Today I read the post by Patricia Feager about the 2 challenges she is hosting with Lew Corcoran for March. It was a good reminder about a post I wanted to write, but had not yet done so, about a powerhouse AR Member who left us years ago.
I’ll never forget the night I received the call from long-time Activerain and blogging friend, Mary Pope-Handy, letting me know that Laurie Manny had left us. I was at the airport to pick up my wife when I got the call. It was such a shock but I so appreciated getting a phone call from a friend letting me know the news rather than reading something on Facebook.
I wrote a tribute to Laurie and shared it on AR the next morning, August 26, 2010, but wanted to reflect a little more on her passing over 15 years ago, and all that she contributed to the blogging world during its infancy, and to the ActiveRain community during her 4 years as a member, having joined AR in 2006. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 15+ years since her death.
Laurie left us far too soon, and I can’t help but wonder what all she might have accomplished, and what we in the blogging community could have learned from her if she was still around. I suspect some who might read this may not even know who she was in the AR Community and the influence that she had. Indeed, she was referred to by Inman and others as the Blogging Queen!
Laurie was a pioneer in the early years of the blogosphere, and a staunch proponent of the power of blogging and driving online traffic to our websites. Indeed, Laurie had strong opinions and did not shy away from expressing them publicly in her writings. But she was right about so many things in the early years of social media and SEO, and it’s hard to argue about the results she achieved.
Laurie practiced what she preached in her writing and had the results to prove her beliefs, and while she listened to opposing viewpoints, she did not hesitate to point out when she felt others were wrong in their thinking and practices and why. Laurie loved sharing her knowledge and helping others learn about the value of blogging, and how to be effective in the on-line world in her writing and public speaking.
I still remember meeting her in person and so many other Rainers at the 1st blogging conference in Long Beach CA in 2007, and the ActiveRain 1-year Birthday Party in Long Beach also in 2007. There were other meet-ups as well. Here's a photo from another meet-up with Laurie and another past AR member, Irina Netchaev . That's a glimpse of Jeff Turner on the left!
She was a friend and mentor to many of the early members, and I miss her deeply, but feel blessed for having known her for 4 years and for all that I learned from her. She is sadly missed but certainly not forgotten.
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