Everyone is an expert at something.

This is something I have always believed, and continue to believe. Sometimes that expertise extends to a broad subject, like embroidery or cars or lawn bowling, and sometimes it's very specific, like telling "Knock-knock" jokes, or knowing how to perfectly apply eye-liner, or being able to quote freely from every episode of Desperate Housewives. Some forms of expertise pay very well, some don't, some make you famous, some not so much, but one thing is for sure - if there really are as many experts as there are people, then there's also a corner in this world for everyone, with an empty soapbox just waiting to be stood on and shouted from.

Take a moment and think about your area(s) of expertise. I mean it - stop reading for a minute and identify at least one thing about which you could be considered an expert. If you can't think of anything, ask a family member or friend - I bet they'll know. Please come back when you're done.

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Now that you have that expertise in mind, I have two questions for you. 1. How much could you say about your area of expertise? 2. Where would you start?

If you can answer these two questions, WE WANT YOU!

Since we put up the Blogs section of our new site and have welcomed a great selection of talented, funny, and knowledgeable people, we've also had a corresponding surge of ideas for other blog subjects about which our readers would enjoy learning more. Some of the suggestions have been blogs about gardening, needlepoint, hairdressing (from a hairdresser no less!), crocheting, cruises, smocking, knitting and even women's health (yes, I know there are men reading too, but you and I are part of a very small minority here!).

As our Magic Bookshelf has expanded and our number of blogs has increased, a few people have wondered if we might soon be getting to a stage where there are too many blogs, and that existing bloggers might lose some readers. In fact, judging from the traffic figures on our blogs, the opposite has been true. It seems that, if a reader finds a blog in which she's interested, she not only reads that blog but is more inclined to read other blogs about other subjects of interest to her. This is a similar concept to a magazine - you'll read only the articles you're interested in, but the more relevant articles there are, the more of the magazine you'll want to read.

Of course, that doesn't mean that anyone can write about anything and they'll be allowed access to our great audience. We still carefully examine each new potential blog idea to determine whether it will be relevant and interesting to our readers. Judging from your comments and our traffic, we seem to be doing pretty well, but I hope that I can count on you to let us know if we are going astray.

So, this is a call to all you gardeners, needlepointers, hairdressers, crocheters, cruisers, smockers, knitters and doctors, and anyone else whose area of expertise (remember, everyone has one) demands to be shared. Take up your pens, your keyboards, and your laptops and shout it out to the world!

Your soapbox is waiting.

To step up on it, just send an e-mail to blogs@annthegran.com with an idea of what you'd say and where you'd start.