The Best of 2020

2020 has been quite the year. I have written a bit about some of the negatives that have occurred but I have found that each has brought me some positives too, whether that be in the real world or the online world. Essentially this has been in the form of growth: I like to see the less good things as catalysts and opportunities for change and this year has been no exception. The other reoccurring theme has been giving and so with growth and giving in mind, I want to focus my thoughts on the best of 2020.

The 2020 Projects

Blogable

Although Blogable was launched in August, it was the brainchild of May and began much before then. She asked Marie and I to be part of it and the three of us were merrily planning and mapping out ideas for a good part of the year. I have to admit that I have been somewhat of a lacking partner in terms of output so far but this is not because I don’t believe in what we have going on. It is a great site full of must have information for anyone who is blogging or thinking of starting a blog. The other thing that Blogable has to offer, apart from the three of us, is a community.

What we really wanted was bloggers to have a place to go to ask advice from us and others out there who are more than happy to share what they themselves have learnt. Not only has it been a pleasure to be working with two such amazing people, it has been good to extend what I have learnt about community from The SafeworD/sClub. As with anything new, it takes a while to build and I think we all agreed that there was no rush. Blogable is about the members and so it will grow with them and be shaped in terms of what they need and want. But watch this space because I think that 2021 could be a brilliantly blogable year.

Tell Me About

Although Tell Me About has been running as a D/s writing prompt for a couple of years now, this year we moved it from being a subdomain of The SafeworD/s Club as I wanted to extend the resource. The intention was always to have somewhere that would accumulate a range of voices writing on a range of topics and so, along with a new look, we added to it and created a few more projects. I have never wanted any of the projects I am involved in to be about me. Submissy is the place for that. What I wanted was to give back to a community of people who have helped me over the years, so TMA became a home to writing projects and resources on lifestyle topics with a twist.

Monochromerotic

This is an erotic photo prompt which is hosted by littlegem. Gem and her partner Purple Sole produce some amazing photographs themselves and so she decided to set up the photo meme to celebrate erotic images which were in monochrome. Running weekly, it has been a real hit and it has been lovely to see so many regulars and newcomers alike taking part. I am greatful to gem for all her hard work. It has been so nice to watch TMA become more than a writing prompt and Monochromerotic has been 100% down to gem.

TMA Podcast

Likewise, the TMA Podcast has been HL’s baby. I have watched him labour over it, learning about the platform and editing over and over until he is happy with what he has. He keeps me up to date as he excitedly watches the number of downloads grow. I know I may be biased but I think he is actually really talented and I have enjoyed listening to what has now been two amazing series. I look forward to seeing what he gets up to in the new year.

Other Projects

There is always room for more and we also added some open pages on TMA which are for areas where there seemed to be a lack of places to link resources on particular topics. So we also created Tell Me About … DIY, Tell Me about … Sexual Health and Tell Me About … D/s Diaries. If you are interested in reading about posts in these areas, or have a post which you think would fit, then please hop over and add it to the collection so that others can find it.

The SafeworD/s club

We have had a great year over at The SWC. As always, I had big ideas for new projects but I just didn’t have time to make them all happen. I did manage to do a site re-design which needs to be followed up by a change of theme really as I think what we currently have gets overloaded at times. It has been good to see so many new members though and to have others contributing by writing posts and hosting chats. We have been really lucky to have Vixen Lee who has hosted sub chats at times suitable for those in a US (or close by) time zone and I am so grateful to her for what she has done in building that part of the site.

Recently our first Kinky Community Advent Calendar was another great project which just shows the spirit of the community we have. Thanks to Lilly, Marie, Elliot, New Man, DS, Rugby Milf and Mrs K for posting something nearly every day and helping us all along with your Christmas spirit. It was so warming to see people taking part together, especially at the end of what has been such a difficult year. Thank you also to those who dipped in and out and shared with us as and when you could.

Another great addition, thanks to the lovely Posy Churchgate, has been the Book Group. Meeting once a month, Posy has led chats on a number of different books now. One of the nice things about the book group is that it has brought with it some people who were not previously members. This has made for a more varied discussion and also the opportunity to engage with some new faces (or voices!) I am excited to see what Posy does next as her love and enthusiasm of reading extends out to others.

The 2020 People

My purpose in my online presence was always to meet like-minded people and to learn and share with and from them. This has happened on a much wider level than I could ever have anticipated and I feel blessed to have had the level of friendship and support that I have done. This year has seem some really tricky times but having a network of interested, caring and supportive people has really been like gold.

While the rest of the world reeled at the social changes that lockdown and government restrictions brought, HL and I remained in our online world, socialising pretty much as we did before. In fact, if anything, things were even busier as others moved from real life to virtual discussion of their kinks. This meant that, for me, new people came into the picture and many new friendships blossomed, as well as current ones becoming stronger.

Blogging is my hobby and, as such, I choose to work with people who I trust and like. All of the people mentioned above are friends. While we might produce something in terms of content or a resource at the same time, the key is to laugh and I have done a lot of that with these people this year. I not only enjoy spending time in their company, I also care about them and the level of support and kindness they have shown me this year, would say that they feel the same.

Other friends who I haven’t mentioned above but who have influenced me this year in a variety of ways are sweetgirl, Charlie, DS and ML. I am also grateful for my long time D/s friend, Iris who is there for me behind the scenes and keeps me on the straight and narrow. If I have one real regret for 2020 it was our cancelled trip to visit Norway to join in their anniversary celebration (with a real live kink party!)

In terms of blogging, many of those who support me remain unknown to me. It always shocks me when someone like Kinky Wife comes along with an amazing blog and then says that she has been reading mine for years. I think it is easy to focus on the readers we know and our own little circle but I am aware that there are many who I never get to meet. So if you are reading and nodding along, then thank you for being here.

Behind the scenes, our friend The Good Sir has helped us with the technical aspects of our sites and I know that he reads along. Although I write for myself, when you feel that your words have had an impact on someone else or have resonated with them, it is always a huge boost. For this reason, I would like to thank all of those of you who comment on my posts, including my biggest commenters, Marie, May, Purple Sole, Collared Michael, Ogden Fahey and Queen’s Hubby. Your support and encouragement really means a lot.

The 2020 Blogs

The blogs I read have changed a bit this year and I updated my blogroll earlier in the year to reflect that. Some of those bloggers are no longer active so I amended it again to include some of the newer blogs that I follow and then decided to replace it with a link to the TMA Bloggers List (see below). Essentially I am interested in reading about D/s, alternative lifestyles, and pretty much anything which makes me think and so those are the places I tend to go.

Who am I Reading Right Now?

Familiar Favourites

New Interests This Year

I recently added a Bloggers List of regular contributors to Tell Me About so if you are looking for recommendations, that is the place to head. Just hit the link below.