Quirkyalone: It’s a mindset

Voila! The new quirkyalone.net!

Jun 13, 2009 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Relationships, Website

Today I am oh so pleased to unveil the new, resdesigned quirkyalone.net!

The new site has been designed to showcase popular content so that when you land on the blog, there are easy ways to click and find more of what interests you. The changes include:
- Daily fresh content on the blog. Soon we’ll be adding new contributors writing on the single life, quirkytogether marriages, politics, pop culture, travel, and more.
- Top tabs surfacing the most popular and featured blog posts along with contributors and archives
- Sample chapters from the book
- Cool new galleries to display images, like those in the IQD party pack
- Threaded comments (now you can reply to someone else’s comment on a post)

Thank you to Randy Jones from Aquatoad Design for working with me on every last detail. Thanks also to Sara Cambridge, Matt Albiniak, and Bonni Evenson.

Please take a whirl around and leave comments with any bugs you find. I was eager to launch before I head to New York for a sure-to-be wacky and surreal Twitter event: the 140 characters conference, where I will be a “character.” In all the last-minute madness, I haven’t had time to do full QA on QA–so eager to hear about any bugs you find! Looking forward to your comments, feedback, and ideas and the continuing evolution of quirkyalone.net. xo Sasha

Tagline Mania

Feb 26, 2009 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Website

In the spirit of community, transparency, and perhaps out of sheer decision-making desperation, I want to invite you to help me choose a tagline for the new incarnation of this website! A redesign is coming, yes! And with it, a beautiful clean look and a new cast of characters group-blogging with me on all the ins and outs of quirkyaloneness, including politics, pop culture, relationships and quirkytogetherness, and even quirkysluttiness, too.

I’m working on a tagline that is both short and quippy but also connotes the possibility that quirkyalone is a mindset that transcends being single. That is to say, this website should be seen as relevant for people in relationships too who want to maintain their quirkyaloneness while in a couple or even in a marriage. That’s a tough sets of requirements for four to five words. Of course I also want to have some good SEO juice and choosing keywords like “single life” help people who are randomly searching on Google find quirkyalone. So those are some of the considerations.

I’ll list the options so far. Feel free to vote in the comments on your favorites or not so favorites and to suggest your own.

(The existing one)
Quirkyalone
Independent thought on single life and love

Quirkyalone
Alone No More

Quirkyalone
Single Life Together

Quirkyalone
Musings on modern single life

Quirkyalone
Musings on modern single life and love

Quirkyalone
Single life, love, and the pursuit of happiness

Quirkyalone
Singularly awesome

Want to Write for Quirkyalone?

Jan 13, 2009 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Website

Quirkyalone is a new idea about being single (and indeed, about relationships) that has sparked a worldwide conversation and movement. The concept was originally introduced in an essay that I wrote ten years ago, and in 2004, in my book Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics.

Ten years after the original concept was introduced, I am as compelled by this concept as ever, but I want others to join me in writing about it.

I’m looking for a stellar cast of five bloggers to join me on my blog at Quirkyalone.net. Like Vagablogging, a blog about long-term travel that got its inspiration from a book called Vagabonding, I would like to take Quirkyalone and turn it into a vibrant group blog. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch the conversation evolve as more people post on a variety of subjects, all from the QA perspective.

Continue Reading →

Happy Birthday Quirkyalone.net! Today You’re Five

Jan 12, 2009 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Website

Thanks to Princess who spotted a big milestone today in the forums. The quirkyalone forums are officially five years old! We launched this site when my book  Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics was published on January 6, 2004, and the forums launched January 12 due to popular demand from readers who wanted to connect with others who identified with quirkyalone values of independence, self-respect, and true love–for romantic partners, friends, and last but not least, our own lovely selves.

It’s amazing to read about how the forums have created friendships across the world and led to international quirky meetups. Thanks to Scott Murray and Owen Carlson, the two admins who have kept the forums going, and everyone who has supported our site. I’m going to be thinking about new ways to make quirkyalone fresh for the coming five years. Stay tuned. ((     )) [hugs]