Some of you know that my first serious attempt at blogging was my coffee blog (Brotherhood of the Bean).  I started it on a whim really to see if I could get companies to send me products to review.

I think in many ways it’s success surprised even myself.  In little to no time I found myself reviewing coffee and coffee products with a minimal investment of time and energy (request for demo products, etc.).

And in the course of things, I found I really enjoyed writing again.  Note that I said I “enjoyed writing”, not that I “enjoyed writing well”.  I will always be a third or thirtieth edit is the charm type of writer, blame it on my passionate spirit that prefers content over form. lol, passionate spirit — sure… we can go with that reason.

But one lesson that I learned with Brotherhood of the Bean is that having a singular focus while in the beginning is a great focusing tool in the blog writer’s arsenal — after a period of time that is different for every writer — you just get burned out.

That’s kind of where I am with the Bean.  I just don’t feel the burning desire that I once did to work on it.  I still love coffee, it has just become something of a monkey on my back.  I know that’s horrible to say, but I just feel somewhat beaten down by it.  Crazy I know.

Despite the fact that my last post there was on April 8th, the number of hits each day is continuing to rise each day.   If there was ever a testament to the effectiveness of search engines this clearly is one such example.

So while the embers of passion for the Bean are slowly dying in my heart, the onslaught of visitors is clearly on the rise.  Ironic.  Hopefully the passion will return sooner rather than later.

Many of you know that my wife and I are in the process of adopting a child from China. One thing we quickly learning about the adoption community was its almost global embracing of digital journaling.

When most people think of an adoption, they have vision of fast celebrity adoptions. And while that may be the case in the private adoptions that most celebrities do, for the average user it is typically a multi-year process.

It stands to reason then that journal play in important role in the journey laid ahead of adoptive parents. To that end I have purchased the LadyBugBlogs.com domain and plan to begin development of a WordPress Mu based multi-user blogging system.

My idea is to provide a community blogging solution with features and themes tailored to the adoptive parents needs and desires. China and other Asian adoptions are focus group for LadybugBlogs.com.

The Ladybug in an important symbol in China adoptions, its incorporation into the blog domain name seemed only fitting.

This has been a pretty excited time for Brotherhood of the Bean, my Coffee product & culture blog. For a long time I have worked to develop it into a coffee resource that offers valuable product and culture insights. In truth it has been a lot of fun.

Some time ago I became aware of the 9rules blog network, from what I saw I knew it was the community for me. The problem was that thousands of others had the same idea. So I decided to sit back and enjoy the community while I waited for my application to be reviewed.

Along the way I found some of the most interesting people on the web, and with the newly available notes feature, I could communicate my thoughts with them. I thought it was pretty cool.

You can imagine my pride and excitement when I was invited to become a member. To have Brotherhood of the Bean recognized as being being of a high enough caliber for 9rules means a lot to me.

For those of you wondering what 9rules is all about:
9rules is a place where members and readers can connect, build relationships, gain exposure, learn new things, and have fun. 9rules started in 2003 with a set of 9 rules:

1. Love what you do.
2. Never stop learning.
3. Form works with function.
4. Simple is beautiful.
5. Work hard, play hard.
6. You get what you pay for.
7. When you talk, we listen.
8. Must constantly improve.
9. Respect your inspiration.