Seattle Woodland Park Zoo

Even though we have formally bid adieu to 2011, let’s take one last look back at the year that was. That’s the scope of this week’s speedlink, the first of 2012.

As you make your way through your new year’s resolutions, Trent Hamm reminds you that you are not alone in this journey. He has experienced his financial bottom, but he has emerged stronger than ever thanks to the support and encouragement of those around him. He felt alone in his struggles, but he never really was.

In line with achieving our financial goals, Derek Semmler provides a Kindle publishing tip. If you are going to sell your e-book through the Amazon Kindle platform, make sure you utilize Author Central. This allows you to edit information on any of your books, like the product description. You can also highlight reviews and add special sections.

I agree with Anny Chih. Growing up, my reference point for memories was my school grade level. I did X in grade 5 and Y in grade 8. These days, different milestones are used as markers. For Anny, 2011 was a small measure of time that felt like “living three years in one.” She sure accomplished a lot, from traveling to working to volunteering.

With each new year comes new and exciting ways to connect to the rest of the world. While XtraNormal certainly isn’t new, Jeff Cutler is seeing potential in this kind of content strategy. Companies need to establish “new channels” and new ways to “engage their audiences.” They’ll need writers (like Jeff and I), interviewers, media folk, and more.

And finally, you may be wondering about that photo at the top of the post. That comes by way of John Biehler and his recent visit to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. This is easily one of the best zoos that I’ve ever visited, being more expansive and more interesting than even the San Diego Zoo. John was trying out his new telephoto zoom lens on the trip and I think the pictures came out great!