What 2007 Was Like for this Girlygeek

So I’ve been doing a lot of emo-ing the past days, thinking about the year that has gone by, reading old blog posts and journals, and reflecting on what to do and what not this 2008. I honestly haven’t come up with a list of New Year’s resolutions just yet, maybe because through the years, I’ve never really got to keep them. Heh. Besides, you can always make resolutions anytime within the year right?

Anyway, as I was just trying to be emo over there, I realized that aside from the lessons learned and precious momentos that came with 2007, it was also a year of achievements and blessings (material and otherwise) for me. While it’s also the year when my dad passed away (which left me lost and depressed for a couple of months), God still never failed to give me something to be happy and thankful for. So I’m making another list, in the spirit of new beginnings. Yeah.

Here’s my 2007 in a nutshell.

:: Launched Pinkseo.info’s first ever wordpress theme, the Pink Kupy WP Theme, released mostly for the purpose of my participation at the SEO Philippine’s ituloy angsulong keyword-ranking contest. This was shortly followed by the Blue Kupy, Green Kupy, and the official Pink SEO WP Theme — kudos to Mr. Ronan Banares, without which all of these wouldn’t be possible.

:: My participation at the ituloy angsulong contest paid off as Pinkseo.info gained recognition, ranking number 5 at Google, and achieving its goal to raise the Filipinas’ flag in a man’s world such as this industry that I’m in. Come to think of it, this is the major reason why this blog came to be in the first place.

:: Got my first Acer Travelmate back in April, which I bought from Amazon, hand-carried back home by a friend, and my life was never the same. Heh. Also, I realized that Vista is never going to work for me.

:: Subscribed a Globe Visibility plan back then when you can still get it at P2,000/month. And there it was.. the beginning of mobile, all-around, wherever-whenever internet connection for me.

:: Scored a blogging stint with Splashpress Media, exposing me to the ins and outs of the web, new media, and blogging. Truly, writing for 901am.com not only brought me more blogging income, but also the prestige of writing for a global audience. Also, it made way for me to connect with an old friend, but well, let’s not go there.

:: Purchased my very first DSLR, that Nikon D40 that blogging bought, after weeks of drooling over it, and weighing my options. Hence the beginning of a gunk of dreams that’s connected with digital photography. Also, I started doing album layouts for MyPinoyWedding.com (a US-based, Filipino-owned company providing photography services), something I never really thought I could do. Unsurprisingly, I loved every bit of it, and am hoping (and expecting) more projects this year. You can see my first two projects here and there.

:: Participated in the launch of the “Redefining the Filipina’s image online”, a project spearheaded by Miss Noemi Dado and Miss Dine Racoma, along with a bunch of Filipino bloggers and netrepreneurs.

:: Participated various blogger events including Taste Asia 1, Taste Asia 2, Blogger Bag Launch, and the Mobius-sponsored dinner with my gorjus blogger girlfriends.

:: And then there was my first gig as a speaker at the first-ever Search Engine Marketing Conference in the Philippines where I talked about advanced linkbuilding tactics. And since it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I took the courage to squeeze in some Pink Hat SEO techniques, hehe. But of course. My SEMCON experience was indeed.. WOW. I didn’t think I was cut out to be among the highly respected Internet Marketing gurus in and out of the country, including Teh Aaron Wall and Todd Malicoat, among others, but.. wow, the opportunity was definitely.. wow. (Okay, I stop wow-ing now.) Oh, and I got acquainted with Aaron Wall and his wife, Gio too.

:: And then there was me, selling my Acer Travelmate to purchase a Macbook, after some serious contemplation. This year, I became a Mac convert, and I loved it.

:: And of course, there were the little advancements in my career, thanks to my boss, and the wonderful wonderful people I work with. I was given an opportunity to train (and sometimes, supervise) a team of very talented internet marketing specialists and copywriters, and budding SEOs, and was able to gain acceptance and build friendships along the way. What can I say? I couldn’t be any luckier to be in the right place, at the right time. My involvement with the SEM industry has also gained me freelance clients and consultancy gigs here and there. God has blessed my career abundantly in 2007, that’s for sure.

I’m excited what 2008 has in store. Will I get everything in my wishlist? This 2008, I plan to travel more, do more photography, have more creative outlets (like writing and design), buy a dog (woohoo), invest on more gadgets (hehe!) and other worthwhile financial ventures, and do more stuff beyond the four corners of my office. Let’s see if dreams will come true this 2008.

Belated Happy New Year everyone!