I’m simply posting this so I have a record of it. Yours truly has such a shocking memory, my blog helps me keep track of stuffs

Yip – 20fourLabs.com, a start-up research and development division within 24.com,  approached me last week and asked me to contribute to their blog by writing about entrepreneurship and building a great team.

And my first post has just gone live … Advice for budding entrepreneurs.

Mmk, I’m not gonna lie here, I am STOKED about this!

Sure, this blog is my outlet, it’s my personal space on the interwebz, it’s my sounding board, it’s my rant vehicle, it’s my individual life log, it’s my keyboard therapy, it’s my written expression, it’s my point of contact for many new people in my life – and for those whom I’ve known for years.

Most importantly, it’s 100% me, zero bullshit.

And while it’s all these things and I love every minute of being able to share pieces of my personal life that no-one would otherwise know about, there’s always a part of me that wonders if my blog ramblings actually add value to anybody else.

Well, I just received an email from Afrigator.com (an African blog aggregator service) that made me smile

You’re the best in Africa

Hi there,

It’s Lester here from the Afrigator.com team.

Ever wondered who the top female bloggers are in Africa, or which women you should be following online? We did, so we compiled a list of the top female bloggers – and you’re on the list!

Your blog justB[coz] made it into the Top 45 for female bloggers in Africa, well done!

For us compiling this list was an interesting exercise as we didn’t explicitly know which blogs are authored by women but we went on a mission to find out.

To see your rank, check out the table here:
http://blog.afrigator.com/2008/10/20/top-45-female-african-bloggers/

While this list is not the be all and end all, it does provide some interesting insight into which female blogs you could/should be watching. It’s clear that South African female bloggers dominate the list (at the moment) but we are very excited to see Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Uganda and Ethiopia make it on the list.

Till next time, keep on blogging.

Team Afrigator

So yeah, I guess I AM adding value somewhere … you’re reading and you’re returning Given that the large majority of my posts here are about personal issues (there’s not much about my work or tech/geek topics), that’s awesome!

And because of the recent flack I’ve taken for blogging, this is VERY welcome news!

I’m expecting that there’ll be a fair bit of debate about Afrigator’s list, but that’s the wonderful thing about the world of the web these days – engagement and communication!

In moment of lowness last night, marking the crappy end to what would otherwise have been an okay day, despite being sick, I made a decision.

One of my personal flaws is that I don’t talk. Oh yes, I could probably write forever … (can you spell hypographia?) … but I don’t talk.

And that’s why I don’t do relationships very well.

Son#1 has recently told me that my inability to share on a verbal level leaves him frustrated and confused. Of course it does, you silly woman – have you not realized by now that EVERYONE feels that way about your silence?

Ok, so I need to share my mental innards with people close to me. Somehow.

Son#1 is having a rough time, this you know. I need to connect with him better, I need to show a side of me that he’s missing out on. It’s a side that I’ve deliberately kept from him because I thought he had enough to deal with. I thought that by keeping quiet about my own “stuff” I would be protecting him in some way, shielding him from things that he didn’t really need to know about. That’s what I thought. Apparently I was wrong.

So last night, I decided to tell him about this blog. I told him that this is MY way of sharing, of getting things out, of telling people about what’s happening in my life, of tentatively reaching out to what I’ve perceived to be a very harsh world. It’s all I can do right now.

I was afraid of his reaction. I was afraid that he would rebuke me for keeping this from him. I was afraid that he would read it and be angry about some of the things I had written.

But he surprised me. He was amazed … and excited. He rushed off to his PC to dive into my Headspace.

I waited anxiously for hours while he trawled through my posts.

He came back into my room and sat on my bed.

He told me that he liked it, and that it was “all me” – that everything was true … the content, the voice, everything. I should not have been afraid of his reaction to my sometimes very emo posts – he reckons we are “actually so alike that it’s scary” and that I should risk being even MORE open.

He said there wasn’t one thing about justB[coz] that didn’t show the real me. Mmk, just one … my lack of profanity! He said I should swear more because that’s what I do in real life. I nodded. I said that I do kinda swear here, I just sugar-coat it a bit. Out of respect I think. Yes, my friends and family know I swear, but it’s nothing to be proud of and actually, if I have time to think about my words (like I do here), I won’t use the EFF word as much as I could otherwise.

So Son#1 now reads my blog. It won’t change anything. I am glad that knows about it now and I think he’s glad he has more of an inside track on me …

So I guess last night’s revelation was ONE good thing that’s happened recently. That, and the fact that my Dad very, very kindly brought me some meds yesterday, a funky USB hub and an awesome little TV dongle for my ‘puter so I can keep an eye on the cricket while I work. (Thanks Dad!!)

Right, I think I’ve probably written enough for one sitting today.

Later xxx

The contest ends today so you only have a few hours left till America wakes up and she closes it …

Check out all the details from my July 7 post.

But shame, it’s nameless at the moment and Kat is on the hunt for a cool, catchy name so she’s running a “Name This Blog” contest. The prize is a $50 voucher from Amazon.com and all you need to do to stand a chance of winning is leave a comment on her new blog with your suggestion for a suitable name.

Easy-peasy hey?

But hurry, you only have 7 days … (now I sound like one of those horrid infomercial things LOL)

Here’s where to go: http://www.katjcooper.com/2008/07/name-this-blog-contest.html