Josh Shear

Here it is, another December 29. Our 2009 calendars are running out of usefulness. The aughts are nearly gone, and we'll soon be writing 2010. It was last year at this time that I was writing:

I will, in no uncertain terms, not miss 2008. It began with a major snowstorm, a storm which has not abated for 363 days and counting.

I went on to say

My hope for you, dear reader: a happy and a healthy 2009.

My mom took time out to agree.

2009 was a really good year. There were some health problems in the family, but everyone's alive and working and progressing and moving forward. I got to take personal days at the end of the year to relax, rather than spending them on funerals. I'm calling it a win from a healthy perspective.

Mitch's year-end post is about growth, and for me, 2009 was about growth, and 2010 likely will be as well.

I set these goals for 2009:

• Take more photos for the greater good, not necessarily for sale. I’m hoping to put at least three new photos on flickr each week.

• Publish something in Corpse. It’s a publication I both enjoy and respect, and I’d be honored to be on their contributors list.

• Make this space here a lot prettier, more professional, and more useful. That includes better (more frequent, more informative) posting, and more creative use of space.

I took more pictures, but put them on Twitpic and Tumblr instead of Flickr. And it was more than 3 a week.

I did not publish anything in Corpse. To be honest, in mid-June they still had a note up that they would begin accepting submissions in May, and I haven't checked back since.

I overhauled this space twice, more recently moving it to WordPress. While I still really like Blogger, I've learned that WordPress is a more professional platform, and I'm likely going to be taken more seriously by the more serious social media folks.

I moved in January to a smaller apartment that fits me better. I'm a short walk from almost everything I need; I'm closer to work. I've stepped up my social media efforts and really reached out to meet some new people in 2009. See this nearly ridiculous post about Twitter for a look at that. I've grown my LinkedIn network. I've launched an effort to help raise money to fund childhood cancer research.

In December, I launched two group-written blogs, one (just getting started) about collaboration and one about a lifelong passion, music.

I've begun coworking in the spaces of a local non-profit that supports urban sustainability.

I've designed new websites, I've talked people into blogging, I've helped organizations with social media tools. I've spoken to a couple of media groups.

I haven't outlined specific goals for myself for 2010. They are more general than perhaps I'd like them to be, but I've been doing, more than planning the past six weeks or so. Here are three things I want to do in 2010.

• Collaborate. I'd like to start and maintain projects I'm passionate about. I've taken a running start at this, but I think more is going to come as I learn the intricacies of collaboration and relationship-building.

• Write. It seems like every year I wind up saying I want to write more, and what really ends up happening is that I take on the technical side of more things and write less. Not in 2010. I will be spending more time writing about what's going on.

• Drop 12 pounds. That might sound like a weak weight-loss goal, but it's realistic and achievable. When I graduated high school in 1994 I weighed 115 pounds. When I moved to Syracuse in 2003 I weighed 215 pounds. I now weigh 170 pounds – that's a 45-pound drop from my high. And while I haven't lost weight this year, I've lost two inches off my waist, which means I'm gaining muscle, which is heavier than fat. Twelve pounds allows me to keep gaining muscle, but forces me to make healthier food choices.

My wish for you is the same as it was last year. Have a happy and a healthy year.