Tag: Community

Celebrating 400

inspiringmax

Today, only 21 months after my first post — Happy Mother’s Day, on Mother’s Day 2014, I celebrate my 400th post. This is a milestone I never dreamed possible, so to celebrate please enjoy my acrostic poem — another skill I’ve learnt on my Inspiring Max journey.

Following my dream

Out of my comfort zone

Under the guidance of those who had gone before

Rewarded by new friends in over a hundred countries

Honing my skills with

Unique and positive posts

Navigating my way

Determined to make a difference

Respecting  and responding to others

Enjoying the journey

Driven by inspiration

Trusting my instincts

Happy others find my hard work helpful

Passion, persistence and positivity

Open the way for my original

Simple success

Thankful for Inspiring Max’s amazing community

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First Blogiversary

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On Mothers Day 2014 I bit the bullet and started a blog. I had no idea where this journey would lead me but I stepped out anyway and the following have been my rewards.

  1. I have met many new friends
  2. I am no longer scared of the internet
  3. Writing daily has helped my word order and editing skills
  4. I have a greater knowledge of countries around the world
  5. I have learnt to reach out to others by leaving a comment on their blog
  6. Understanding WordPress has helped me download my draft copy of my book as an e-book in Pressbooks
  7. I am learning to write poetry
  8. I am learning about search engine optimization
  9. I have been viewed by people in 114 countries some I didn’t know existed
  10. I am learning to fix things on my blog
  11. I am becoming more comfortable using my experiences as a basis for my writing in a public forum
  12. I have learnt to never assume anything and to make my writing clear
  13. Over the 12 months I have had 12, 567 views and have 415 followers
  14. I have learnt that visiting other blogs is as important as writing a post
  15. I have enjoyed several Blogging University courses and learnt a lot from them
  16. The A -Z April Blogging Challenge really tested me but I was excited to join it and complete all posts
  17. I now notice fun blog ideas and can gather the information ahead of time
  18. My audience continues to grow as I learn about traffic flow
  19. Blogging events help us to interact
  20. I have developed and understand my online voice and how it connects with others
  21. I have learned about many new cultures, people, places and things
  22. Finding peace in the blogging community
  23. I have developed confidence with my writing through feedback from others
  24. Learnt to use photos to enhance my posts
  25. I enjoy writing and designing quotes using Picmonkey
  26. I have learnt perseverance—it takes time to find your community blogging
  27. Never give up, keep chipping away at it
  28. Some things you can’t control and who how many people visit your blog is one of them

Thank you for joining me on my journey and I hope we continue to interact over the years to come in the blogosphere. My first ever post on Mother’s Day is here

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/journey/

 

Community

inspiringmax

What does your ideal community look like? How is it organized, and how is community life structured? What values does the community share?

I am a part of many communities. Each one is similar but different. Although their purposes vary, their interchangeable themes and values can be described in the following acrostic poem.

Communication, caring and creativity

Openess, opinions and observations

Managing problems together

Mindful of other people’s boundaries

Understanding and respect

Nurture and nature

Individualism and independence encouraged

Team approach

Yesterday, today and tomorrow—the building blocks of our relationships

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/idyllic/

10,000 Views

inspiringmax

Tell us about a time things came this close to working out… but didn’t. What happened next? Would you like the chance to try again, or are you happy with how things eventually worked out?

Inspiring Max was born on Mother’s day—12th May 2014. I knew nothing about blogging but thought I would give it a go anyway. As a self-hosted blog, I soon realised I had a lot to learn about how I was different to other WordPress.com sites. It was a very slow process. I was frustrated. In July, after  completing Blogging 101 I had—34 views, 13 visitors and only 1 follower. So I stopped blogging and prioritised other things.

In late August I was off work sick for a week. I had nothing to do so I popped back to my site. To my surprise I had a few followers, several more views and an Inspiring Blogger Award. I was humbled and excited. Suddenly I got it. Blogging is a long-term journey—a commitment not only to yourself, but also every one who reads you blog. We all grow together and allow each other to reach our own individual goals. By the end of December 2014, my goal was 100 followers. I ended the year with 110 followers and now I have 335. It may have been a slow start but Inspiring Max is on the move.

Somewhere around September I learnt not to focus on the followers but the views. If people were regularly viewing more than one page of my work I was happy. This usually meant they would come back again. The more I connect with my blogging community—the more they connect with me. I view 3 new blogs a day that I interact with. As a result, I am excited to have been viewed by people in 105 countries—many of whom I didn’t know existed. I love the coloured in world map of where Inspiring Max has been.

My advice to bloggers is make sure you have great content and keep going. When you are discouraged visit new blogs. Connect with your community at every opportunity and overtime—your community will connect with you. Blogging is a rewarding experience that has allowed me to grow in ways I would have never imagined possible before. Thank you for sharing my journey. I look forward to our future together. To celebrate I offer you a virtual glass champagne instead of a cigar.

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/but-no-cigar/

Celebrating—Versatile Blogger and Premio Dardos Awards

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Today I celebrate my 300th follower. Back in January, during Blogging 101 I set goals for this blog, which included having 300 followers by my 12 month anniversary in May. As I reached this mile stone today, I am 2 months early—Yeah! Time to celebrate.  Last month I was given more reason to celebrate as I received two blogging awards to accept from Silver Lining Mama http://silverliningmama.com/ The awards were the Versatile Blogger Award and the Premio Dardos Award. I am humbled, grateful and would like to thank her.  If you get time stop by her blog as it’s worth a visit.

versatile-blogger-award-trophy

The rules are:

  • Show the award on your blog.
  • Thank the person who nominated you.
  • Share seven facts about yourself.
  • Nominate 15 blogs.
  • Link your nominees’ blogs, and let them know.

Seven facts about me:

  1. I love purple.
  2. I was born at midnight.
  3. Dates and walnuts are my least favourite foods.
  4. I have a Mickey Mouse collection.
  5. I am enjoying my new found ability to write poetry.
  6. I will self-publish my book this year.
  7. I work with people recovering from eating disorders—my book is based on my knowledge in this area.

My nominations are:

  1. Lynne’s Art and Soul https://lynnesartandsoul.wordpress.com/
  2. Laissez Faire http://laissezfairelife.com/
  3. Pheonix Grey https://phoenixgrey85.wordpress.com/
  4. Its PH https://itsphblog.wordpress.com/
  5. The Main Focus https://annermurray.wordpress.com/
  6. Mutafariq Khayalat https://mutafariqkhayalat.wordpress.com/
  7. Fresh Paula http://freshpaula.com/
  8. The Kyleinator https://thekyleinator.wordpress.com/
  9. Blisters, Bunions and Blarney http://safarfiertze.com/
  10. Michael Meiser https://michaelmeiser.wordpress.com

premiodardosblogaward

Here is the description and rules for this award:

dardos

My nominations are:

  1. The Lace In My Head Mirrors The Cosmic Mind https://patternsofsouldevelopment.wordpress.com/
  2. The Beauty Along The Road https://beautyalongtheroad.wordpress.com/
  3. Its All In Finding The Right Words https://rogershipp.wordpress.com/
  4. Nuggets of Gold https://joyroses13.wordpress.com/
  5. I’m Not A Sick Boy http://iamnotsickboy.com/
  6. Flowers and Breezers https://flowersandbreezes.wordpress.com
  7. The Gad About Town http://thegadabouttown.com/

All of my nominees are worthy of their awards and I enjoy their blogs regularly. Thank you for adding dimension to my blogging journey.