On a fine summer day, two years ago in July, I sat down in front of some blogging software. Blogger, it was called. “Why don’t I start my own blog!” I said to myself. I figured it would be nothing more than an online journal where I could entertain my family and my friends.
Blogger prompted me to select a name to be part of the www.—–.blogspot.com domain. I wanted something unique, something easy to remember and something that would stand out.
“Putzworld!” I said to myself. “There’s not too many people out there with a last name like Putz!”
And that’s how www.putzworld.blogspot.com was born.
Ok, so that wasn’t exactly a brilliant move back then, but you have to admit, it was memorable, wasn’t it? Who forgets a Putz?
In the last two years, I’ve been having fun with this blog. I’ve been able to share bits and pieces of my life, such as my family’s story of discovering a deaf gene, or how about some waterskiing memories and the fun of raising my kids. When I had the drive-thru window closed in my face and service denied at the Bolingbrook Steak ‘n Shake, I shared the frustration here on this blog and it spread to many other websites and blogs.
Along the way, the blog became a little bit of something more. I met so many wonderful people, both online and face-to-face as a result of this blog. Every morning, I get the chance to Twitter to hundreds of people. It’s like having a virtual water cooler conversation– something that I don’t normally have access to when conversing in groups without an interpreter.
The blog opened up some writing opportunities for me. I worked for a writing company for a year, dipping my toes into a whole new kind of writing. I went to work as a copywriting freelancer for a real estate company, and lasted through just one project and a tiny grammar mistake before I was kindly “let go.” I still see that real estate company looking for copywriters all the time.
Last fall, out of the blue, I was contacted by an employee of a new, soon-to-be launched website, Disaboom. Would I come and write for them, they wanted to know. I’ve been writing for Disaboom since they launched and I regularly write feature articles for the site. Having my own blog also led to writing for Parenting Squad and the Chicago Moms Blog. My recent article at Chicago Moms Blog, Camp is Over, It’s Back to the Real World, was syndicated in several newspaper websites. I also have another blog that focuses on deaf and hard of hearing people in different Jobs, Careers and Callings.
So here it is, two years later and I love writing more than ever and I plan to continue this blog for many more years. So I’m turning to my readers to learn more about you. What brings you here? What keeps you coming back? Is there something you’d like me to share more of?
Let’s talk!