4 years in Internet time = a century in print

I don't know about you, but travel - and dreaming about travel - occupies a lot of my time. When GoGirlfriend launched in December 2007, my vision was to provide a community platform for women to share their travel stories.

Happy Birthday GoGirlfriendFrom Des Moines to St. Martin even up to Iceland, GG's writers have shared their heart and soul. Some of our 20 contributors have sought to teach while others to inspire. Whatever the reason for sharing, GG is honored to be home to those journeys that change us, shape us and help us be better global citizens.

Every year on GG, it gets a little sweeter, a little closer to my original vision. I've written for the Boston Globe, American Bar Association and Women's Health - and was even a contributor for the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. It might sound trite, but growing a community on GG has helped me blossom as a writer and traveler in ways I could not have imagined.

GoGirlfriend in 2011

Rossana Wyatt with GogirlfriendIn 2011, we hired our first community manager, Rossana Wyatt. She's leaving us this month to spread her wings at a travel agency based out of Toronto. We're thankful for all she's done to help grow our communities on Facebook and Twitter and wish her only the best.

Thanks to social media, she'll never be far.

We reached out to resorts, restaurants and destinations to provide more stories for you to sink your teeth into. Thanks to some very special people, we've been able to share great finds in Vegas, Finger Lakes in New York and Houseboating in Kentucky - don't knock it till you try it...

And we began working women-centric groups in the Canadian blogosphere.

I served as an advisor for She's Connected and weS&T BackSeatStlyers hosted a contest that sent Sharon from the BackSeatSylers to the second annual She's Connected Conference. Sharon has since been featured in Flare, Fashion and The Globe & Mail - this girl's on fire!

Lisa & Jordan KnightWe held another contest through the summer for Blissdom Canada and asked 5 male judges to pick one lucky blogger to attend Blissdom with us. They picked Lisa from The Sunshine is In and somehow Jordan Knight became part of the story.

We served as an in-kind sponsor for Canada's firstCanada's First 140 Conference ever 140Conference. I was the emcee for the day and the spokeswomen leading up to the event and while travel is exciting, the 140 Conference rocked our world.

GoGirlfriend in 2012

As we break ground on a new year, GoGirlfriend has big plans - but not so big that we lose sight of our original mission. We will always be a trusted source of travel information and inspiration.

GG editorial calendar

This is the year we put on our big girl pants and start behaving our age. Each month you'll find themed content that meant stir and arouse your passion for travel. If you're a writer, have a look at our Writer's Guidelines - and then get writing.

GG community

GoGirlfriend Grows Again!As Rossana is leaving us in December, we're hunting for a new social media community manager to take us to the next level. If you know someone who's funny, smart and travel-obsessed, send her our way.

What do you want to see on GG this year? What do you want more of? What are we missing completely? Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook and let's start talking!

In the interest of transparency, this post was sponsored by no one in particular and was completely self-serving. Commentary and perspectives are those of GoGirlfriend, for this post and for all.