You
probably noticed a rather obvious change to the blog.
Yes!
It has a new title and along with it a new URL. The main title of this blog is
2 Live Freely and the new URL is www.2livefreely.com. Now, for my long time
readers, it's still going to be the "Living Free" blog. So, don't
fear that it's going to change or morph into something so new, different and
not fulfilling you won't recognize it. The blog will essentially remain the
same.
Here
is the official notice:
NOTICE:
This blog is now the "2 Live Freely" blog with the URL address
www.2livefreely.com -- Please make note of that for future
reference in the event you ever feel you've lost your connection to it.
Blogger
has been and continues to be the host platform for this blog and the Blogger
URL, www.livingandworkingfree.blogspot.com as well as my own registered domain,
www.livingandworkingfree.com will continue to be active for at least the next
several months. However, at some time in the future the blogspot URL will be
phased out and disappear. The 2livefreely.com URL will become THE official blog
address at that time. The livingandworkingfree.com domain may remain active a
while longer, however, it, too, will be phased out.
Why
Change The Title?
We
know change is inevitable in just about everything. It's part of life. When I
began this blog on February 6, 2008 with a post titled "Welcome To My
World," it was my fourth attempt at blogging. I began with a blog in
February 2005, three years earlier. There were two other blog starts, one in
2006 and another in 2007. And to be honest, there have been several other blog
start ups since I began this blog.
This
blog is approaching it's eighth year in publication in a few weeks. The world
has changed. I have changed. This blog has changed.
However,
with this specific blog, I was determined to find my "voice" and
attempt to say something that was meaningful and would have some impact on
other people's minds and lives. I attempted to consolidate into one thought
process what I was attempting to say in the earlier blogs. I don't recall how
extensive my domain search with Blogger was at the time I started this blog or
later for my own registered domain. But, somehow I came up with the
livingandworkingfree idea.
The
title and the resulting URL were wordy and cumbersome. But, for the time, they
worked. Again, inevitably, with the passing of time, I evolved, the blog
evolved (and we both continue to evolve) and the "Living Free"
concept became the central core of the blog.
Change
happens whether we like it or not. So, wouldn't it be great if I could shorten
the URL? Could I make it easier to remember and still reflect the actual core
concept of the blog?
The
Search For A New URL
When
you add on the www and the .blogspot.com, it's a total of 37 characters to key
in to address this blog. Even if you use the URL without the .blogspot it is
still 28 characters. Have you tried to get that many characters on a baseball
cap, a tee shirt, a coffee mug or a business card . . . readably? It's just too
long for the purpose intended.
So,
over the past several years I would do various searches for all kinds of
shortened variations on the theme. Livefree or livingfree were my natural
choices since that's where the blog evolved to. But nothing with a top level
.com domain was available. Apparently, I selected a somewhat popular subject or
some people registered the domains I wanted and were sitting on them. I guess
they were counting on someone like me coming along and paying hundreds or some
kind of four figure amount to acquire one of their URLs.
Finally,
as this new year began I had time on my hands. I've been sitting here in sunny
California waiting for My McVansion at the "engine hospital" to have
a "heart" (engine) transplant, go through rehab and return to me. A
perfect time to focus on matters like this.
Again,
after hours of contemplating, writing out domain names, checking their
availability, clicking on them to see what came up and researching
"Whois" files to see who had them registered, I finally settled on
2livefreely.com. It was available and I grabbed it. So, now there are only 19
characters instead of 28 or 37 characters to key in. And, the 19 characters
will fit better on a baseball cap, tee shirt, mug and business card. Oh yeah,
and they express in one digit and two words what the blog is about.
Is
this the ultimate URL and title I would have chosen? Probably not. But, I've
lived with it for a little while and become comfortable with it. Of course, I
welcome your comments on the new title and URL. And, I'm planning to continue
using the "Living Free in an Unfree World" concept as the subtitle.
So, if you choose, as I do, to continue referring to it as the "Living
Free" blog, that's just fine.
Facelifting
And Upgrading The Site
The
other thing this "downtime," waiting for My McVansion, has allowed me
to do is to gain some valuable insights from fellow blogger, Internet marketer,
soon to be another full-time "vandweller" (with his better half,
Sharon) and friend, John Abert of Cherokee Village, Arkansas, www.incargonito.blogspot.com. With his input
and time to dig in and do more research, I've found the paths to not only do a
serious facelift on the blog, but upgrade much of it's functionality.
So,
over the next several days, weeks and possibly a month or two, you'll see
changes, that should really spiff up the overall appearance and appeal of the 2
Live Freely site. But, even more importantly, they will also make it much more
user friendly and efficient to navigate. So, keep your eyes open and please
send me your comments and thoughts.
A
Quote
The
other day, I was emailing back and forth with an old college friend. Greg
Cordano and I graduated together with the same major, Industrial Arts. Greg had
a successful teaching and administration career in public education. He's been
a lifelong educator and continues that passion even in retirement. Greg and his
wife, Mary, also a retired teacher, have a small educational consulting
business helping kids have a more positive educational experience. He sends
some of his ideas and concepts past me for any insights and suggestions I might
have. I'm humbled that he holds me in such high esteem.
He
sent one of his daily quotations to his email list a few days ago. It motivated
me to make the following statement in response. So, he asked to quote me and he
immediately sent it out to his email list. I offer it to you. Do with it what
you will, but if you do share it, and I hope you do, please be sure to
attribute it to me and, if you would care to, add the new www.2livefreely.com
to the attribution. I'd appreciate it.
"Your
time equals your life! No time, no life! Waste time, waste life! So, have the
time of your life all the time!" Ed
Helvey, 2015, www.2livefreely.com
No comments:
Post a Comment