washwords

So the latest Facebook chain mail goes something like this : Here’s 25 random things about me. If I tagged you, it means I want to know 25 things about you.

About two zillion of my closest friends fill one out.

Being a 12-year-old girl at heart (not even very thinly veiled most times) I’m one for playing along, but I decided to add a twist: why not take a thing or two from 25 of the friends who filled one out and tagged me, and see where that leads me? So I did. and it led to fun, which made me think: why not post it here even though some of you still don’t know my full identity… won’t that add just one more layer of intrigue. And really, won’t 25 random things about washwords really tell you all you need to know about me. For the privacy of my (mostly innocent) friends, first names only…

1) Emilywrites: My family all lives in CT now. Even though we all used to live in Syracuse, NY and my parents aren’t even married anymore. I think it is pretty remarkable that we live so close by.

I say: My sister and her family (most notably, baby bucket), my two grandmothers, my fiance and his mom and sister all live in metro DC area. I too think it’s pretty crazy. I also think it’s cool that Emily loves books on the Plague.

2) Amanda says: my own herb garden last summer was the first time I was able to keep a plant alive!

I say: I was once cast from the community garden I joined and loved. Something about not weeding. Harumph. I weeded just fine. (and grew beautiful tomatoes and tulips and mint and lettuce and…)

3) Suz says: I grew up in South Florida and had assumed that’s why I’m always cold. But then an Read the rest of this entry »

Oh, Hai (sorry reading lots of Lolcatz lately). Anywho, remember me?

So I’ve been on unapproved blog leave of absence lately. I’m sorry.

There’s a lot of excuses I could give – good ones! Really! I got engaged (and celebrated by fab pals!) I had visitors. I’m exploring interweb advertising and other commercial ventures. I’ve been sick. A moose ate my bloggy post.

But the truth is… I’ve been too mad and sad to blog. Too mad to blog? Whaaa? Blogs are for mad, right? Too sad to blog? Like that’s ever stopped me (ahh, that reminds me I really do need to post Washwords and the Single Parents Mingle Adventure! yee haw). Too scared? Well surely my bloggy friends could help.

But I’ve been struggling with this one – being scared, and mad and sad about… politics. My entire career(s) (whether as a journalist or a “govvie”) have trained me to be apolitical, non-partisan, non-personal. But now…things are changing. The political IS the personal (take abortion, feminism, religion… to name a few issues in both categories) and the stakes are higher (google “Sarah Palin and Jews for Jesus” or “equal pay for equal work, McCain” or “Sarah Palin, “I’d be AGAINST (thanks mom, for editorial correction!)  abortion even in cases of rape, even if it was my daughter” or creationism in schools or… wow, there are too many to go on, if you’re not sure this election matters.) Read the rest of this entry »

From my guest post on the fabulously on-topic, helpful and well-done Sharp Words…

So you’ve built your blog – whether for fun, for profit or “just because” — but is anyone reading it? Consider these 5 steps to bring not only readers (hits) but returning, interested, active readers to your blog time and again.

Note that is a 101 course – I’m still learning myself (and may come back when I know more) – and it is meant to help you bring readers to your blog, not necessarily to sell a product or market another service through your blog. While these tips should apply to bloggers at any level, they may be of most use to those looking to maximize their blogs on a hosted service (wordpress.com or blogger.com) for example or those new to the world of self-hosting.

Step 1: Umm, what is this blog about? Determine the purpose of your blog in 10 words or less. Duh, right? But many people (cough! cough! Me, Washwords, until a month or so ago) haven’t taken the time to answer the basic “what is this blog about?” if you don’t know, how can your readers know and how will they know if they want to stick around or post comments or subscribe? Read the rest of this entry »