BBN is 4 years old today! It's hard to believe -- the time has flown by so quickly.
I can't discuss the history of this blog without also thanking some fabulous people who have helped me and inspired me along the way:
* The Name Queens, Pam and Linda at Nameberry who first encouraged me to write a post for them about names and inspired me to set this blog up. I like to think of them as my adopted "Name Mums," always there for support and advice, as I know they are for many others.
* The ever erudite, inspirational and always generous Abby at Appellation Mountain who not only keeps me up-to-date with all the name-y goodness from around the world, but has also been kindly linking to blog posts here for the last four years. I suppose, if Pam and Linda are the "Name Mums" then Abby is the cool "Name Big-Sister" who we all look up to and aspire to be like.
* Lovely Anna at Waltzing More Than Matilda who supported me right back in my early days of blogging and gave me confidence. She has such an easy and witty style of writing that always inspires me.
* Nancy's Baby Names was one of the first name blogs I ever read. When I wasn't sure that all my historical research (and random 'rabbit-hole' musings) were interesting for anyone to read, she inspired me to write about what interests me and not pigeon-hole myself.
* Clare of Name News is like the kind-hearted Fairy Godmother of the name-blogging world, rounding us all up, keeping us all up to date and eager for her witty insights.
* And of course, all my lovely readers who have been so kind in your support over the four years. I'm incredibly proud that such intelligent and insightful people choose to read and comment on my humble little website. Thank you all so much.
This year has seen several changes in my job, increasing my workload and dramatically depleting my free time. Although I've tried to ensure as little impact on the blog as possible, I haven't been able to do all the things I would have liked, and I know I haven't been as 'present' as much. The demands of juggling my job with this website has been proving increasingly more difficult.
After much soul-searching and discussions with my family, friends and employer, I have decided to reduce my working hours next academic year.
As of September I'll be cutting down my fifty hour week to more like forty. Which basically means I will have a whole extra day away from the classroom per week.
So what will that mean for BBN?
With some extra time, I really want to branch out with this blog and do some other exciting things. I don't just want to write more posts; I'd like to open up other exciting name-y avenues.
All being well, the blog content will remain as regular as it already is, will all the same features. I've been shockingly lax in by BerryJuice posts over at Nameberry, but I hope to change that very soon.
There are several projects and ideas I would like to try, and I'd love your opinions on which you feel would be the most useful, or you would be most interested in. It will certainly help me focus my time.
E-Book - For over a year now, I've had a plan for a name book. I've even started sketching it out, cataloging and researching for it, but it's a big project that requires dedicated time (something which I have had little of).
The plan is to write a book focusing on Celtic names. Not just Welsh names, or Irish names but all of them. From ancient Celtic folklore to modern Cornish and Manx creations and everything else in between, looking at the etymology, history of use, popularity etc. It would include name lists, decade popularity charts and "off-the-grid" choices.
Magazine - Another idea I'd love to get off the ground is a quarterly magazine (possibly monthly if I can manage it efficiently). This would include exclusive content separate from this blog, containing articles on different themes and analysis of current trends.
Vlogs - Sometimes there are so many things I want to say about names but they would be too unwieldy to write. Videos would give me more of a personal interface where I can discuss my reactions to name stories and other topical issues and present name lists in a different format.
Please let me know which option you are most interested in. I'll most likely try them all, but your opinions will help me know where to start.
If there is any other feature on BBN that you would like to see that I haven't considered, please comment below. I'm very open to suggestions.
Or, if you would prefer to rank each option in order, please do so here:
Thank you!
