EricColburn.com The Professional Land Surveyor Source Turns Two!

Yesterday, it just occurred to me that this site, EricColburn.com the Professional Land Surveyor Source, has turned two. Well, it actually happened on last Saturday, and I really didn’t start writing regularly here until the first week of July, 2008, but you get my point. So I wanted to take a moment to recognize this anniversary, share with you what creating this website and writing this blog has meant to me, give you some shameless plugs and self-serving factoids, and talk about where I’d like to go from here.

The Terrible Two’s

I’ve said it before, but here’s a little back-story. Several years ago I’d read a story written by Walt Mossberg, the principal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, about blogging and it intrigued me. Because of the blinding lights of the boom-years and stupidly getting caught up in the rat race, I put off doing what I really wanted to do. Finally, in May of 2008, as the economy wound down, I made adjustments to the way I did business, happily got caught up on work, life became more manageable and I took the time to setup this blog!

It was slow to start, taking the time to find the right look and feel for my blog, but eventually everything clicked and over the last two years I’ve published 546 posts, not counting this one. On average, that’s about one post for every workday, which was a goal of mine. I’ve really enjoyed the writing and creating multi-media content, too, like my AutoCAD Civil 3D videos and the Professional Land Surveyor Podcast (more coming soon).

To be honest, I had no way of knowing if writing this blog and publishing a professional land surveyor website would be something I would really like. It’s easy to say that you would like something, but it’s often difficult to stick with it, particularly after the bloom is of the rose. However, I trust my instincts and this time they certainly were right on – I really love doing this and after two years I feel like I’m just getting going. So many ideas, so little time!

What Writing This Blog Means to Me

First, writing this blog has been just a fantastic way to meet my fellow professional land surveyors, and others in our industry, from across the country and around the globe. I was surprised, and more than a little pleased, when this site took wings and professionals like you took the time to visit my site! Cool, awesome, and humbling, says I. But then it got even better! The beauty of a blog is the two-way communication and relationships that form because of that, which I love. Getting feedback from you, discussing posts and building working relationships has made this blogging thing very satisfying, to say the least.

Blogging then lead me to social media. This site and blog, EricColburn.com, is my main base of operations, if you will. It is not, however, the only place that I reach out to build community with you. You’ll also find me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Land Surveyors United and, recently, Tumblr. I build community and relationships at those social media sites, which is also fun and good for business. Yes, in building a relationship with social media I want you to learn about and visit this site. However, I’m far more interested in learning from you and building a professional relationship with you regardless of where we meet or your final destination. Being able to talk and share with people from all over this planet is very rewarding and I’ve discovered that we’re all not so different: I hear the same complaints and problems within our industry from just about everywhere.

From a very personal perspective, one other thing I’ve liked about creating this site and writing this blog has been in learning about new technologies and the freedom of mobility. I can, and do, write this blog anywhere. Well, as long as I have an internet connection, that is. The freedom of working and creating content anywhere is very compelling and satisfying. I look forward to hitting the road, like attending an industry event, and being able to share that with you more or less immediately. My office can be wherever I’m located.

Shameless Plugs and Self-Serving Factoids

Here are a few facts and accomplishments showing where this site has come in that last two years:

• 546 Posts in 2 Years.
• Nearly 40,000 Monthly Visits as of Last Month (39,273 visits to be exact).
• Over 160,000 Monthly Page Views as of Last Month (162,254 page views for you bean-counters).
• Created The Professional Land Surveyor Forum.
• Created The Professional Land Surveyor Podcast.
• Created AutoCAD Civil 3D Training Videos.
• Created The Professional Land Surveyor Newsletters.
• Built Community with Tens of Thousands with Social Media.
• Published My First Publication, Traverse Control Sheet Professional Land Surveyor Productivity Tool, with more soon to come in the Professional Land Surveyor Productivity Tools Series.
• Helped a Few People Out Along The Way. Hopefully.
• Proud to have Eagle Point as a Site Sponsor. Please Click On Their Banner Ad at the Top of this Post to Learn About Eagle Point’s Surveyor’s Companion For Civil 3D to Streamline Your Survey Workflow.

Where Am I and Eric Colburn.com Going From Here

I want to concentrate on providing you great content that you can use and learn from, build a strong and connected community of professional land surveyors and related industry professionals (we can all learn a lot from each other), and find ways that will help you to build a stronger, stress free, and profitable business. If you’re not a business owner or entrepreneur, then I want to help you to have as vibrant and successful a career as possible.

To create the very best content that I can, I need the following help:

1. A large part of the quality of the content on this site is what you bring to the table. Your ideas, thoughts and insights are valuable and interesting to all. Share these things by joining in the discussions, comment on a blog post, or join in the Professional Land surveyor Forum. Doing this will guarantee that this site has great content.
2. Ratchet up your involvement with EricColburn.com by becoming a Contributing Author. If you have an interesting story or specific industry knowledge that you would like to share, contact me and I’ll work with you to get it published on this site. You’ll benefit from being read by many in the profession and I’ll add your biographical information to a Contributing Authors page which will give you industry exposure. Try it, you’ll like it – I promise.
3. I need the help of sponsors to produce more in-depth multi-media content, to travel more to cover industry events, have more time for product reviews, and interview industry movers and shakers. Running this site and creating content takes time and money. With your help I can produce regular podcast, videos, and event coverage geared to building my community of engaged professional land surveyors to increase their industry knowledge.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Really, it’s been a quick two years. At least it has to me and I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you so much for including me as a part of your life and your regular routine, taking your valuable time to visit and read this blog. Your support means more to me than you will ever know.

Thanks and be brilliant!

Eric D. Colburn, Professional Land Surveyor

Note: As of 2011, the forum is upgraded as part of the Professional Land Surveyor Community.