To Blog, or Not to Blog

So maybe you’re thinking, “Why is this guy starting up this blog again, here?” Good question. You see, I was part of the team that launched AOL Journals — AOL’s version of blogs — and so had an active one for a while. Like many of us, I kind of let it lapse, only jumping back in to mark the tragic passing of a former co-worker. And then I walked away once more. But I didn’t really walk away from blogs — just blogging. Let me explain. So many of my friends had blogs (both on AOL and elsewhere) and I spent many hours reading them on a daily basis. Frequently, I left the clever comment behind in my wake. And that’s my second evolution of blogging — commenting. I used to joke that I was part of a new section of blogger — the blogmenter — the person who made you all feel good that somebody was out there, cared about what you had written, and helped the conversation along. Then one day someone I followed asked the question, “Are you a blogger?” I felt that I was and so I explained my theory about the blogmenter and its value, and so I said that yeah, I’m a blogger. “Myth!”, came the retort. “You are not a blogger if you don’t have your own active blog!” And so here I am. Writing to right the wrongs so righteously flung my way. “Ich bin ein blogger!”