glad you can join us!

Hello and welcome to Week #11 of our 52 Weeks of Blog Community Project.

This week, it’s all about giving everyone a ‘face’. On Gravatar, that is.

You see this generic image that comes up every time you comment on this blog (or any other blog with Gravatars enabled)?

In this blog, you’ll either see or
- next to your name whenever you leave a comment. That is, if you haven’t enabled your universal avatar via Gravatar.

Quite boring huh? That’s why this week, I’d like to encourage you to put a face (or at least another image that you wish to represent yourself with) to your comments. This is great when you wish to ‘brand’ yourself. And, even if ‘branding’ isn’t on your agenda, it’s still good for enabling easy recognition whenever you leave comments in people’s blogs.

So, now, what do you need to do?

1. Go to Gravatar and sign up for an account. Don’t worry. It’s quick, free and easy!

2. Once you’ve chosen a username, a password, and a primary email address, you’ll need to verify your email addy. Just click on the link that they send you. Make sure that the primary email address you use is an active account, and one that you use whenever you leave comments on other people’s blogs.

3. If you wish to add other email addresses that you use, you can do that too.

4. Upload an image (a small square image works best).

5. Associate that image with your email address. You can use different images with different email addresses.

6. Come back to this post and leave a comment. Any comment will do (like, “Got my Gravatar!”). If you see your own image next to your comment, then you’re all set. Well done! Now you’re able to associate your comments with a face from hereon.

And yes, this should work not just on this blog - but on any other blog that uses Gravatars. If you have a blog and you wish to enable Gravatars, you can check out this guide.

Now, what if you already have a Gravatar? Can you still join this week’s task?

Absolutely! If you already have a Gravatar, then your job’s a lot easier this week. All you need to do is leave a comment here, and show off your Gravatar to us. Easy peasy!

Anyway as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Again, everyone who participates in Weeks 9 - 12 will be eligible to join our Month 3 Party. And, all participants will get a chance to join our raffle. We’re giving away: 1) a custom-made art journal and 2) a piece of b5media gear for Month 3.

Thanks again to everyone who joined in last week’s task of Collab Project Help:

• Em Dy
• Nenette
• Nicola
• Kari
• Amy Palko
• Heather
• Toni
• Chloe
• Jami

I’ll be posting new journal pages updates soon. And yes, I just want to extend a big warm welcome to Heather and Chloe to 52WoC. So glad you both can join us. Hope that was just the first of many 52WoCs.

Hey, hey, hey! We’re on Week #10 of our 52 Weeks of Blog Community Project.

And, this week’s task is both a help alert and a double whammy.

As some of you may be aware of, I’ve launched the Art Journal Collaboration Project a few days ago, in conjunction with our 52WoC Month 3’s prize of a customised art journal.

At this time, I’ve only received 2 entries so far. And, I’m hoping that I can encourage a few more of you to participate, so we can come up with more pages for the art journal. Hence, this week’s task!

All you need to do to be included in Week #10’s round-up next week is to participate in the art journal collab by leaving a comment saying 1) Your favourite colour and 2) The first word that comes to your mind at the time.

By doing this, you get TWO chances to win an art journal - both the main art journal and the mini art journal. This is only effective between today, 17th Mar 08 to 24th Mar 08, while Week #10 is on. Once Week 10’s done, the art journal collab project may continue (if we don’t reach the target 20 pages yet), but entries will no longer be counted for 52WoC.

PLEASE NOTE: You must leave your collab project entries in the original art journal collab post only, not in this post. Thank you!

Easy peasy? I hope! But, as always, you’re welcome to contact me if you have any questions/clarifications.

BTW, Kari and Toni - you’re welcome to join again!

Anyway, as I promised, here’s how the pages are coming along… (Also, see last week’s round-up of participants below…)

Art Journal Collab:

Page 1: Kari - incorporating her entry in 2 pages - the main and the mini art journals.

Page 2: Kari + Toni - a mix of both Kari’s and Toni’s entries… Although primarily, Kari’s still.