Jump in. Log On. Be Inspired.

We live in a world today full of energy, connections and endless possibilities.

Interested in writing? Follow a writer as she writes her book, develops her column or uses her words to inspire others. Interested in travel? Subscribe to a travel blog, connect to a traveler or direct message a travel tipster. Cell phone, IPhone, Blackberry? Picture, e-mail, video applications? Someone out there is testing them, using them and writing about them. Someone is giving them away. Going into business on your own? You are not alone.

Amazing. Simply amazing.

I am not particularly comfortable or confident in this online world. I have been blogging for just over 2 years, twittering just a few months and still playing with Facebook. To say I feel 2 steps behind, on a good day, is generous. Yet, I have no intention of jumping off the grid any time soon.

I am jumping in with both feet and invite you to join me. Why? There are amazing possibilities online. There are people from different professions, backgrounds, time zones and generations. They bring their thoughts, ideas, opinions, and questions. They are generous and curious. Don't be surprised, but they are looking for you too.

Talk about unprecedented reach.

Jump in. Log On. Be inspired.

I Lost My Blog and Found My Voice

I lost my blog Friday night.

I lost my posts. I lost my comments. I lost my categories. I lost my tags. I lost my words. I lost my thoughts. By morning, I was mourning. It was not about the links, the badges, the templates, or the visitor counts and maps. It was about me and the loss of an important part of who I am today.

I tweeted about it and jessica_lee replied, "oh goodness... just saw your tweet. sorry... oh dear." I responded back, "there is a lesson in here for me somewhere I am sure, just not seeing it right now."

By mid-morning Saturday, I had myself convinced that the blog was gone for good and soon had a plan. I was going to get what I could from my last data capture in August, transfer my December posts saved as Facebook notes back into blog posts and move forward from there. As it turns out, my blog was restored rather quickly, and embarrassingly easy, by the Squarespace support team.

I never thought, when I first started blogging, that I would feel what I did. I am who I am today, in part, because of the thoughts, ideas, learnings, and insights gained by, and reflected in, my posts. Wow.

Thinking I lost my words, I realized I found my voice.