A Dangerous Business
For the last several years I have only really followed a handful of blogssome of them discovered during the inaugural running of “NaBloPoMo” (National Blog Posting Month), back when it was fun, and relevant, and kind of original. The fact that it was quickly exploited, argued over, and destroyed by everybody involved is neither here nor thereI discovered some amazing people who later became unlikely friends during that month of non-stop writing.
It's funny reallyten years ago it was considered a little bit crazy to try and post something to the internet every day for a monthand yet now we all think nothing of posting and commenting throughout the day to the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogger, WordPress, Reddit, Pinterest, and so on.
Given that this little corner of the web I have been building is now presentable enough that I won't be too ashamed if strangers wander in, I'm wondering about stepping into the street outside it's confines, and “showing my face”.In some ways I guess it's akin to stepping from the front door “Bilbo Baggins style”.
In truth, I've been wondering about becoming a bit more open with the blog for a whilehence the switch of URL in recent months. Very few among my “real world” friends know that I write a blog, but the few that do know have known for years. It's just something I have always donethose that know don't really care. Over the years a few family or friends have discovered it, and probably fell asleep inside the first few posts. Perhaps worryingly one or two found it interesting enough to read vast swathes of it. I think they might need their head examining.
The one thing that does frustrate me about people that come across the blogabout the wider internet in general reallyis the small minority that take from the social internet and give nothing back. It often seems they read everything, but contribute littleeither deliberately hiding in the shadows, or recycling content created by others. It seems tremendously unfair to those that invest time and effort in the creation of content that so many are unwilling to contribute anything themselves. Even more maddening, it often seems that those who contribute little are also the quickest to judge.
Anyway. Enough soap-box contemplationit's high time I stepped outside the front door of this blog. If you see a comment from a slightly odd Englishman begin appearing on your posts, you'll know why he turned up, and why he seemed a little lost.