Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do ...
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Thank you and an idea!

First, let me say a sincere thank you to all who have visited my blog and decided to officially tag along with me now and then. As a new blogger, it is a great thrill for me to open my blog, see a new name or face, know that they read something I wrote, comment, and plan on returning. It puts a smile on my face. Since starting this blogging journey I have consistently felt (and still feel) that I would blog even if I had no readers. But readers are like icing on the cake. I can eat cake and enjoy it, but I love the icing. Thank you!

And I had this idea:

In my cruising through the A to Z April Challenge Blogs I found a lot really great blogs. Some were striking in their design, others told an ongoing story of their life, many were focused on writing and writing skills. But on occasion, I would read an individual post that I thought was special. When that happened, I couldn't help but wonder - how do we call attention to that one posting - how do I direct other readers to something I think they would enjoy.

I know the purpose of this blog event was to accept and complete a personal challenge - to post to your blog for 26 days using an alphabetic prompt. But why not share individual discoveries with others? Would spot-lighting a few posts at the end of the month be a detrimental to the heart of this challenge, or would it add enjoyment because you got a chance to see something you might have missed? I believe the latter.

So my May 1st posting will spotlight a few individual posts (probably 5) from other blogs that I want to share with you. I have a feeling picking just 5 will be pretty hard. You may already be subscribed to the blog of the posting I spotlight - but if not, you might enjoy checking out a few posts that I thought were worth your time.

And if you think this is a good idea, I would LOVE to see a few of your favorites on May 1st - postings I might have missed. With over 1,000 blog participants we can't check in on everyone, but we can be pointed to those who seemed to shine on a certain day.

Tomorrow? Picking up the pace. Eight postings down - 18 more to go!! Think of it as mile 8 in a 26 mile marathon - we have a ways to go.

I am still excited about it!

Breathe, Breathe ...

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

It has turned out to be a lot of fun. Great idea. I was wondering what to do in May.

unsure of the future said...

That is a good idea! Maybe I'll do something similar...post links to those blogs I've come across during this a to z challenge and liked enough to start following!

g-girl said...

this is such a great idea! i can't wait to see the posts you choose. everyday i try to look at different blogs doing the challenge and i keep picking up more and more new blogs to follow! oh, please send your email address so that i can respond to your comments!

Arlee Bird said...

I think it is a great idea to recognize other bloggers and posts that we feel are worthy. I try to do it every so often and so do many others. It's a great way to bring attention to what we've liked and to help create new or solidify already existing blog friendships.

Last year at the end of the Challenge we invited all participants to join in a Blogging from A to Z Challenge Reflections Post and we will most likely do this again. Many last year did what you are suggesting and it was fun to see what we might had missed during the month. This year considering the number of blogs participating we could probably have several days of reflections. I encourage you and all others to do what you have suggested on May 1. The Reflections post will probably occur Monday May 2nd.

Wonderful post!


Lee
Tossing It Out
Twitter hashtag: #atozchallenge

Sylvia Ney said...

What a great idea! I'm participating in the A to Z challenge as well and I've already found so many great posts. I look foward to reading more from you, but I'm trying to make it around to everyone on the list so it may take me a while to get back this way. Good luck!

Lisa said...

What a great idea Lee.

Would it be okay to steal this idea myself?

What a great post!!!!

Lisa
InspiredbyLisa

Elayne said...

What a great idea, look forward to your may 1 post and meeting new bloggers!
elayne

Empty Nest Insider said...

Elaine, this is a wonderful idea. Many of us will have mixed feelings when the challenge is over, so this will really give us something to look forward to. Thanks, Julie

Julie Flanders said...

Oh what a fantastic idea! I think I will try to do this too, excellent idea. :)

Laura said...

What a great idea! I have found so many great blogs through this challenge. :-)