Saying Goodbye to CMSWire

It’s never easy to say goodbye. Yet, sometimes moving on can mean exploring new opportunities and throwing yourself fully into an on-going adventure. At the end of year, I’ll be leaving CMSWire to do just that.

It’s strange how a serendipitous act can open up a world of possibilities. My journey to CMSWire began so simply, but  took me to amazing places.

In 2007, while working at a boarding school, I put together a list of conferences and events I was interested in attending. One in particular, caught my attention. It was Web Content World in Chicago and among the speakers listed was the brother of a friend of mine. I emailed her to tell her about it. A few months later, she emailed me to ask if I was still planning to attend the conference. Though I hadn’t yet registered, I was still interested. She asked me if I’d like to cover the event for an online blog that was sponsoring the event. Her brother had made the connection and put me in touch with the editor-in-chief of the tech magazine, a site called CMSWire. The school paid for my flight there, while CMSWire covered my hotel — it was a win-win.

The event was awesome. I got to hear from and meet amazing people, like Jason Fried of 37 Signals, Ann Rockley of The Rockley Group and more. It was a web content paradise. I wrote a number of posts during the event, which was a fruitful exercise in being able to synthesize a lot of information in a meaningful way.

After the event, I was asked if I wanted to continue to write for CMSWire. I agreed and for the next six years, I moonlighted as a contributing writer while working full-time jobs. Writing about everything from trends in social media, social business, customer experience, eDiscovery, information management and enterprise collaboration, I have talked with the CEOs and CIOs of hundreds of companies — big and small; as well as covered dozens of conferences from Open Text World and Sentiment Analysis Symposiums, including various Forrester and Gartner events.

In 2010, I was promoted to senior reporter and in 2012, I began creating original infographics for my articles. During my tenure, I was honored to be named one of the Top 25 Most Influential SharePoint Thought Leaders in Social Business in 2011 and as one of the 2013 Power Players in Technology Business Media. In just six short years, I’ve watched social and mobile technologies evolve and blossom into major drivers of marketing and engagement strategies, while watching document management move from on-premise servers to the public and private cloud.

As 2013 comes to close, my time at CMSWire will also end. As my business, The Strategic Peacock grows, finding the time to write and research stories has become more difficult. Though it is with a heavy heart that I leave CMSWire, I am excited to start 2014 fully invested in The Strategic Peacock. Already, the calendar is filling up with new clients, workshops and conferences!

A BIG THANK YOU to my fans, followers, editors and public relations professionals who have taken interest in my articles. I have enjoyed working with all of you and look forward to keeping in touch. Cheers!

Photo credit: LittleLifeDesigns