One Year of Scarlet Scribbles

365 days since I first created this blog.

And here’s a quick trip down the memory lane. Key milestones:

• 28th July 2013: First blog post. I have wanted the blog to be a repository of my thoughts on music, travel and marketing. But 12 months later, it’s mostly just travel. Key post: First Scribble
• 19th September 2013: First SEO goldmine. Appearing on the first page of Google for Taiwan travel-related searches have brought me lots of free traffics everyday. Key posts: Taiwan: Trip Summary & Suggested Itinerary + the rest of my Taiwan reviews
• 29th September 2013: First monetization opportunity. Advertorial, banner advertisement… I remember receiving my first business opportunity offer (and a few couple subsequent ones) after writing a specific article, which I had to decline because I didn’t feel the offer fit my vision for the blog at the time. If the right opportunity comes, I might take it. Key post: 7 Great Content Curation Tools
• 7th December 2013: First PageRank score. I was really delightful that one morning when I found out that Google has brought back PageRank and Scarlet Scribbles is a PR 3.0 website (OK that’s not very high, but it was an encouraging start for me). Key post: Google PageRank Update: It’s Back!
• 15th March 2014: First viral blog post. I can’t lie, I’m very happy and proud when my Facebook’s friend news feed was flooded with my blog entry and it reached 1K shares within 3 days. =) Key post: 10 Reasons Why Medan is Food Heaven!
• 16th March 2014: Scarlet Scribbles goes Facebook. I decided to create a Facebook account so as to make it easier for people to follow my blog. It’s still in its infancy stage, but do like Scarlet Scribbles Facebook page if you enjoy my writings!

And here are some of my posts that didn’t hit the jackpot, but I really liked and would like to bring to your attention:

• Cambodia’s Crunchy Crawlies: Andrew vs. Exotic “Food” – Basically what goes on inside my thoughts as I put a snake, a frog and a spider into my tongue.
• The Beggars Dilemma: Why I Skipped Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia – If you’re a frequent traveler, you must have faced this ethical dilemma a few times before. Giving to beggars create unsustainable dependency that does more harm than good, but neither can we ignore the obvious pain in their eyes when they beg.
• 2013 Future Mainstream Classics – When I started the 1998-2012 Future Mainstream Classics on Pinterest, it was a minor hit, but the blog version never really picked up. Nonetheless, the idea of predicting which of the current radio hits will eventually become future classic really intrigues me. Find out which songs made my list.
• 4 Ladies Who Should Team Up for Lady Marmalade 2.0 – How I envision the collaboration of the century should be revamped from its burlesque formula into an indie-pop gem.
• Ariana Grande: Is 2013’s Biggest Breakthrough Here to Stay? – With Problem smashing charts here and there, surely we now have the answer. I’m proud to support Ariana from the very beginning. If The Way was her Pon de Replay and Problem her SOS, imagine the future slayage of her Umbrella on the next album!

My heartfelt thanks if you’ve been a frequent reader of Scarlet Scribbles. Here’s to another 365 days!

What do you like and dislike from Scarlet Scribbles? Let me know so I can improve… =)