It came to light that attribute was reaching an audience we hadn’t intended:  We couldn’t ignore this was happening, we had to embrace it.  At the same time, I managed to receive some unexpected recognition by being submitted to and placed on the Ode Magazine, 2008 (and first) Intelligent Optimists list.  There were some pretty impressive people on that list and I don’ t really know how it happened, but was honored to have been included.  I didn’t get anything but the knowledge and a place in cyberspace acknowledging it. That’s enough for me!

So, we started our journey to broadening our horizons and reaching out to our audience, beyond Generation X.  It wasn’t really that difficult.  The hardest part was re-branding ourselves, which was a necessary item on the “to do” list.  I decided on a new color palette, which fit with our focus and then moved on to tackle our new motto.  Our original motto was:  The Voice of a Lost Generation [X].  I gave the staff the option of throwing things into the ring and they came up with some really interesting options but nothing seemed to really catch my attention.  After some contemplation, some cutting and pasting bits and pieces and deciding what part, if any, of our original was important to keep I cam to the following conclusion:

We were all about our voice being heard, being a voice of truth, of enlightenment and keeping things fun, all at once.  So the “voice” had to stay in tact. Then I remembered something often used in childcare settings to keep the kids from shouting, ‘use your inside voice’.  I then had, my aha moment.  I turned that phrase inside out and came up with our new motto: “using our outside voices.”  This signifies that we will be heard. Plus it’s pretty catchy, if I do say so myself.  Ha ha

At this point, we didn’t design a new logo, just changed the color scheme across the board and updated our media kit to match our new and improved mission statement.

attribute moved into 2009 with a growing readership, strong writers and a new direction.  I was confident in our new mission and happy to be including and welcoming a broadened audience and more options when it came to subject matter.

Personally, I had been laid off yet again and was contending with the closure of my defunct relationship.  I wasn’t really sure how to move on without him but knew I had to; and find strength, healing and myself again. By the time the closure came I was ready, in fact I had asked for it several times and he just wouldn’t give it…I finally did muster up enough strength to say ‘it’s time you decide and stop stringing me along.’  And he did.  We were not to be.

This happened on election night, 2008.  The day many people had been waiting for:  The changing of the guard and what many hoped would be a change of the times and ways of politics as we knew it.  Many people put their trust in one Barack Obama.  I wasn’t one of them.  I didn’t believe he was the answer to all our problems as a country. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy that people were finally getting over the “whitess only” club syndrome and open to electing a non Caucasian, President.  At least we, as a nation, are finally progressing in that regard.

So in came 2009 and I went along setting goals for attribute and upping our game.

One thing I had set out to do was find a web designer who may also want to partner with me on the site so I could focus on editorial content and marketing and not the technical side of things.   And I learned a lesson…be careful what you wish for and with whom you share such wishes.  I attracted someone who thought they were going to come in and take fifty percent of what I had built without doing a stitch of work and when I said no, proceeded to become a sort of pain in my behind.  He wasn’t willing to share any information about himself, his past experience, reference or show me proof of expenses he claimed to be accruing while doing “work” on a new site he was building (which he offered to do for free to prove his worth).  So, out the door he went.

Strike two…back to the drawing board.

Otherwise, things were going well, we were moving steadfastly ahead.  We were excited as a team at the possibilities.  It would be interesting to see what the coming year would bring.

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Ahead:  Finally!! A webmaster for attribute and progress instead of backsliding in getting a new site, new features and using social media to further our cause and drive traffic.