Letter to the dear readers of this blog,
What to do with this blog has been on my mind for over a year now. I've gone thorugh many many iterations of starategies for this blog, but the bottome line for me is that having too many blogs is simple NOT an effective way to simplify my own life!
I also have found that in my three years of blogging, the interaction that I'd hoped for, was just not happening. For one, I think the commenting tool on typepad is too cumbersome. I really can't standing having to sign in to every blog that I want to comment one. It's takes longer for me to type in my email address, website, and enter challenge codes etc that to write the comment! I'm sure this happens to others to. (yes, I have to do that even on my own blog!) Plus Typepad doesn't have a feature that allows you to "follow" or "subscribe" to future comments on the blog.
So, I have found a new tool and created a whole new way to ecourage group participation, blogging, commenting and sharing. Instead of it just being me posting, every memeber can post! All you have to do is sign in once and you get access to being able to read and write blog posts and comment to your heart's content on other people's posts without having to sign in for every comment. I LOVE it!
I opened this new online community called the Neat & Simple Living Cafe, a week ago and already have well over 150 members. It's a wonderful place to blog and share with others. Plus I'm offering FREE live Cafe Calls, where members can call in and ask questions of myself or the guest host of the month. Members will also occasionally receive alerts of reduced fees and special offers on books, products and services. However, members in general are not allowed to use the forums or blogs to market. All special offers are moderated through me or can be placed on the member's Profile only. So while there is no "hard" marketing, you still can learn about resources people offer.
Going forward, the majority of my blogging and my newsletter will transition over to primarily being offered via the Neat & Simple Living Cafe. I will not be blogging here regularly, but I will be blogging about the "Psychology of Organizing and Clutter" in the Cafe.
I will keep this blog alive for now...but I'm not decided yet for how long. By the way, Jessica Duquette, who started this blog, is now a Member of the Neat & Simple Living Cafe and will be blogging from time to time there! Many other of my favorite bloggers and maybe yours too are also blogging there, so come on over and check it out. You have complete control over what kinds of email you wish to receive, and can follow discussions you care about via email or RSS reader.
Hope to see you there!
Ariane
