I’ve finally decided to tear down my photo blog. Not from a lack of interest in photography; but because the comments section was a complete spam magnet. I was getting hundreds of spam comments every day and while Akismet was picking up most of these it wasn’t catching all of them, which meant more administration overhead than I was prepared to put up with.

So from now on anything I consider to be worth posting will have to go into a post  here. Or I might even open a Flickr account…

Unfortunately the comments section of the photo blog doesn’t work reliably if you’re using Firefox and I’m currently trying to get a fix for this issue. If you’re using one of the other browsers then I’d be delighted to read your views.

Update: The Firefox issue seems to be peculiar to my personal set-up and may be related to the Firebug add-on that I’m using. However other users of Firebug have reported no problems. Hopefully it works for you.

Firstly SOHO Solo West Cork are running a training session on “Blogging & understanding the commercial advantage of Web2 tools” on the morning of the 1st April (no it’s not an April fools joke). The session is on at the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery and aims to introduce the business benefits of blogging.

On a similar theme the West Cork Enterprise Board monthly meeting will also be about Blogging For Business. This talk will be given by Damien Mulley who, amongst other things, organizes the Irish Blog Awards. This event is at 19:30 on the 14th April, again in the Celtic Ross Hotel.

So BirdSpotter.org has been born. Check out the blog on the site for announcements and information about design and features. If there’s anything you’d like to see then leave a comment over on the blog and I’ll add it to the list.

What is photo blogging? My definition is: ‘the ability to upload and publish online a series of seemingly unconnected and probably meaningless photographs’.

OK, that’s a bit cynical I know. More sensibly; as a blog is a written online journal so a photo blog is an online journal created with photographs. My new K770i has a really neat feature that allows me to publish a photo taken on the phone straight to a blog. Unfortunately it doesn’t support Wordpress at present so I can’t publish direct to this blog. I’ve created a completely separate photo blog over at blogspot.

Enjoy.

There seems to be a proliferation of these posts offering an ‘easy fix’ solution in any number of steps. Here’s a small selection from my news reader this morning:

• 21 more riddles to train lateral thinking
• 5 Reasons Why You Should Read History More Than News
• 10 Tips for Razor Sharp Concentration
• 18 Practical Tips for Living the Golden Rule
• 50 Frugal Blogs
• 7 Habits To Improve Posture

(Actually that last one is quite a good posting).

There’s something about these posts I don’t like that I can’t quite put my finger on. To me they lack substance – I don’t want my life reduced to a series of lists.

Maybe you like that type of posting, or maybe you prefer a post that’s more of a discussion than a list. Let me know your preferences and I can adapt my style appropriately.

Despite of having lots of plans for the future, this blog being part of those, I still feel angry that I’ve lost my job, and not a little down too. I guess it’s knowing now that all the structures that go with having a full time job; the routine and not to mention the pay cheque each month, have all been stripped away leaving me feeling empty and rejected.

So here are some of the things I’m doing to stay positive:

1. I’ve lots of DIY to do around the place and this is coming on well. I’ve never had much motivation for DIY in the past; but I’m pleased with what I’m doing now and I’m getting a buzz out of getting the jobs done.
2. I’m a firm believer in positive thinking so I’ve a list of career oriented affirmations that pop-up on my PC every 30 minutes. These keep me focussed on the opportunities that now present themselves.
3. I’m also a firm believer that these things happen for the right reasons and that nothing arises in our lives that we’re not already equipped to deal with or find the answer too.
4. I’m continuing to read up on subjects that interest me and that might lead to new avenues of employment.
5. I’ve the feelers out with the recruitment agents so I get an early shot at any relevant positions that come along.
6. I’m continuing with my goals and expanding on these as I go along.

So, all in all, I’ve a good bit to be getting on with. Actually, now that I’ve written this posting, I feel a good bit more energised and positive. It’s been a very useful exercise just to get me back in touch with some of my core values and beliefs.

Right, back to the gardening!

Towards the bottom of the posting (great sketches by the way Gretchen) she mentions the site insighta.com which I duly surfed off to investigate.

The site appeared to be a social site devoted to personal development topics. You could link in your blog postings for other members to vote on. If you got enough votes you’d get the article posted on insighta.com’s front page.

It seemed cool so I thought I’d give it a try. That was back in mid-April so I thought I’d check out how things were going after a month. I was most surprised to find the site replaced with a photography site.

Does anyone know what has happened to the personal development insighta.com?