It's Siona. :)

Last week, I was talking with the rest of the team about Mother's Day, brainstorming about what we might do on the site in honor of the upcoming weekend. Something to honor Gaia? A QaR about mothers? Perhaps a call for stories or pictures?

It was Jessica who reminded us of something we've all been aware of for a while. Our quotations library is embarrassingly out-of-balance: the majority of the quotations in it are by men. (And not only are there only two woman in the 'Popular Authors' section of the quotes page, one of them happens to be listed under a male pseudonym!)

So we thought that, this week, in honor of our mothers, we might all work to contribute some women's wisdom to the quotations library. If you'd like to help (and you would, wouldn't you?) just grab a few books by your favorite female authors and pop over to the 'Add a Quote' section.  (If you need help, there are more detailed instructions here.)

Let's see whether we can get a little more equal represenetation by next week. :)

And while I'm here, a few bits of behind-the-scenes news...

First off, I wanted to apologize, tremendously, for the site slowness over the past weekend. We're working on figuring out what caused the evening dips, and what we can do to make sure it doesn't happen again. Those occasional drags are really, really not good for my heart; I don't like thinking of anyone struggling to get on the site or wondering what the lags are about. So again, I apologize, and we are working on it.

Secondly, I've been speaking with Dave about our advertising on the site. We're losing a painful number of potential sponsors because we don't take rich media, and while there's no way we're going to re-implement those flashy little gifs on the right hand side, w'ere going to try a few top banners that move (for no longer than three seconds—then they go still). We're also planning on re-working the interior navigation (remember how Jackson did such a great job with the tabs up top? We think the interior could be simplified as well...) and there'll be some potential then to change the many square ads on the site to something less jarring. Also, for those of you who are truly bothered by the ads, we still do offer Plus, which allows you to turn them on and off at will.

And last but not least, we've got a site-wide event coming up in May! I posted a bit of news about this on my own blog, but for the rest of you, we'll be hosting a TeleGathering with Gay Hendricks and his wife, Dr. Kathlyn Hendricks, on the topic of Authentic Relationships. We've got it scheduled for the evening of May 20th, and we'll let you know soon when and how to sign up. (Yes, it'll be free for all members of the site.) Obviously I'm giddy about this; imagine us all being on one line together. Ee.

Again, though, if you have a minute to spare this week, please do consider adding some women to our quotes database. There's so much wisdom out there, and so must to listen to... and, on that note, if you'd like to let us know what else you're doing for mother's day, by all means share!

Hello Beautiful People!

Jessica here ☺

I am so excited. As many of you know, we’ve been working on the relaunch of our Gaia Ambassadors program.  Well it’s here! And, it’s my pleasure to invite you all to become Gaia Ambassadors.

What is a Gaia Ambassador you ask?

Our Ambassadors are community leaders and catalysts who help Gaia Community, and its members to grow and flourish and connect and dream. They help others feel at home here, and encourage them to be the change they wish to see. They invite friends (and strangers) who they think might appreciate and contribute to the energy here. They're committed to being beacons of love and service and enthusiasm, both online and out in their own communities.

Your projects as an Ambassador can be as simple as welcoming new members, spreading the word and sharing the vision of Gaia, organizing Gaia Gatherings or providing guidance to others on the site. Many of you might find that you’re already doing these things. Becoming an Ambassador makes it a bit more “official” and more importantly, connects you with other Ambassadors and community leaders.

So, ask yourself, does the Gaia community inspire you? Do you want to help empower the extraordinary people you have met here and those to come? Does the chance to help others be the change fill you with joy? Do you want to help our community flourish and grow into a world-changing force for goodness?

If your answer is yes, then we’d love you to become a Gaia Ambassador! Just come on by and fill out this application, telling us a bit more about you and your dreams for what we can do together. I’ve been lucky enough to read some responses already and let me say, you’ll be in great company.

We have some wonderful projects in store and we would love you to be part of them. It’s amazing to see what we can do when we work together, building community and making a difference for each other and the world.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Jessica at gaia dot com. I’m here for you.