Wish the Goddess Happy Birthday and Godspeed.

Today is Communications Goddess' 4th birthday, and it's a happy one. The question is, will it be the last?

This blog began as a diary to track and share my adventures online as a newbie amazed to find another universe in my keyboard. I tumbled like Alice, headlong, for weekends and days at a time, clicking and exploring. I felt reborn, and eager to find people who would understand this passion and teach me more. It was as though I had unearthed a party with a kabillion people, all speaking a language I'd never heard of. And once I learned a word or two, I couldn't stop wanting to know more, and party on.

At first, I blogged with authentic, wide-eyed wonder. I wanted to tell everyone about virtual worlds, niche social networks and new words like crowdsourcing or captcha. I've been to 2 BlogHer conferences now, and those magical women taught me how to be considered for paid posts by national brands. Proud to say that the Goddess has snared a respectable few.

If you blog, you know that it's more than a notion. "Daily" is a butt-kickin' regimen. Blogging well at any schedule is a major commitment of time. The task of generating interesting, informative content over and over again can get old fast. The stress of RESPONSIBILITY rests on your shoulders, all the time.

And yet, I now have a second blog to love: The NotMom.com.

All because I confided to creative geeks at South by Southwest that I "couldn't find myself online." My new blog recognizes the unique perspectives of women who are childless by choice or by chance, a rare sight (or site) in the vastness of cyberspace. Obviously, it's a much more personal blog, with infrequent connection to the communications topics covered by the Goddess, or my professional work.

This year, I started to see opportunities to redesign The NotMom.com with added capacity for interactivity and community. And then, in late February it was selected as a Top Ten Finalist in a regional business development program for women entrepreneurs. A nine-week

curriculum is designed to produce strong business plans, and stronger businesswomen. One finalist will receive a $25,000 low-interest loan. Suddenly, I'm not just expanding a blog; I'm opening a new business! It's a helluva ride, but too big for two disparate blogs.

I thought I'd cry at the thought of suspending Communications Goddess, but I didn't, perhaps because I know it can't really go away. I get far too much pleasure from observing the new ways we're communicating with each other and writing about it. I have to tell somebody about all the chill tools I find online, and frankly, HubbyMine is tired of hearing it.

Please keep in touch on Facebook, dear Readers, because what I'm trying to say is, farewell. For now.

Hate Writing Resumes? You're Gonna LOVE This.

When I hear people call someone a "Tool", I never really get it. I mean, I love tools. I acquired a new favorite recently, and there's nothing disparaging about it. In fact, it just might be a godsend -- I mean, a goddess-send -- to anyone who's resume-challenged.

Only one requirement to use this free tool: You must have a LinkedIn account where your profile has been completed. "Completed" means there's at least 2 sentences of descriptive text for each position held.

OK.

You're going to LinkedIn Resume Builder, a totally separate URL from LinkedIn.com. With just a few clicks, the career history you put in your profile is re-formatted into the resume format of your choice. Edit and save as PDF.

Why South by Southwest Matters

People keep asking me why the annual South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference is supposed to be "all that" for everything tech, social media and Internet. Twitter emerged from the sessions in 2007 and location-based network Foursquare in 2009. The glorious city of Austin, Texas is prepping for the 2012 geek assault even as you read this.

Even if I'd known about my city's StartUp Bus to Austin, I doubt I'd have joined them. This year the riders are broadcasting live daily at CoolCleveland.com as they "conceive, build and launch a startup" over the course of their 72-hour ride. Nah. Too much stress for the Goddess. A nice airplane, please.

This year, geeks and moviegoers are the first to overrun Austin. Interactive runs March 9-13 with the Film festival overlapping somewhat on March 9-17. The following week, it's the musicians' turn (March 13-18). Somehow it's been a year since I was there. I know I'll return, and frankly, consecutive attendance might make my head explode. Because here's how I answer the question about the SXSW magic dust:

In March 2011 I arrived in Austin as the widest-eyed newbie with a brand new messenger bag. You might have seen me; it's kind of purple. All I knew was that I was pulled to Texas as sure a magnet likes your frig. I certainly couldn't afford the weeklong trip. I describe the experience as grad school in 5 days, where the student to your left may be the next Bill Gates and the woman in front of you is already a tech superstar, but you don't know her. "South by" was like Hogwarts because surely the very air holds a contagious cloud of action and possibility.

In that very fertile environment, I mentioned a personal complaint about the Internet that group feedback prounounced An Idea.

Welcome to March 2012. I am one of 10 women competing for a $25,000 low-interest loan... to bring that idea to life.

Thank you, Austin.