Tuesday Time-Out: It's Our Blog Birthday!

A year has somehow passed since I first registered HigherEdCareerCoach.Com and HigherEdLifeCoach.Com, so today’s Tuesday Time-Out is a recap of important events in our first year. Thanks to all our readers and guest posters, and to all the other people who have supported and sustained the sites through this critical first year.

Some milestone events during year 1:

2009:

• July 11th, 2009. I registered higheredlifecoach.com with GoDaddy. Less than a week later, I decided that I wanted to host my site at Fatcow (aff. link), because they are geared toward small business, and host their servers with wind energy. I registered higheredcareercoach.com as well (this time through Fatcow).
• August 4, 2009: Published 1st post on HigherEdCareerCoach.Com. First month: 35 readers total.
• At the end of September and beginning of October, I attended the coach certification program, and posted a couple of video diary posts.

2010:

• In the new year, I started blogging more regularly on both sites, and recruiting guest writers, to broaden the perspectives offered beyond my own.
• As Placement season revved up, Higher Ed Career Coach began to feature articles on placement. In one, at the end of January, we began a ongoing Twitter hashtag conversation around the placement experience (#saplacement) to allow employers and prospective employees to share comments, questions, and tips related to job searching and the national and regional placement exchanges.
• In February:
  • Bryan Koval became the first guest blogger, with the first installation of his “Doctoral Student from a Distance” series.
  • Shannon Healy began chronicling her job search in what would become an 11-part series on her student affairs job hunt.
  • Shonda Goward from FirstGenerationUniversity and I traded guest posts on each other’s sites. This would be the first guest post exchange for either site.
  • Broadcast the first episode of the Higher Ed Life and Career Show on BlogTalkRadio
    • The first episode had 10 live listeners and Bryan Koval guest hosted.
    • The highest number of live audience members was 34, for “The Value of Twitter in Your Job Search,” with guests Mike Severy, Becca Fick, and Mallory Bower.
    • So far, episodes of the show have been listened to 1,042 times.

• In March, Mickey Fitch began writing periodic posts for both sites, followed in April by Mallory Bower. Regular contributors and guest posters are now a regular part of both sites.
• In April and May:
  • We ran articles and did radio shows on dealing with disappointment in your job search, staying motivated, and starting over.
  • We also celebrated the graduation of many members of our reader and contributor community.
  • I introduced my first hybrid coaching program (“8 Weeks to August”) for job seekers starting over with their search, featuring online activities, 1-on-1 coaching, mock interviews, and the opportunity to be featured on a page of the HigherEdCareerCoach site, and to be interviewed on BlogTalkRadio. The first of these client pages will be posted soon.
  • Introduced the concept of differentiating “who-dos” from “gurus,” after a serendipitous exchange over Twitter with friends and an homage to the Australian band the Hoodoo Gurus.
• June and July:
  • Began a comprehensive overhaul of all my sites, front end and back, including running a design contest on 99Designs.com (aff. link) for new logos that would be academic and fun, and imply coaching, and to bring in sports metaphors; a re-design of all websites related to my business, Cook Coaching and Consulting, and back-end stuff, related to Search Engine Optimization, site security and other stuff that is probably not all that interesting to readers.
  • Named Breakdrink.Com and their site creator, Jeff Jackson, as the first “Who-Do of the Month,” as part of an effort to identify a “Who-Do” of the Year in Higher Education. This person or organization will receive a new award, the “Who-Do” Highsman, plus bragging rights and some sort of other actual reward (probably money, but we’ll be taking suggestions and figuring that out over the next few months, based on community response.)
  • Introduced some new regular features to bring more voices into the conversation, starting with the “Monday Morning Quarterback” series. Scott Helfrich (of StudentLifeGuru) took the first turn in what will be a regular rotation. Each month, we’ll introduce a topic related to higher education and/or careers, and have guest columnists respond with their take on the issues put forth.
  • Discovered accidentally that, for at least one day, the blog ranked among the top 100 small business blogs on Technorati. Apparently, these rankings fluctuate pretty wildly, but seeing this blog listed just a few spaces away from Zen Habits (which is one of the most awesome blogs on the planet) was pretty freaking awesome. Maybe someday soon, we’ll do it again.

The development of these sites, (and my coaching practice) would not have been possible without the support of an awesome community of readers, contributors, friends and colleagues. You’ve helped the blogs “find their voice,” attract new readers, and explore new territory in our efforts to play a contributing role in discussions about the emerging directions in higher education, career development, and professional development and training for higher ed professionals.

In the next few weeks, you’ll see even more changes, including:

• A new tab where you can find more information on upcoming live webinar classes for job searchers and professionals starting their new positions, short courses, teleseminars, and the next editions of our hybrid coaching programs. (Another for students hoping to attend placement next Spring, and one on getting your act together to apply for graduate programs.)
• A new provider (aWeber) for our mailing list, and free e-mail “short courses” for new subscribers
• E-books, videos, and audio content, including interviews with higher ed professionals about their career development.)
• A membership area for premium content, career discussion forums, and online coaching.
• New sites in our web portfolio, including HigherEdCoach, a site for coaches and consultants working in higher ed to share their tips for getting into coaching and consulting, and to learn from each other. The site will also have a directory for coaches and consultants, that will hopefully assist those in need of coaching and consulting in finding someone appropriate to their needs.

Help celebrate our blog birthday! Your support and encouragement keep us going. Here are some great ways you can help us kick off Year 2:

• Tell a friend or colleague to check out the sites.
• Even better, send out links to your favorite articles from the last year to your Twitter List, or “like” them on Facebook (you can use the Wibiya toolbar)
• Go back and comment on your favorite post.
• Add our sites to your blogroll if you have a blog.
• Write a guest post.
• Sign up for an upcoming webinar class or coaching program.
• Give the gift of coaching to a friend, colleague or family member who needs a motivational kick-start in their job search.
• And most importantly, keep reading!

Thanks for everything! We’re looking forward to Year 2!