How has having a website and being involved in online communities and forums changed your life? What do you think you’d be doing online if you never got into making websites or online communities?

Being involved online has changed my life in so many ways. For one, if I hadn’t been involved, I would have never met all the awesome online friends I have. From them, I have learned so much, received lots of advice, and have had several there when I needed support. These people are so much more open minded than the friends I tend to attract online and are also around a lot more.

Also, without the involvement of forums and such, I probably would still be working a 9 to 5 job…which means Sawyer would be in daycare. It was through Lavish.nu that I first learned about paid blogging opportunities. A few other members were making a few extra dollars with their blogs, and that is how I got my start. Then, I branched out to becoming a member of “work at home mom” type communities, and that’s were I learned a lot more about working online, particularly as a freelance writer. Other online communities have landed me writing projects and other types of work, some of which I am still doing to earn money.

All in all, if I never got involved with online blogs, forums, and communities, I guess I’d only be using the internet to check email, read articles, or play games…though now that I have been exposed to so many great people and communities, being online only for these bare minimum tasks seems a bit sad.

When you log on the computer what do you normally do? What sites do you visit?

Most mornings, I tend to check things on my iPhone before I get to my computer. I usually don’t have time to sit down at my desk before it’s time to get Sawyer up, feed him breakfast, fix and eat my own breakfast, and get us settled in the floor with some of his toys. So, before I even roll out of bed, I check my phone. The first things I look at is my email, Facebook, Twitter, and Veracity.nu.

When I finally make it to my computer (usually at Sawyer’s first nap), I go back through emails that I saved so I can view them on my computer. There are some that need to be saved or replied to, and if they aren’t pressing, I will save them until I am on my laptop rather than mess with them on my phone. I also check my Google Adsense account (I dabble in that a bit for residual income) as well as my Fiverr.com and paid blogging accounts for any pending assignments.

What is a website that you admire? Why do you admire it? Feel free to list 3 websites you admire, but no more.

1. Jenn.nu – I have followed Jenn’s site for at least 4 years now. I love the layouts she uses (and I’m jealous that she makes them herself!). As for the blog itself, she updates almost daily, and is very outspoken. Her blog posts are very in depth, and I feel like I know a lot about her and her family, even though we have never met and live like 800 miles apart.

2. TheQueenB.net – Angel’s site is another I admire. She always uses clean layouts that are easy to navigate, and she has lots of interesting features of her site that no everyone else has. Her posts are always completely honest and blunt, as she doesn’t sugar coat anything.

3. Facebook.com – Had to include this one because it’s usually one of the first sites I check each morning and last sites I check before bed at night. Facebook hasn’t always been the most popular social networking site out there. When I first signed up, I was already on MySpace, and continued using MySpace because FB just seemed to blah and complicated. However, they have really shot themselves up to the top, leaving MySpace and other sites in their dust. I love the fact that EVERYONE and their brother has a FB page, which has allowed me to connect with family and old friends.

Moving on, this week of blogging prompts for the Veracity blogathon are focused on the internet and all our gadgets. Today’s prompt is:

What was your first ever website called? What was it about? How long did you have it?

My first website was opened in June 2007 on the domain name, IamKecia.com. I have been blogging online since 2005, but have always used free sites including Livejournal and Vox. In 2007, I was ready to try my hand at WordPress, so I registered my first domain name. It was a personal blog, though I also did sponsored posting on it after it was old enough. That is actually how I made my first dollars online.

IamKecia.com was used as my personal blog until February 2009, when I wanted a fresh start. It was then that SouthernGirlRamblings.com was born. IamKecia.com was opened until the following June, which is when the domain name expired. Since then, I have opened and closed a number of other sites, such as What-I-Think.org (used to be my review site) WinnerAtALosingGame.com (was a weight loss site), and TheDomesticLife.com (now maintained by my mom).

Seeing the huge number of updates makes me feel like I’m failing at keeping up with my online friends. However, when I visited some of the blogs tonight, I realized that I actually have been keeping up with them for the most part, thanks to Twitter and message boards. This doesn’t excuse my slacking on visiting and comments on blog posts, but allows me to feel that I am still a good online friend!