Category Archives: 31bnb

How to Build a Brand New Blog: Day 6

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Day 6’s challenge is to Link to a Blogger in Your Niche, and my recommendation is for the site CalgaryPolitics.com. This is actually a group of bloggers writing about the Calgary General Election (that’s #yycvote on Twitter if you’d like to join us). There’s been some great posts on the site, including today’s post “Does a new mayor matter if we ignore the other 14 races?” and details on the upcoming Twibates (that’s debates on Twitter for you non-tweeters out there). If you’re even nominally interested in Calgary politics, this is the site for you!

31 Days to a Brand New Blog: Day 5

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Day 5’s challenge? Comment on Three Blogs You’ve Never Commented on Before:

Manhattan’s Non-Market Economy
It will be difficult to wean people off “free” parking, but it can be done with a carrot and not a stick. My city (Calgary, Alberta) tried to address the free parking situation at our local park and ride lots (located at train stations and major bus stops) by bringing in a $3 fee, and it caused a minor revolt amongst drivers. The difficulty was that they had not put any real alternatives to driving in place (such as frequent feeder bus routes to the park and rides or making transit more cycle-friendly) so most people felt they had little choice in the matter. If the investment had been made in good infrastructure, there might have been a different reaction to the fee. Instead, we have people who now drive downtown instead of paying the fee, even though it is more expensive, just to make a point. Very frustrating for those of us advocating for a better way!

Did Consumers Cause the BP Oil Spill? 
It’s not “just” about consumer choice, but that certainly is a factor in how we’re going to re-develop our future together. Point #3 and the development of car culture is accurate, but if know it was created then we know it can also be taken apart. Reducing the need for a personal automobile can be done in many ways: moving to a more walkable neighbourhood, taking transit or cycling, joining a carshare co-operative, etc. Yes, these are individual actions, but they also impact companies (less cars sold, less need for oil) and governments (more need for transit, more demand for high-density neighbourhoods) will act and how we will live in the future. That in turn will help create our next positive action and so on until we have something much better than the tarsands dependency we’re building on.

Monday Morning Rock Out
Happy Birthday Hildy! Great points about time and accountability. In the end, we all have the same amount of time (no one’s getting more than 24 hours in a day no matter how hard we beg!) and we’re ultimately accountable to ourselves for how we spend it. Now get out there and celebrate!

31 Days to a Brand New Blog: Day 9

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Yes, it’s not actually Day 9 (Write a “How To” Post) but I’m catching up on posts* I’ve missed. Going back to the post on my purpose statement, I wanted to post something that covered “the personal is political” aspect of my writing. And so:

How To Help Your Kids Change the World

Xander helping Alderman Ceci cut the ribbon on the Calgary Peace Pole, September 2009.


Little Changes Add Up

Out of all the changes that happened when I became a single mom in March 2008, I didn’t think “not buying a car” would have the most impact. Joining Calgary Carshare has led to all kinds of changes: less shopping (especially in big-box stores), more transit/walking/biking (especially because Xander’s school and out-of-school-care are so close) and more volunteering (first as a member and then as a board member). Xander is a big fan of carsharing and we have a great time discussing alternative transportation models (including my “retirement home”: a rainbow-coloured school-bus that runs on recycled french fry oil – his proposal, not mine).

Take Them With You
Xander comes to board meetings with me, he volunteers at tables/events with me, and he comes to protests with me. He’ll be attending the Nenshi for Mayor orientation later this week and he’s requested his own tshirt so he can participate in events. He’s a familiar face at Bow Cliff Seniors, where his Wii-skills and weeding-skills are in demand. Sometimes I don’t attend things because he’s with me, or I reschedule them for times when he’s in school, after-school care or with his father, but most of the time he’s there with me. And I know this works first hand: I have several memories of volunteering with both my parents!

Xander and I at the Calgary Anti-Prorogation Rally, January 2010.

Explain Things So They Understand Why
Kids have questions and we (sometimes) have answers. Tell the truth, but in a way that your kids understand. Talk about why you feel something is right/wrong and why others don’t. And be honest when you don’t have the answers; kids can sense when you’re putting them on. Encourage them to do their own research and form their own opinions.

Have Fun!
Changing the world is hard work, but every revolution needs a dance party or two. One of our “new favourite” events is the Bow River Flow – a street party celebrating human-powered transportation. Next Sunday we’ll be volunteering for Calgary Carshare at the Bike Check-In and also wandering the streets looking for a game of snakes and ladders. Hope to see you there!

Come join the parade!

31 Days to a Brand New Blog Day 4

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(or “what we really should be talking about”)

The challenge for Day 4 is to write a list post that relates to my purpose statement. As my purpose statement identifies politics as an area of focus, and as we’re now 64 days away from the Calgary General Election, here’s my list of the top five posts I’d like* to write before election day:

1. The Peace Bridge
The Peace Bridge is the most controversial and misunderstood projects undertaken by the city, and it’s also the lightening rod that many candidates are using to rally support.

2. Plan It
Like many CivicCampers, I spent time last fall in council chambers as the council listened to presentations on Plan It, the document that would guide our city’s growth for decades to come. And, like many CivicCampers, I felt betrayed by a last-minute backroom deal that made developers’ interests more weight then that of citizens.

3. FCSS
FCSS Calgary (Family and Community Support Services) is a municipal/provincial program that funds nonprofits that do a variety of things (including Bow Cliff Seniors). If the FCSS stat re: social return on investment (that for every dollar spent on prevention the city saves six to thirteen dollars in other costs) is true, why aren’t we putting more into prevention? The city has two roles here: increase the dollar amount it funds (currently required to fund 20%, they actually fund 25% of annual budget) and they can lobby the province for additional funding for the entire program.

4. Transportation for All
Better transit – not just trains. “Next Bus” real time technology. (Come on, even Winnipeg has this one!) Smaller buses and routes that come more than once an hour during “non-peak” hours – and redefining “non-peak” hours to be more then “when people aren’t traveling downtown to work”. Resources for Access Calgary so it can provide more services (especially as the population needing their services grows). And, of course, an obligatory “carsharing rocks” moment.

5. Housing options
Obviously the city needs to get its act together on secondary suites. But I’m sure they can also find ways to support non-marketing housing options (like co-ops and cohousing) and develop more TOD (transit-orientation development) projects that include mixed-use and mixed-income housing. Again, the aging population will be a critical factor to consider: changing needs, increased population and a need for greater community involvement should all play a part.

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* That’s not saying I will, but I’ll likely be tweeting about them!

31 Days to a Brand New Blog: Day 14

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(or “I never was one for doing things in order)

Website Update: My posts are now showing up on Facebook again.

Yes, I’m behind, but I m working to catch up. Expect a bunch of posts this weekend! Day 14’s challenge is to Add (or Remove) Widgets to Your Blog’s Sidebar. So, here’s what I removed:

  • Moon Phase Widget
  • “Helping Hands” (websites on which I gave advice or got through a challenge)
  • “Original Site Designs” (websites I used to work on – only one was really current)
  • “Previous Site Designs” (why do I want to remind myself of things best forgotten?) 
  •  Digg Widget (I never was a fan of mafias anyway)
  • LibraryThing Widget (tag clouds aren’t my thing today)

Wow, that’s a lot of space on my sidebar now – space that I can use to promote my writing instead. After all, shouldn’t the blog be about what I’m doing?

31 Days to a Brand New Blog: Day 3

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(or “just who are you, anyway?”)

Ongoing Blog Woes: While I may have migrated this blog to its original domain, I broke my email. Blogger, GoDaddy and Telus are now competing for my soul  working to resolve the issue. 

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Today’s assignment: Tweak the About Page for Your Blog. While I don’t have an About Page at this point, I do have the little piece at the top. Look up, way up – wait, no, I’ll share it here:

Welcome! If you’re new to the witch-ways experience, don’t worry. All you need to know is that I’ve been online and involved with technology, website development and training in the nonprofit world since 1994.* (I also work with women in small businesses to give them a “helping hand”.)

I’ve got a lot of projects on the go, and most are listed on the sidebar. Contact info’s also on the sidebar aussi.

I’m not into posting rates, but if you’re interested in learning more about technology and nonprofits, drop me a line. I’d love to work with you!

Well, that certainly could use some tweaking – especially as I’m not doing the nonprofit/website thing so much anymore. (Being a Masters student is taking up all of that time now.) Or I could start with my Twitter bio:

Radical Feminist Witch, Geeker Girl, Single Mom, NonProfit Director/Consultant, Board Member (Calgary Carshare, Project Ploughshares), Masters Student and more!

I actually had someone tell me that she had to follow me after reading that, so it can’t be all bad, right? 


**


I started this post on Day 3, and now it’s Day 7 and I’m still stalled. I’ve searched around the net and found examples of what I like in an “About Me” page, like this page on Sera Gamble’s site, that have made me think I need to develop more of a “whole page” piece then just a couple of paragraphs. So, in the interest of continuing the series, I’m going to post this and keep working behind the scenes on my page. Expect to see it before the end of the month!





31 Days to a Brand New Blog: Day 2

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(or “why I do what I do”)

I’ve spent the last day tinkering behind the scenes and don’t think I’m any closer to fixing the communication gap between Telus, GoDaddy and Blogger – so I’ll ignore that and get on to the next assignment, “Write a Purpose Statement for Your Blog.”

Why do you blog?

I started blogging on January 8, 2006, with a little post about the projects I was working on. I’d been online since 1994 working on projects with nonprofits, especially those working on women’s issues, and decided that it was time to jump on this blogging craze. Soon I blogged because there was so much happening that needed to be shared, connected and commented on. And then – well, then real life really got in the way, in big painful ways, and I blogged less and less. As I posted yesterday, it’s been over a year since I last wrote something here. And no, life hasn’t gotten less busy, but I think I’m ready to face the pain again.
 
What do you want to blog about?
My second blog post jumped right into my three favourite topics (according to my tags list): politics (38 posts), witch(craft) (26 posts) and feminism (24 posts, with an additional 13 labelled ecofeminism). The personal is political, especially to a radical feminist witch like me, and it’s what I do best. Blogging about things can also help me re-centre, re-claim lost ground and re-inspire me as I work through the next stages of the game plan.
What do you want to be known for through your blog?
I want people to read my posts and think “Yes, that makes total sense.” I want to draw attention to the disconnects in the world between what we think and what is being done in our names. I want to prove that not all the radicals have gone away, that not all the feminists have put away their protest signs, and that not all the witches are afraid of the fire. 
 

31 Days to a Brand New Blog: Day 1

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(or, “why ignoring your email always comes back to haunt you”)

Happy August! And Happy 2010! Yes, I haven’t been blogging in over a year now. Instead I’ve been putting my time into other things, like:

  • starting my Masters’ Degree (MAIS) at Athabasca – two courses down, ten to go.
  • single parenting – how did my kid get so big?
  • politics – hey, there’s always an election just around the corner!
  • and Twitter, my new source of all things new and notable.

But when I ran across the 31 Days to a Brand New Blog challenge on Twitter, I thought it was time to get back to blogging. So, here I am with today’s challenge: Analyze Your Blog’s Traffic by installing Google Analytics.

But first, I had to deal with the ignored emails – specifically, the ignored emails that told me Blogger was discontinuing their FTP program. After a bit of work, I’ve think I’ve got the blog publishing again (we’ll see for sure once I hit “Publish Post”) with the code for Google Analytics in place. Cross your fingers!