December 7 - Community Prompt: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? I created my blog because I'm lazy. I was tired of writing e-mails that basically said the same thing to so many different people. (If I go too long without e-mailing my parents will call each other to see if the other has received an e-mail.) My days at sea can be very mundane....I feel like I sleep, stand watch and eat (not necessarily in that order). Even though the blog means I only have to write once I still have to think hard to find something to post. My e-mails used to say things like 'I'm fine...nothing to report...thinking of you'. The blog has definitely spiced things up. The camera has been the most fun thing about it for sure! I look forward to finding things to take photos of and am always disappointed when I see cool things and it's out of reach. I really look forward to my blog - and I feel stressed when I get too busy or tired to post.

I've mentioned this before but, since I've been writing my blog I've been reading and exploring a lot of other blogs. I've been soooo amazed and truly humbled by what I've stumbled across. Ther are some amazing people out there! Not only are they creating artful information hubs - they are creating COMMUNITIES! Networking people from all walks of life with common interests and goals. I've found some really cool groups of women! Right now my favorites are www.shuttersisters.com and www.gypsygirlsguide.com. As dorky as this sounds...I want them to be my friends and think I'm as cool as I think they are! I mean...check out this Reverb10 business....totally cool....simply wonderful!

My goal for the upcoming year is to learn A LOT more about having a website, twittering, and blogging. I want to learn what a code is and I want to learn more about all these 'newfangled' terms...trackbacks, pingbacks, re-tweets....the vocabulary alone is a task for the uninitiated! I'd love to do whatever people are doing so that other sites see their sites - that way they'll actually know I think they're cool! (I learned about trackbacks today so I'm going to try to tell them....we'll see if it works!) I've realized that in order to participate in this totally rockin' community I need to get a little more savvy.

So there you have it....the community I'd like to join belongs to those who are creating online wonderlands.