Where Do I Go From Here??

photo credit: Mark Sardella's Flickr photostream

The high from last weekend is mellowing out and becoming more of point on my soul that I can revisit from time to time. A signpost to what's next. A touch point for my life.

Truly it was 4 of the best days of my life. With all the schlepping and vacuum-memory moments (wait.. I attended sessions? On what??), the sheer quantity of admiration and love that emanated from the conference will keep me moving forward for a good long time. And many of us have continued the love fest by keeping in touch throughout the day on Twitter. Little shots of laugh and love and positive vibe... with some constructive guidance thrown in too.

So, where am I going from here?

I've written that I've lost a lot of my passion for the art quilting and quilting in general. I still love the surface design and will continue to play with that, but I may need to find ways to alter that approach. Using the surface design to create wearables and home dec items that I can sell at an Etsy shop. Perfecting a couple techniques and hitting the local art centers about teaching these as classes. Occasionally making a quilt to comfort a friend, or express a specific thought.

Just keep working until the next step reveals itself to me.

In the meantime, I am taking on an interesting project. Don't know exactly how or where it's going to go, but I think I'm one of the few in a position to do this:

I'm examining a number of the new "social media" sites (like Twitter, ScrapBlog, Facebook, etc.) specifically with an eye as to how these might be useful for the artist/crafter. The person who wants to get information quickly in a neat, tidy package so they can get back to their work. The person who wants to organize information they might need in the future in a way that is useful to them, not determined by someone else's hierarchy.

Do these sites have enough to offer to make them more than time-wasters?

Is there a Web 2.0 option that could act as a valid replacement for all the knowledge we used to get on the Quilting Arts mailing list without all the wasted stuff that has driven many of us off the list?

What might you be looking for in a web 2.0 social media website? Do you even know? How would you like to use the web more efficiently in the future? For networking? For information sharing? For increasing your income?

Tell me. Help me figure out what to look for, what questions to ask, and I'll tell you about your future...

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.
"web 2.0 and the artist", Web2.0 "new social media" craft art