Goodbye, b5

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I’ll admit it, I’m crabby, frustrated, shocked, and a little sad today. Getting canned will do that to a girl. I was one of a couple hundred bloggers that said a sad goodbye to b5media today. I was there three years and it was a really great place to be for a long time. So as I was thinking about how crabby and tired and blah blah blah I am, I very quickly realized that I also had a lot to be grateful for.

You might think it’s surprising to feel that way after getting fired, but here are some of things I’m thinking.

Better Blogging Skills

I worked for blog networks before b5, but when I started with them I felt like I was in school at first. I learned a lot, not just about the wonders of WordPress but about SEO, the types of posts to write, generating comments, and building a true community. I learned from the fabulous channel managers I had and also from the other bloggers. There IS a skill to blogging. Everyone blogs today, but I really learned what it takes to run your blog professionally and make it successful.

Wonderful Community of Writers

I was instantly impressed with the caliber of writers at b5. When I started three years ago it was a place that had the best bloggers in the business. It was THE place to work, and for good reason. The bloggers were passionate, intense, knowledgeable, and so very talented. I hope the friendships I’ve found with b5 remain now that we are all doing different projects.

Increased Personal Name Recognition

I believe that every project we work on builds on our reputation. Working at b5 was a strong part of making my voice known in the blogging world, in getting readership, and even in getting recognized by other companies.

Confidence

One reason I moved my other blogs (Working Writers, Help Someone With Diabetes, and The Dating Blog) last year to the WordPress platform was so I could get serious about being self-sufficient. It might be crazy, but I want to rely on my own income rather than a particular company. I was able to do that in part because of everything I had learned at b5. They updated blogs, made changes, and allowed our blogging voices to come through. I took the positive points of everything I learned and used it to build a series of blogs that have consistently grown over the last year.

The point is, while I’m sad and angry (and all those emotions involved with things like this) I am also extremely happy and grateful. There are so many more positive points than negative ones for me. If you’re a person of faith (and you know I am), I also believe that saying goodbye to b5 today will mean there is something else around the corner that I might never have considered before. The world is filled with possibilities, and today has underscored that point for me.

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