This time last year, for the first time ever for me, I actually made some New Year’s resolutions. The question is, did I stick to them? Let’s have a look and see how I did.
Stay in credit and even save up some money
A big yes. Despite having to pay out the odd £500 excess to Direct Line and some repairs on my car (the last one being £2,350) I’ve still managed to stay in credit.
Get a written apology from Royal & SunAlliance
Not so much success with this one. They did fix my car, and it has all been sorted, but I never had any kind of apology from them. Not sure it’s worth pursuing now as I have bigger and more important battles to fight.
Receive compensation to the tune of a few thousand pounds from Direct Line Insurance
No to this one as well I’m afraid. In truth I haven’t had time to chase it as much as I’d have liked, but rest assured they will be paying at some point, in some way!
Get a written apology from the CSA
Mixed success with this one. Yes I have had apologies from them, most people have, but they’re still taking money from me that I don’t owe. The problem is that you can’t actually appeal to anyone because it’s all handled internally. I’ll keep plugging away, and through CSA Hell I’ll keep promoting their mistakes.
Take WhatDVD to the next level
This I have finally done. It took the best part of a year, but it’s all live and ploughing away. It has support from PR companies and is doing very well for itself.
Those ideas for websites I’ve got… make them!
50/50 on this one. I have made several new sites this year that are getting traffic and earning income, but I’ve not done all of the ones on the list. This one might be ongoing into next year.
Don’t get married
Success! I managed to avoid getting married all year, yay me!
Crush my enemies
Another one that’s ongoing. I have crushed some enemies, have received apologies and compensation from people (such as Cwmbran Leisure Centre and Direct Line) but am still in the process of crushing others. It’s fun, but all winnable.
Make a living from Affiliates
To be honest this one has taken something of a back burner, as other interests have taken over.
Diversify
Absolutely yes. I used to be completely reliant on Adsense, but now I barely check the Adsense stats because it’s not so important. Other revenue streams have become much more important and lucrative.
So, as far as my resolutions for 2008 went, I’d chalk that off as a partial success. I’d say about 6/10, which isn’t bad. I’ll make some for 2009 and aim to hit all ten this time.
Darren Jamieson, aka MrDaz, is the Technical Director and co-founder of Engage Web and has been working online in a career spanning two decades. His first website was built in 1998 and is still live today.
