I'm reflecting on blogging and I'll tell you why in a moment. I've been blogging for quite some time and for a variety of reasons. When I posted my first blog post, back in May of 2004 (wow - has it really been almost 6 years), my intent was to explore ideas. Sure I did a lot of "latest news stuff" early on, but slow it morphed into what I wanted, which was me talking about tech I was using, both personally and in business. I used the canvas of the blog as a place to explore ideas, share ideas and get feedback/input.
I've been reflecting on this idea-space via blogs over the past while as I've done work in the education vertical. While those of us in IT have blogged for a long time, and other early adopters as well outside of IT, from an industry perspective, many industries lagged behind and have really only just begun to explore, understand and leverage blogs. They are starting to see that the blog is potential vehicle for students and teachers to create ideas, share ideas, build collaboratively ideas and ultimately build personal online portfolios. As I've watched my clients within the education vertical discuss blogs and other social media tools I have most enjoyed seeing how it generates enthusiasm and passion coupled with value.
This reflection on blogging deepened for me as I witnessed my wife move into the blogosphere and social media yesterday evening. She'd been wanting to explore ideas, chronicle things she was exploring with a specific focus on proactively exploring things in the area of health, fitness, family, cooking, getting back to the basics, travel, taking classes and other ideas. In truth, she wasn't sure exactly where things would go. She just wanted a forum to talk about some of the things she was exploring and thinking about. So she create a blog which completely thrilled me. I'd been using blogs for a long time. I've been reading blogs of a technical nature and personal interest for a long time. This thrilled me because it was using the tech in a completely non-tech area/way. She launched Tomorrow I Will.... yesterday with a brief post. Today, she was excited to post her most recent outing and thoughts. She was enthusiastic, not just about the writing, but by the feedback. It was the potential for conversing with people about these topics that really excited her. Already, she's planned various people that she plans on chatting with, blogging about and perhaps even videoCasting about!
That got me to thinking about my own blogging and the importance of continuing to use mip's scan as a platform for developing/sharing ideas, providing insight with regards to things I've used/done and engaging in conversations with the many, many creative & smart people that abound. If you find yourself in an industry / company that is looking to do the same, or if you are personally trying to expand your thinking, a blog might be the perfect vehicle if you haven't tried it. I leverage Typepad and my wife decided to go with Wordpress. Be sure to watch for a comparison post where I talk about our individual experiences using these two different blogging platforms.
If you've found a unique use for blogs and would like to share it, feel free to comment below. I'd love to hear about and start a conversation.
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