To Blog, or not to Blog

As a writer with a lot of schooling behind me, I’m not a stranger to the advice that we should get ourselves ‘out there’  in the interest of marketing future books and published works. The general consensus in the writing workshops after receiving such coaching is a grumbling among the older students and knowing nods from the younger ones. I was not nodding. It’s not that technology intimidates me. Some days it feels as if I use the internet constantly to do research for whatever project I’m working on. Or I’m checking email and my Facebook account. After all of that and realizing I haven’t left my office or even looked out the window, I really can’t imagine cramming in more time to maintain Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or a daily or weekly blog post.

I have many friends who start blogs but few who continue past a year or two. Eventually, the novelty wears off. What purpose do you feel they serve, I ask them? Most times, I get the response that they’re just thoughts or reflections, and I think, well that’s what my journal is for, except it’s ‘private’, not public. How do I make the leap to sharing thoughts and reflections with an invisible world? And who’s really going to care, anyway?

So, I ask myself, how long has this been going on, this turning inside out of one’s heart and soul? Apparently a college student wrote a personal homepage that resembled the first ever blog in 1994, but the term we have become so accustomed to hearing wasn’t coined until 1997. These are the years my two daughters were born, so I have an appreciation for why I missed any initial hoopla. Back then I didn’t have time to reflect on the latest sale on diapers, let alone string coherent thoughts together to create an intelligent sounding blog.

Then, I begin to think about blogs I like to read. Some days, I just want a friend to tell me his or her thoughts on a particular trip, or a recipe, or how they manage to stay focussed while writing. There are so many other topics that run the gamut of my mind through each day. Sometimes I really just want to relax and connect with those of like mind. But, if I pick up the phone, there’s a chance friends will likely be out. If I text, there’s the possibility of a delayed answer and then a conversation of clipped sentences. Discussions with my husband? Well yes, but chances are I already know his thoughts on a given topic and need a fresh perspective. If I turn to blog posts on the net, I have almost instant gratification, a peek into someone else’s personal life at my fingertips.

Now, I have had the wonderful privilege of developing this sparkly new website with talented web designer/photographer, Melanie McKay and she tells me we need some sort of missive to put in the Notebook Section so that, going forward, I will know how to post and edit future blogs. It seems that somehow I now instantly have a ‘blog’ and I’m actually looking forward to it. It’s time to join all of those people who push their thoughts and feelings forward into cyberspace and brace for impact, or lift off.

Bring on the hate and the love. I’ve never been the person to push my opinions. What I will do, beloved reader, is share whatever measly or falsely profound reflections I have on life in a few paragraphs at irregular intervals, as necessity or inspiration dictates.