Welcome to 2009

2009 has finally arrived. Well it arrived 10 days ago, but I figure I should wish my few readers a happy new year anyway. I originally intended this post to be an uppdate about what’s to come in terms of new content here. But it’s almost 7AM here, I won’t be in Vegas for Affiliate Summit as I had planned, for what seemed like all of 2008, and as usual I’m getting motivated when I should be sleeping. So here it goes, sorry if I ramble on too long, I’m exhausted, and often times don’t know when to stop.

2008 in Review

2008 was an interesting year for myself, and the world as a whole. We elected the first black President of the United States, and even though I was not a supporter of Obama, I am extremely exited for this new “change” and can’t wait to see how our nation will perform over the next 4 (8?) years. In addition, we suffered the greatest economic crisis my generation has seen, despite the fact that some saw it from a mile away.

I too had my own economic crisis. I was convinced once again to pursue a dead end job in retail management around April, and moved back to Gaithersburg, MD, where I was transferred. Needless to say, it was a far from successful venture. For about 4 months I spent 50-70 hours per week on my feet in order to earn $300 in commission from the minimal traffic our store saw. This was far too little to support my brother and me. Long story short, I wound up with a bunch of debt.

I could go on and on about how miserable of a summer this was, as I love to rant, but I’ll spare you the sob story, and get to the point. As horrible as it was living in a small apartment with 3 other guys, working from sunrise to sunset for minimal pay, and accumulating way more debt than I ever thought I could handle; I’ve experienced more, grew more, and made more mistakes this year than ever before. I also partied like an ‘effin broke rockstar, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The past 12 months have made me a better person.

The Future

I, like everyone else, get motivated to change certain aspects of my life when the new year rolls around. I, also like everyone else, stick to very few of my resolutions. This is why I won’t be stating my resolutions in full here. It would be a waste of your time, as well as mine. I will however tell you what you can expect from this blog.

• More Focus On Local SEO/SEM – As I spend more time on local projects, my interest in this area of SEO grows. In turn, I will have more strategies, tips, and theories to share with you. In fact, my next post is likely to be in regard to local seo. On the same note, I am likely to start a blog focusing on SEM for small business.
• Less Content Writing, More Focus On Long Term Profits – The past 12 months I’ve spent writing have kept me afloat, but now that I’m largely debt-free I can put freelance writing on the back burner, and focus on more profitable ventures. As a result, I am likely to expand the scope of this blog to other areas of internet marketing. Affiliate marketing and PPC are likely to be a big part of this blog in 2009. As you can see, I removed the “content services” page. If you would like some work done, feel free to contact me.
• Blog Style Format – Nick at Elegant Themes made updates to many of his themes, one of which included an update to the theme used here. I can now use the blog format which makes much more sense for a small blog such as this one. I can’t emphasize enough how awesome Nick from Elegent Themes is, keep up the good work, it is much appreciated.
• Regular Useful Content – I realize that many of my posts aren’t much more than rants and personal ramblings. In 2009, I hope to bring you more intriguing, actionable content.

The sun is now rising, and I’m getting dumber by the second. It is time for me to sign off. To all my Wickedfire peeps in Vegas – have an amazing time, try not to get too drunk, and don’t blow too much of your hard-earned cash.