Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Why Blog?

Much as every new program's first task is to display, "hello, world!", every blog's first ruminations should be about why they should exist. So, let the runmination begin!

I recently asked a prominent blogger why he blogs. He has some obvious reasons for his own blogging, which include marketing and brand awareness, so while the question is not a difficult one for him to answer, he acknowledged that it is for many. His opinion was that it is important to know why you are blogging, and who your audience is (ie why is somebody spending time reading your blog). After all, it takes a fair bit of time to write, and why would one persist in spending time unless for some benefit? He mentioned that many blogs fail and/or get abandoned because the authors haven't thought about these things.

In a separate conversation, another prominent blogger suggested a reason to blog is because it was good for you: it made you make sure that you thought deeply about whatever you were posting about, thereby crystallizing your thoughts. As to what to blog about, his comment was that one should blog about whatever one is passionate about. For him, therefore, blogging was a of encouraging himself to think deeply about his passions. Of course, the resulting fame and fortune is just gravy for him.

Recently, I've come across a couple of subjects that I'm passionate about and would I would like stimulate the blogosphere into thinking about in order to deepen my own understanding. And, in that I would like to build my brand by letting the world know about the topics I think about, it's time to blog...so here goes!

I anticipate that mostly my blogs will be professional and not personal. This is not because personal is "personal", but rather because my personal blog would be worth quite a bit more than I could make here from AdWords. :)

So, with that, I announce that there may from time to time be occasional thoughts, comments, and rants found herein.

Unto The Breach...

I've been on the sidelines too long; the meek inherit nothing. It's time to re-engage. With a little Shakespeare, I hereby announce that I'm back!


Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,
Or close the wall up with our English dead!
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger:
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood."
Henry V (5.3.44-51)