Just Picture It Now: Trick - or

Here's the trick.

This will be my last post on Blogger.

Oh, don't get your hair all up in a bun just yet. I'm moving, not going away completely.

Now for some this may be either a trick or a treat depending on which side of the fence you sit on. I’ve been wanting to make a change for some time, with either a different look, more flexibility, more customization, and feature rich controls.

On Monday, I will be making the switch to my own domain and server at my new home www.justpictureitnow.com. You’ll still be able to find all your favorite posts over there, (given time, there are 226 posts that need to be reformatted) and we will still be giving you the hard hitting documentation and links you’ve only been able to find here concerning the industry we’re all so fired up about, travel.

Truth is; I’ve outgrown this blog long ago. I started this blog back in December of 2005, and in computer years, that’s ancient. (I don’t know if there is any equivalent for web sites and computer technology like there is for dog years.) This particular template I’m using here, while very comfortable and familiar is a 1.0 template. If I wanted to make the switch to 2.0 which does have some of the controls I wanted I’d have to change the entire look and end up reformating everything anyway.

At the beginning of the year, I did consider and actually wanted to upgrade the look and feel of this blog. The problem was, I just couldn’t find anything I wanted or that looked right, and I’d still have to reformat every post to make it readable for those that found me via organic searches. So I just dropped it and continued on with the old template.

A good friend of mine, who happens to be my very first team member in YTB finally convinced me to take a look at a format I almost went to back in 2005 and after looking at what it had to offer, I've decided to make the switch on an entirely different platform.

WordPress.

After doing some research and taking a good hard look at the WordPress platform, everything seemed to fall into place and I now have living, breathing blog that can grow and expand like I want it to.

Although I’m kicking myself for not making this switch at the beginning of the year, (I have close to 100 more posts to switch over) the customization, plugins, and widgets along with constant upgrades to keep current with the latest technology was key. It’s a computer geek’s playground, and for someone like me who should be wearing inch thick glasses and a pocket protector, I’m in heaven.

Yes, there will be some down time as I make this switch as the spiders that crawl the world wide web figure out what has transpired. By doing this now however, by the first of the year, the new blog should be even more powerful than ever. (I learned a few new SEO tricks along the way.)

In closing, I wanted to thank both Blogger and Google for making this format available to the average person. Without it, I never would have figured out that I have a real gift for writing. For that I am grateful, and Blogger has served me well over the years.

For me however, I want to take my blogging to new levels and help even more people. Think big. That’s what every mentor and teacher I’ve read or heard over the past three years has taught me. I’ve never been one to hide out and it’s time to step out even further to make an even bigger impact.

I hope to see you Monday over in my new digs.

PS - If you’d like to keep up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB feel free to sign up for my FREE Newsletter. Just like here, it’s loaded with food, water and sunshine to grow your YTB business.

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

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