For a start, Crexia is a Social Media in HR Conference business. I started it as a Talent Search and Employer Brand venture back in 2008. Today, it has evolved into a Social HR events and content company. And the evolution is ongoing, as all businesses in the new economy.

So, what does Crexia mean? I’d provide some answers and insights below, and feel free to connect with the meaning that suits your imagination.

Corporate Branding

I registered the domain name crexia.com in 2004. Yes, back then I was messing around with domain names and thinking of what a future company might be called. I wanted something short, simple, smart – without an immediate meaning; something that doesn’t specifically say what a company does; a versatile name and that is potentially potent.

Family Reference

I didn’t quite think about this when it the domain was registered, but probably considered a strong personal element when I decided to set up a company in that name. My mum’s name is Christine Okezie, so when planning to take that leap into running a business, I went for Crexia – which could create the combo of Chri Zie = Crexia.

French Connection

The domain name was registered while I lived in France. Hence the logo has always had something ‘French’ about it. A lot of people have asked if the name is French, even during some client pitches in the past. The funniest reference to the logo and its identity was when I asked a UK creative chap what he thought about the logo, and he just gave one word: ‘Foreign’. Yes, I walked right into that one!

Sardinian Meaning

Something in 2009, I started doing some more research about the word Crexia, and behold, it does have some ancient meaning in Sardinian language, spoken in the Island of Sardinia, Italy. In its form, the word ‘crexia’ relates to ecclesia, chiesa, igresa, which all means ‘church’. In a way, this meaning becomes more interesting the last 2 years, as we now bring people together via meetings and forums to discuss topics, albeit subjects definetely NOT of religious nature.

Phillipino Nickname

Like I found out in 2010, Crexia is also a popular nickname in Phillipines, when I embarked on trying to claim the twitter handle @crexia – a story I documented last April, on How I Acquired a Twitter Username. That was an interesting revelation, but I never found out its meaning in Tagalog.

So, there you go – the reasons are out there, both intentional ones and ones I learned along the way. I will be interested to learn how others, esp small business owners choose a business name and set about to create a brand around it.

Last Saturday, we were at a Park, where Mia and Max quite enjoyed themselves. Its amazing what a warm day can do to the little ones, and everyone at that. We managed to get a close shot of myself and Max below.

January was also a wonderful month for us. We welcomed our son, Max on the 11th. I eventually took a few weeks off from work in January, to try and enjoy the doting dad experience. I still am doing, now back to work.

Max was born on a very special date: 110110 – something that looks very close to a binary code. No wonder their is talk of that date on here. That it is a little bit geeky. Time will tell.

Anyway, little Max is doing fine, and will be 1 month old very soon. It has been a great experience, having ‘another’ boy in the home, after raising our daughter close to 4 years now.

One week after he was born, we got a lovely picture of Max and Mia together. Quite a look on the big sister’s face, as she tries to figure out who is this new kid on the block, that everyone is now giving attention.

They have done well together, and his arrival has been a delight for us all.

Obviously, this is my last post for this year, after a week or more off active work, and fun with the family and holidays as expected. I have kept tabs with a few plans for next year, while reflecting on this year’s.

It has been a success with our ventures, especially the Executive Search service. While the recession has surely affected all businesses, and particularly the recruitment industry, I am quite pleased with the year’s outcome.

Sometihing else that has kept me busy is investing and growing some niche job boards. Unfortunately, one of the jobsites we created this year for the Oil & Gas industry didn’t work, and we did the natural thing – pack it in. We wont be the first nor the last to do so, but the wealth of experience learnt cannot be overemphasized.

I have also dabbled into Social Recruiting, and managed to complete a project for a major UK client a few months ago. This will be buzzing in 2010 and beyond, but its early days to track its wider acceptance.

So, 2010? What is it gonna be? For one, my passion seems to be flowing in the direction of Online Recruitment and Recruitment Media. Actual recruitment is fun, but then what does one do with one’s innate passions?

Expect a few announcements in early 2010 which will reflect an implementation of some of our future plans. Having said that, the journey has been the reward. See you on the flip side.

Been working on several International recruitment projects the last month and also hired to consult for a major UK company on areas of implementing a Social Recruitment strategy for their entire HR unit. Hence, my rather silence on the blog for the last month.

August has seen us consolidate all our ventures and online portals under our Crexia brand. Crexia is now divided into several arms namely Advertising, Consulting, Technology and Social Media in Recruiting.

A few months ago, I challenged myself to have at least 5000 LinkedIn contacts. Unfortunately, I have just crossed the 3000 connections on my LinkedIn profile and am quite pleased with this.

Today, I took a few hours off my many projects to create a 1 page website that shows my professional profile and links to a few social media sites that I use. It is like an online business card, if you know what I mean. Check out vicokezie.co.uk

This month will see us launch a few add on projects on some of our portals in emerging markets, while in September – we will roll out some robust applications that has been in the works for a few months now.

On a lighter note, I am off for our family holidays tomorrow to experience some summer, and expect some silence for a short while. A bientot.