If you receive this post via email or RSS you might just want to drop by the blog itself as it has a totally new look. The theme is the same as the main website but with some differences and the last 10 posts all on the front page.  To view the full post just click on the title.

I hope you like the new look – it will probably take a little while to get used to.  Although it’s easy to change from one template to another simply by choosing and clicking, it’s another thing when you want to completely modify the template which has been done for this blog and our main website.

In 2007 I wrote a blogpost about 2 years of blogging. I came across it the other day and thought, really?  Funny what you forget you’ve written.

I won’t repeat my journey of how I came to be blogging, you can read the original post linked above.  But I can tell you some of what has occurred since then:

• I’ve published two printed books based on two separate blogs I’ve written. Both are available in bookstores in Australia and through Amazon.com
• I’ve travelled to Canada to speak at a Virtual Assistants Conference because of my speaking about social media and blogging
• I’ve created a few more blogs
• I am currently researching material for another printed book via one of my blogs
• I love to see all the comments from readers here and the amount of comments is nearly 3 times the number of posts here (thank you everyone).

How have I kept it up so long? I network online, always keeping my ears and eyes open for possible topics to write about and I set a routine of writing weekly to publish 2-3 times a week.

I’m amazed by the amount of  ‘VA’ spammers out there, who are desperate to get their comments posted on this blog.  Regular spam is bad enough but VAs doing this? Your flattery and use of big words will not impress me, nor the html coding you leave in the comments either.

However, if you add value to the article and simply leave your name and URL in the relevant fields, your comments will get published and people can visit your site if they wish.

Spamming on a peer’s site is not the way to get yourself good attention. It will just serve to have you added to the spam list managed by Akistmet or any of the other spam filter programs used by bloggers.

WE Magazine for Women’s has a new list of 100 More Women Bloggers to Watch and I’m thrilled to announce that my photo blog is on that list.

I encourage you to visit that list – you’ll see some familiar names but also some blogs you didn’t know about and will find well worth visiting.

Why not go get yourself a cuppa right now, then click on the link below to start viewing 100 blogs written by women?

I haven’t done one of these posts for quite sometime – so I thought I’d show you some of my latest finds on Google Reader!

This one is mine – I write a number of blogs http://soho-life.com/blog/

Democratizing Twitter

My Blogging Journey (well, not mine but that of the author of this post)

Were you April fooled about Conficker?

Increase your changes to be linked at your blog (well, I’m trying to do mine!)

Dare to stand out and be noticed

Top 10 strategies for marketing your business

And something to amuse you (Be prepared for a real belly laugh – good for the soul!)

Last year I wrote about two different situations where the VA community grouped together to help one of its own.  One was when a VA shared on her challenges and others rallied round to help her.  The other was when I, myself, was going through a family tragedy and so many once again, rallied round to support me and let me know they were there in my time of need.

Well, another need has been highlighted by one of my team today and it relates to the Victorian bushfires that most of the world now knows about by now.  There have been so many stories of those directly affected – lost homes, lives, pets, livestock, businesses, crops and so on.  It has been devastating and has swept our nation with grief and shock. And we’ve had firemen flown over from New Zealand and the US (and possibly other areas) to come help fight the biggest natural disaster Australia has ever known.

There is a massive fund raising effort being held currently and many people are donating clothing, food, goods, household items, places to stay and so on to assist those directly affected.

But it wasn’t till today that I’d given thought to those indirectly affected and this is also something that needs to be highlighted.  The businesses and communities that will suffer loss – extreme loss, if nothing is done – due to the drop in tourism because people are either scared or incorrectly assumed other towns have been wiped out.  One of those is Beechworth and because a member of my VA team lives and works there, it is something I want to highlight here.  I have blogged and twittered about this situation but I want to encourage you too, to write about it.  Perhaps even adopt a town you know of in Victoria, that needs that kind of attention and support.  And if you do, why not leave a comment here with a direct link to the post you’ve made and the town you are supporting.

Thank you for your help on behalf of all in Victoria who have a need of this kind.

Victorian bushfires, fires in Victoria, Beechworth, Australia, tourism