It’s Been Six Years
Mar 10th, 2010 by Alex
Today marks the six year anniversary of this blog.
No formal remarks, but instead a few thoughts about getting past the half-decade mark.
Six years of rants and musings, without care for substance. Longer still if you count the predecessors to this site; technically, I’ve been blogging since June 9th, 2002. I found it hard to believe, but computers are mercilessly accurate when it comes to recording dates. Somewhere along the line I started writing occasional posts with substance, or so the search engines would indicate.
Things have evolved a bit since the inception of this blog. There aren’t as many rants. There’s still some silliness and quite a bit of unnecessary punctuation and the occasional run-on sentence that does nothing useful except to disguise my true feelings and love toward proper grammar. There’s more imagery, for sure, as I’ve taken a greater interest in photography of late. More technical articles, too. Less opinion about MySpace and more about the American Community Survey. I’ve discovered that I like including imagery with my posts, to make my long-winded books a little less like textbooks and more like picture books. A lot of pictures of hunger-inspiring food, according to some of my coworkers.
I’ve found that you can’t garner readership with gimmicks, contents, or giveaways, though they are fun (and no I haven’t forgotten that I still owe you a beer, DJ) and occasionally do win people over. Instead, I’ve come across a better way. Do what you do, and folks might decide to take interest. I don’t tend to focus on any one area, which probably makes this thing painful for people thinking about following me; one day I’ll be making sense and the next spouting what sounds like technical gibberish. The only consistent thing is that I keep going. Like someone famous once said, “post frequently and post often, but if you can’t, do try to maintain some ’semblance of routine.” Regardless of frequency, continuing is its own routine.
I’ve found that more of my coworkers read than I had thought, despite keeping a relatively low profile. Family too, for that matter. I’ve given up hiding it. In fact, I’ll proudly admit that I’m a blogger (and not the cop-out “I’m a writer” bit either). I’m always surprised to hear “oh, I read about that on your blog.” It feels like a miniature version of fame. It doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does it’s an odd feeling. Flattering and unexpected, so thanks to all you lurkers who have kept me on my toes with your live in-person comments.
Going forward, there’s no guarantees. I love to write, but only when I’m inspired. Sometimes that’s often, other times my mind is completely dry. But for now, I have no intention of stopping.
It is both hilarious and ironic that you put your comment about “occasional run on sentences” in a run-on sentence.
Happy anniversary! Thanks to RSS feeds I am still a loyal reader after 4 years (guessing).
PS. I have heard from a reliable source still at the HS that some folks are still using proxy sites to read your blog at school. I’m glad the tradition is being carried on.
mark: You know how I do.
Moser: Proxies, for real? At least they’re educating themselves about the finer points of networking and access control.