KatieSEOP's Blog

The Occasional Blogger…

katieseop — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:54:22 +0000

So it’s been at least a month now that I have been telling myself to update my Blog. I put it on my To Do list most days but it never gets done. Why is that? Some days I just don’t feel like writing. At work I spend a large part of my day doing SEO research and studying data, and then I spend the rest of my day trying to explain what that data means to prospective clients. It’s like painting pictures for people. It requires creative energy. Not everyone understands how search engines work, so I talk in analogies all day long attempting to educate them and help them grow their online businesses.

While I love my job, by the end of the day my creative juices have been squeezed dry. So that is why I don’t spend as much quality time with my Blog, Twitter and Facebook as I used to. Don’t get me wrong. I Love connecting with my family and friends. And, from a work perspective, social media marketing has become one of the most effective online marketing strategies of the Digital Age. So, while I see all the advantages of Blogging to update friends and family about what’s going on in my life, I still have the hardest time actually doing it.

I have started so many blogs I have never posted. When I start writing about life, I often think I should be out living it instead so I put what I’m writing aside and run off to the next adventure. So my countless, half-written blogs reside unfinished on my desktop. Looking over them, I now wish I completed them. They are filled with great memories. Memories I would like to share with my friends. I was in Kaui last week and had so many adventures, from zip lining to paddle surfing. I want to document that trip so I won’t forget all the joy in the little details, like the sound of the tropical rain that lulled me to sleep at night and the kaui roosters that woke me up every morning. I want to capture all those special moments that I am likely to forget as time goes by.

My Blogging Idol is my sister Kristi (check her out at KristiBug.com). I Love reading her blog and catching up on her life. I think her blog has actually brought us closer and strengthened our relationship. As funny as it sounds, I have gotten to know her so much better since she created it years ago. Now that we are adults with busy lives, it is comforting to know I can visit her blog anytime I want and feel close to her.

As 2009 comes to a close, I want to make a commitment to Blog at least once a week. Not only to document what’s going on in my life, but to use as a means to connect with all the family and friends I rarely get to see.

Another Life Lesson…

katieseop — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:12:27 +0000

So a couple days ago after a particularly trying day at work, I decided to head over to my local LA Fitness and go for a swim. Swimming is my favorite type of exercise and also a form of meditation for me… a way to relax. Since there are only three lanes available at my gym and they are usually all taken, I said a prayer that at least one would be open for me.

When I got there, I hurriedly hopped in my suit and took off running to the pool area because I knew the rest of the after work gym-goers would be arriving shortly. I thought my luck was turning around for the day because my very favorite lane (the fast lane) was wide open. With a big smile on my face I dove into the pool.

For about five minutes, I swam into a blissful state of peace. That is, until I noticed an older gentleman in the lane beside me who had stopped swimming and decided to stare at me underwater everytime I passed by him. I felt awkward and frustrated. At first, I was going to leave the pool because I felt so uncomfortable. But then I thought, “why should I let this man have the power to steal my joy?” I decided to keep swimming and silently vowed no one was going take away the calm the water gives me.

Fifteen minutes later, another swimmer hops in my lane. This is very normal. Sometimes there will be up to four people per lane, but as you can understand it makes it more difficult to completely bliss out since you have to pay attention to not running into the other swimmers. Unfortunately, the swimmer was a novice and didn’t know pool ettiquette. I told myself not to get frustrated and that this pool situation was a lot like Life. Sometimes the waters are calm, but other times you run into interference.

I was proud of my positive attitude until a few moments went by and she accidently kicked me in the face. I was about to start crying in the pool (because no one can see tears underwater) when I had an epiphany. This was a test. A spiritual test that I decided to meet head on. I made a promise to myself that I would carry on and swim for my usual hour no matter how many obstacles came my way. I can handle a kick in the face. I’ve been through a lot worse in my life.

Another 10 minutes goes by and then a group of about 15 people all walked into the pool area at once. They took down the divider between the second and third lane. Now the only lane remaining was the one I was sharing with the novice swimmer/kickboxer. Next thing I know, 15 heavy-set water aerobic enthusiasts were in the pool running in place, hopping up and down, and moving around furiously underwater to a portable casette player blaring the Beach Boys.

Now as much as I love the Beach Boys, swimming is my time for peace and quiet… for prayer and meditation. The time I clean off all the remenants of the day. I felt like I was swimming in the ocean during a storm. The water was so choppy and I choked several times when I would come up for air. Still I was determined. No one was going to get me out of this pool till I was good and ready to go.

I persisted another 30 minutes until I reached the time limit I set for myself. When I got out I went into the sauna for a little self-reflection time. I couldn’t stop thinking about how my pool experience so closely resembled Life in general. Sometimes the waters are calm and sometimes they are choppy. What is important is how we handle ourselves when swimming through rough waters. I was determined not to let anyone take my joy. It just reaffirmed to me that ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING. And in the end, I got a much better workout because I had to work a lot harder to get through it. In the end, I was thankful for all the obstacles that came my way. Yes, even the kick in the face. Sometimes it takes a little pain to remind you of your personal strength.

Hello World!

katieseop — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:20:00 +0000

After taking some time off from the online world, I have decided to jump back into the game. This past year was a whirlwind of country hopping and self-exploration. Starting in January 2009, I visited 27 cities overseas. Most of the time I was never in one city for more than 24hrs. Here is a list of the places I went: Aberdeen and Glasgow (Scottland), Newcastle, Birmingham, Nottingham, Bournemouth, London, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool (England), Cardiff (Wales), Dublin (Ireland), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Paris (France), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Frankfurt (Germany), Zurich (Switzerland), Brussels (Belgium), Munich (Germany), Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg), Monte Carlo (Monaco), Dusseldorf, Berlin (Germany), Prauge (Czech Republic), Vienna (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), and Belgrade (Serbia).

The reason I took this journey was because many years ago, my best friend and I used to talk about traveling the world together. Said best friend became an international popstar and those long ago, late-night conversations finally became a reality. And though I will never forget the experience, I was so grateful to finally come home. You see, it took a grand adventure for me to realize all I had at home. My family, friends, house, car, BED, and so many other things I once took for granted. And now here I am back in the states, ready for a different kind of adventure. I have now retired my gypsy skirts for office attire. I took a dream job with one of the leading search engine optimization companies in world, SEOP.com, and am now spend my time helping companies across the world grow their online businesses. Aside my from my experience in the music industry, the world of online marketing has always been where I feel most at home.

When I was just a child, my entrepreneur father started a company called J.Williams Inc.. It was one of the first software companies that catered to the Real Estate industry. My first job was formatting floppy disks and training Real Estate agents on how to use our software. Later, my father started another company called Advanced Access. Back in 1998 the company consisted of my sister (who would crank out 10-15 Real Estate websites a day), my step mom (who wrote the copy for the sites) and my father and I (who handled the sales). The company grew like wildfire. Within a few short years we had over a hundred employees. By the time we sold the company in 2006, we had over 30,000 users.

During my years at Advanced Access, I held many positions. I had an insider’s view of how a successful internet company runs. I spent much of my time traveling the country speaking to Real Estate agents about how to market themselves online. Since the sale of my family’s business, the internet has changed dramatically and my new job is to stay abreast of all these changes, so I can help companies grow, evolve, and stay relevant in this ever-changing digital world. I welcome the challenge. My wanderlust has now been replaced by a different kind of searching. Instead of moving through physical space, I am now traveling through digital space. And this blog will be my written record of the new adventure that lies ahead.