2nd Blogiversary: Going National

For my first blogiversary I wrote what would become one of my most popular posts ever—What to Expect: Your First Blogiversary. BlogHer nominated it as a 2010 Voice of The Year. If you read it in the past six months, you probably came via the blogging phenom Scary Mommy, who is solely responsible for my entire blog traffic now. Happy Blogiversary Scary Mommy! I feel as close to you as the day our eyes met— catatonic on a BlogHer conference hotel lobby chaise in 2009.

After blogging for two years I am far too exhausted and tapped out to come up with another pithy anniversary post that only bloggers could possibly appreciate ala “What to expect: Your blog is a punk-ass toddler” or “Earn your Masters in Blogging, FREE ON LINE!” And what better way to thank your readers than another post filled with esoteric blog speak.

I learned the word “esoteric” after posting last year’s blogiversary post by the way. See I’m still growing! And learning.

But in all seriousness, I feel awestruck at the gifts that blogging has brought me after two years. What began as a creative outlet for my trapped-at-home-in-the-tundra-with-tiny-people-and-a-traveling-husband desperation, has changed the course of my life profoundly. Blogging brought me an audience that I didn’t realize how much I missed from my theater days, and has provided such opportunities—to connect with people who inspire me with their work, and who challenge me to make mine better.

When people remark about the abundance of bad blogs on the internet, I like to answer “If you aren’t completely humbled by the blogs you are reading, you aren’t finding the right blogs”

I believe that blogging holds tremendous opportunity for networking, mentoring, and upping anyone’s game. Even if you don’t have a game. Not even ping pong. Because maybe your hand-eye coordination sucks so bad that you spend the entire match on your hands and knees with a yardstick trying to retrieve balls from underneath the “The Divan” in your friend’s basement. Because her mom wears high-heeled slippers and calls the couch “The Divahhn.”

Blogging has helped me reconcile the fact that choosing a creative life is yes, self-absorbed, but also holds great potential to build community and can make the world a better place. I modeled LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER on that very premise.

I am so grateful to you, my bloggy friends, and idols—turned mentors—turned colleagues. And especially to the readers. Thank you. AND NOW…I’m beyond thrilled to introduce you to LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER 2011: GOING NATIONAL.

xo

Ann