One thing I did have a hard time with at BlogHer was introducing myself. I really have no idea how to do that anymore. Once upon a time, I was “Tenth Muse” and that’s it.  Daniel loves to reference me or introduce me to people like, “OMGYOUGUYS! It’s Tenth Muse!” but let’s not kid ourselves. I was “famous” (air quotes!) on the internet once, but it’s been a long, long time and I hardly ever blog here anymore.  In the grand scheme of the blogosphere, no one knows who Tenth Muse is anymore — I’m under no delusion.

Sure, I’m one of the Moxie Girls of Moxie Design Studios, co-author of Blogging with Moxie and that has some cred, but we don’t really blog regularly there unless it’s business updates. So… well, that’s not my blog either. And while we were there as The Moxie Girls, Kathy is now the very popular SafeMama and rockin’ that angle all over the place, which is fantastic. (Seriously, I was so proud — people flocked to her, it was awesome. I loved seeing her face light up when people knew who she was.)  It was a conference full of mostly moms and many green bloggers, so she was hot commodity and for the first time… well, I was kind of the sidekick. That was weird for me. I’m usually the extrovert, the talker, the proverbial jazz hands, if you will, but this time, she was the star. And I was happy about it!  I’m not bitter, it was just… new.

I have Put Down the Donut, of course, but… well, that’s also an awkward spot. Once upon a time, we were one of the first fitness/weight loss blogs out there. Or at least, one of the most popular. We were nominated for a Bloggie, we were published in national magazines, but due to the volume of work at Moxie, I just wasn’t able to maintain it. And in that downtime, fitness blogging blew up and despite the many requests for us to come back, I have to work much harder now at getting the word out about the Donut.  Again, not upset about it… it’s just different.

I find myself with a bit of an identity crisis. When people would ask me, pointedly, “Who do YOU blog for?” or “Whats YOUR blog?” I found myself at a loss for words. Do I mention the Donut, even though no one has heard of it? Do I mention Moxie and hope they know who I am? Do I say Tenth Muse and try not to cringe when they look at me blankly?  I’ve been blogging since 2003, yet somehow, I feel like a new blogger.

Now, some might think I’m just being brat, whining about how no one likes me anymore or jealous of the success of others. Anyone who truly knows me would know that’s bullshit. I’ve always said there’s plenty of room for everyone, and I couldn’t be more proud of Kathy or the success of others.  I’m just not used to having to work so hard at being noticed. I just am who I am and people respond to that, usually. Some might consider that demanding the spotlight, but it’s just the way it is.  I’m amiable, approachable and like to think that people enjoy my company.

I am just not sure how to introduce myself anymore, where on the shelf I fit in this blog library.  It’s too complicated to list out 3 identities for people (they check out by the time you get to .com on the first one, anyway, and let’s not even get started on Twitter handles).  I have a couple other projects I intend to launch over the next year… which would make 5 domains I could choose from.  I don’t want to get rid of this blog, for posts just like this, where I need to hash things out and there’s no specific niche topic.  Plus, it’s my first blog and I’m partial to it.  Moxie isn’t going away… it’s only growing. The Donut (I hope) will pick up some steam over the next year and then my other two projects are fun outlets that are likely to do fairly well if I play my cards right.

I’ve thought about choosing one domain name, like my name, joellereeder.com or my original domain name I had way, way back before blogging: joellapalooza.com and using that as a hub — a one-stop shop for all things me.  It’s a way for me to be decisive, definitive and able to introduce myself as Joelle from xyz.com. One domain, the end.  But then I think… is that just adding more confusion? I figured it could just be a simple one-pager, listing all the logos/links to my various homes online. Or, I could just use this domain, tenth-muse.com, for the same thing.

What do you think about this? Does this seem like the way to go when I have 5 irons in the fire and each of them are unique unto themselves?  Or is this just adding more domains to the list of GoDaddy renewals?

Or should I just shut the hell up and blog?

I’m sure there will be some of you that won’t care for the new look, prefer a lighter background, want bigger text, like more contrast, wonder why my ‘banner’ is way down at the bottom, wish Brad Pitt were your husband… whatever the case may be. And that’s ok, though Angelina might take umbrage.

So why this look?  Because I wanted to do something different. Because I wanted to experiment with textures and depth. Because I needed to break out of the box a little and at the same time, rekindle some of my joie de vivre! And because well… I like it like that.

*cue Tito Nieves*

Some of you may have noticed I’m taking a break from my long-term relationship with Expression Engine and having a fling with WordPress. It’s not because I don’t love Expression Engine anymore (I still use it for clients).  I just needed to feel the tingles again. You know what I mean?  If WordPress doesn’t sweep me off my feet, I’m sure EE and my blog will meet again… when 2.0 comes out.

If you are so inclined, please check back again to see if any changes have been made. Or, if the look is just not your thing, update your feed.  Muchas gracias.