At the risk of metablogging uselessly, I have been thinking more over the last couple of weeks about why I’m doing this.
Yes – it’s still about wanting to be noticed. I can’t deny that there would be a huge kick if Hugh McLeod or Seth Godin or some-other-blogger-with-a-lot-of-whuffie actually noticed me (sorry – no Google-juice because that was just name-dropping).
But it’s more than that – even if no-one notices me, then it is still a journal – like one of those pen and paper things we used to use to collect thoughts, make notes and observations, write terrible poetry (mine was pretty bad, even if yours was ok) … and hide from your parents. But doing it in public implies that I can’t get away with bullshitting myself, because SOMEBODY might see it (for what it’s worth, that’s why I think that marriage is different from co-habitation – it’s a PUBLIC promise when you get married. Not that that alone will save a marriage, but it sometimes makes people stop and think a bit harder).
And yet more – putting it on display also gives others the chance to help you find some answers. It’s like doing exercises from Curt Rosengren’s book in public.
It also obliges me to acknowledge other bloggers, and participate in their conversations – not JUST in the hope they’ll come here, but because that is what it’s all about. There’s some smart people out there, and I want to join their conversation, because I’ll be a better, better-informed, better-connected person for it. I’m hoping I’ll get smarter too – but that’s a bigger challenge!
