Site Update: November-December 2009
This site update comes to you live from the Costa Del Sol in Southern Spain, where I’m on vacation and planning out the next year.
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Each month I look back at what’s happened with AONC in the previous month (or two, in this case). If you’ve missed some articles, you can catch up here.
Writing
LIFE – I wrote about Motivations and Mountain Climbing, 676,358 Frequent Flyer Miles, Will People Abandon You If You Share an Opinion?, If They Hadn’t Been Pushed, They Would’ve Never Made the Leap, Nothing Hitler Did Was Illegal, Avoiding False Dichotomies, Why Not Try It All?, Watch and See, Charity Dinner and Auction in Portland
WORK – I wrote about launching the Frequent Flyer Master, Reviews of the Frequent Flyer Master, The Best $1.26 I Ever Made, Washington DC Meetup, 676,358 Frequent Flyer Miles, Disaster and Opportunity Interview with John Unger,
TRAVEL – I wrote about requesting my travel history from the U.S. Government, taking the Midnight Train to Tbilisi, Georgia, Technology and Travel, planning my trip to Azerbajan , Your Own Amazing Race
SITE AND STORE UPDATES – I wrote about Mondo Beyondo, did a giveaway for Unclutter Your Life, and Extreme Gratitude, DC Edition.
(P.S. Thanks to everyone who has been participating in the comments section on the Monday and Thursday articles. You guys are incredibly smart.)
Travel
After an extended book-writing time at home, I went back out on the road and headed to the Caucasus region in Eastern Europe. I flew into Azerbaijan, traveled via 15-hour Soviet train to Georgia, and exited the region about 10 days later from Armenia. It was a great trip, if a bit disorienting at times. (My Russian language skills consist of about five words.)
You can see photos and videos of my trips here. Drop in to take a look if you’re so inclined, and add me as a contact if you’re into the Flickr thing.
Small Business
On November 5th we launched the final product of the year, Frequent Flyer Master. This one has done very well, selling out the initial 150 copies the first morning, and continuing to sell multiple copies every day since. Even better than the sales are all the great notes I’ve been receiving from travelers who are super-sizing their mileage plans and booking free trips all over the world.
A few weeks later, we also launched the new UnconventionalGuides.com site. This new business hub for AONC has been a work in progress for a long time, and I’m really excited that it’s finally up and running.
What’s Coming Next
Travel
While I’m away for much of December, I’ve been trying to plan my travel for the first half of 2010. To be honest, though, it’s been a little overwhelming. I know I’ll be in a lot of places as my travel quest continues to get more challenging; I just don’t know exactly when, where, or how I’ll get there. Expect a post about this process soon – for last year’s, go over here.
Small Business
I’m gearing up for several big announcements in the first part of the year. Among other things, the first online community group will begin in early January, followed by another one in March. Like the new business site, these projects have been in the planning stages for a long time, and I’m looking forward to having them out in the world.
Articles
This month I’ll write primarily about the Annual Review process, including several articles with my own analysis of what went well and what didn’t in 2009. I’ll publish other content on Twitter and perhaps some trip photos, but the review series will definitely be the highlight for December.
I hope you enjoy my writing, and I always welcome your feedback.
Audience Participation
You can participate in the development of this project in several ways:
Leave a comment at the bottom of any regular article. Feel free to add to the discussion at any time, and include a link back to your own site if you have one. (Note that the link goes in the “web site” field, not the big text box where you write your comment.)
Join my newsletter announcement list or add me to your RSS reader.
Follow my real-time updates on Twitter here. I regularly solicit input on the articles published on the site, as well as send out links to other people’s great content. A “Daily Ass-Kicking” is included at no additional charge. You can also become a fan of AONC on Facebook.
Send other feedback. Use my contact form here to say hi or check in about something.
Tell your friends, or tell the world by submitting my articles to StumbleUpon or other social networking sites.
I appreciate the time you spend here. Don’t forget to change the world the way you think it needs to be changed.
-CG
Catch up on Previous Updates Here:
October 2009 (Portland)
August-September 2009 (Bali)
July 2009 (Kuala Lumpur)
June 2009 (Salt Lake City)
April 2009 (Dominican Republic)
April 2009 (Portland)
March 2009 (Portland)
January-February 2009 (Tokyo)
November-December 2008 (Seattle)
October 2008 (Seattle)
September 2008 (Seattle)
August 2008 (Seattle)
July 2008 (Karachi)
June 2008 (Amsterdam)
May 2008 (Vancouver)
April 2008 (Syria)
March 2008 (Los Angeles)
February 2008 (Seattle)
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Image by Picstuff
