Golden Moments on BeBee

Today I have been on beBee for a year. Time flies and often I am caught up in the immediacy and novelty of the latest feeds, posts and comments. In this post my thoughts travel back to treasured experiences and friendships formed in this global community.  I share a year of golden moments on beBee. 

My very first post was on the The Habits of Great Novelists. I admire those with the ability to write well and continue learn on this platform from the many excellent writers. The art and craft of good writing intrigues me. In my post on the writers of beBee (and I have added more prolific writers than in the original post), to the best of my ability I describe what I find unique in the style and voice of each person: The Write Stuff 

Javier 🐝 beBee is a social media CEO such as I have not seen before. He engages online constantly, and welcomes new Bees personally. His energy, enthusiasm and positive attitude are exemplary. It was a golden moment for me when I first found beBee, with a smiling Javier saying welcome.

I single out and thank Dean Owen who took an early interest in my scribbles and made me feel at home here, doing so publicly and privately. Dean is a most generous and enterprising person. We penned two joint posts, one of them a tongue in cheek look at the quintessential English and traditional South African game of Rugby. Rugby for Bees

Last year I had the privilege of competing in the World Masters Athletics Championships. My story leading up to the occasion enacted a surprising amount of engagement, evidencing that beBee is a place also for niche interests. At Perth in Australia, the event lived up to much more than I expected. A Long Jump in Time and The Masters at Perth.

Wanting to learn more about the craft of blogging I approached a doyen of online blogging, Dean Owen,  some time ago to tutor me through one of my posts. Without hesitation and at no charge he reviewed and reworked it to his easy flowing style of writing. Thank you Jim, I learn a lot from you. Framing the Frame

Being named as beBee Ambassador was a golden highlight. Then we were fifteen ambassadors, today the group is one hundred and fifty. Being a beBee enthusiast, promoting it comes naturally. Perhaps the pieces about beBee that I like most are these: From Here to Affinity and Be (a) Bee.  On my desk is a beBee coffee mug, pen and orange notebook, a welcome gift of appreciation from Spain - thank you Netta Virtanen.

If there are a king and queen of shares on beBee, to me it would be Jim Murray and Franci🐝Eugenia Hoffman. Our genius fractal ambassador goes about almost unobserved sharing, pollinating and growing the network. So does Franci. She weaves various interests and posts deftly into her regular Hive Talk. Both are ambassadors of affinity.

Poetry never interested me much. That changed through the many fine poets on beBee; Netta Virtanen, Laurent Boscherini, Milos Djukic, and Tausif Mundrawala  to name but a few. Their expression through the rhythm and rhyme of their lines enchant and inspire. In tribute, I compiled a post including many prime poets: BeBee Poets and Poems.

I stand in awe of Franci🐝Eugenia Hoffman. He writes prolifically, originally, and is a master at creating engagement on his many posts. Always polite and dignified, his conduct on the beBee platform is to be admired and emulated. He likes to be called Ali. I salute Sir Ali.

Juan Imaz has penned many golden posts on personal branding, his own entrepreneurial journeys and social media development. He engages online regularly with Bees and replied immediately to private mails I sent him. I marvel at the openness and down to earth attitude of the chairman of beBee.

BeBee has led to many meetings between Bees in person. It was a highlight to meet  debasish majumder earlier this year, after we’d known each other online for some time already. In my interview with the respected “oom kopdokter” I was treated to two hours of wonderful storytelling, and met a most personable person. Interview with Ian Weinberg

There are to me seven Socratics on beBee. And I don't think there is a word such as Socratics but nonetheless, that is what they are in my mind. Their posts and comments I read carefully, ponder on for some time, and they continue to keep me thinking about thinking, and thinking about life. They are Ian Weinberg, Laurent Boscherini, Phil Friedman, Savvy Raj, Deb 🐝 Helfrich, Tausif Mundrawala and 🐝 Fatima G. Williams.  Seven very different people, each imparting original insight and wisdom in their own unique way.

Almost fifteen thousand kilometers from me, lives Ali Anani, Brand Ambassador @beBee, a treasured friendship. When I received Don’s book Riding Shotgun in the post, I couldn't wait to read it. With directness and honesty he tells of his experience in partnering his wife when she was diagnosed with cancer. The book is a must read; here is my review: Riding Shotgun with Don Kerr

English is my second language; Afrikaans is my first. It was highly encouraging to receive the feedback and engagement I did on my post about the history of the Afrikaans language. To me a clear sign that the community welcomes diversity and is truly global in its outlook. Afrikaans. A Short History ...of Sorts

Humor implies a shift in perspective, a different angle of view and often gives a me fresh outlook on life. Many times I have sat laughing behind my screen at the flippancy and frolics of fine bloggers such as Paul "Pablo" Croubalian, Juan Imaz, Ken Boddie, Ian Weinberg, Shelley Brown and Ian Weinberg. Recently I have started reading the work of two newer Bees on the platform; Jerry Fletcher and Jim Murray - both I enjoy and they broaden my knowledge. 

BeBee has a flock of fine travel writers. They have inspired my armchair wanderlust to attempt a few travel posts. In my travelogues I look back at some of the fantastic travels I have been fortunate to experience. Writing about destinations, places and countries is to relive the moments; a peculiar second passage of vuja de. There is one piece in which I recall some travels overseas; Travels Far and Fortunate and two travel posts on Africa, the continent where I belong: The Smoke that Thunders and Panorama of South Africa.

This marks the 70th post I have published on beBee. I have written on oxymorons, athletics, writers, writing, music, reading, natural wonders, learning Spanish, human history, Goldwynisms... the list goes on. And this is what is so unique about beBee; one can share any of many interests and there is always someone who will read and interact. BeBee Producer is my blogging home, and this is why I like it so much: BeBee Producer: A Bundle of Benefits. 

Many have shared and commented on my posts.

Many have made beBee a special place to me.

To all I say a big and most sincere thank you.

You have given me a year of golden moments.

Gert Scholtz