“Do I Really Need Another Outlet…?”
That was the question I first posted on a blog, August 14, 2002. For me, “blogging” has always been more like “online journaling” than anything else. I had been interacting mostly on email groups – a couple of book clubs, church ministry list, sports… probably more like 10-12 years back on those. But I had also been carrying around various spiral notebooks for “my own processing”, and blogs seemed like a perfect place to combine the public side of both of those.
My audience has always been “Me” – at least the idealized version of myself that would want to read my rants, my thoughts, my ideas and aspirations. That anyone else enjoyed the interaction was just gravy. I appreciated everyone stopping by, but tried to be open and honest and authentic in not really having an “audience” but instead a “group conversation” that I would want to be a part of if I happened upon it in a coffeeshop or church small group.
So now there’s “life: caffeinated”, the latest iteration of my journal blog that still just has the fun stuff, the life-enveloping ideas and stories that I still want to share. Much of my blogging has fallen off over the past few years with the advent of Twitter. That means that I’m twittering more – so maybe my full wordy blogposts were really just over-vobcabularied versions of what should have been 140 character snippets? I still appreciate that it’s there, even if it’s not as full these days, not as traveled these days. It’s a comfortable spot, a good space for me to breathe and leave legacy.
For the first time, I’ve branched to a second blog at “Over Coffee” – I’ve tried before, but could never completely justify two spaces full of drivel. It wasn’t until this year, post-career change in the midst of finding a new stride personally and professionally, that I felt like this was the right thing to do. It’s been a wonder – doesn’t have the traffic I’d like to have there, but as an outlet for ideas and promptings alongside great blogposts from lots of the frontrunners in social media tools and practice, it’s feels just right, too.
So here I stand at the head of an 8-year mountain of posts, of life stories, of ideas and thoughts, of mistakes and victories. Honestly, I’m looking out to the next eight more than to the past eight. There’s more to do, more adventure to live and to share. Thanks – both of you – for playing along.
Coffee’s on me.
life: caffeinated 