i am soooo thrilled! i got an email this morning to tell me this blog has been chosen to be featured on typepad's homepage as a 'featured blog'! this is such an amazing honor! i. am. so. excited!
edited to add: apparently the date for the feature is 24 july.
i also got one of my photoshop tutorials featured on www.photoshop-pack.com. you can see it here. this is a website where i have also found many useful photoshop tutorials myself.
the man cannot understand why i put so much time and effort into something that costs me (a little) money, and brings in none. and in all honesty, he does have a point. this blog gets way more hits per day than i get customers in my shop. and, although that brings me no monetary reward, it does bring lots of satisfaction.
the global economy is under huge strain, and south africa is reeling under constant food price increases, monthly fuel price rises, and an ever-increasing interest and inflation rate. my average customer has much less money to spend on luxuries, and i have been seeing that in my daily sales. every business person i talk to, tells me the same story. this is depressing. we have to work much harder for less results, and that can be so demoralizing. although i know that this is as a result of factors way beyond my control, it is still difficult.
then, when i open my blog, and check my stats, read my comments, get featured on another website, or get an email like the one above, i feel great! you see, in this little corner of the e-world, my little spot in the www, my virtual life, my hard work is paying off. i am seeing the results. i am getting some recognition. and it is better than money. ok, it does not pay the bills, but it does bolster my confidence, and counteract some of the negativity i may have been feeling without it.
you see, every human being needs to be acknowledged. whether you are in a profession that has lots of performance rewards, or your business gets lots of attention, or you are one of the the best in your field, or even just if your family and friends love and appreciate you, every one of us needs to be reminded that somehow, we matter a little, to somebody.
i know, in the huge ocean of the www, i am but a teeny droplet, and if i disappeared today, nobody would miss me (ok, hopefully rene, ineke, and some others would miss me). but for me, my blog is something i enjoy, something i need to do. as you may have read in the left column, blogging is a creative outlet for my emotional processes. i firstly do it for myself. and then, to my surprise, it seems that it is something i am good at. and that is why, although it doesn't bring in any money, it is one of the most rewarding things i do.
now, about those bills...
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop, benoni, south africa
