Lately it seems hard for me to find the time to blog, or the topics that seem bloggable. But I'm re-inspired by Jill's announcement of her award for research dissemination via blogging--how exciting! And it reminded me of how valuable this blog has been for me as an academic.
In her post, Jill notes that she wouldn't have won that award if she'd been blogging pseudonymously, like so many of the women writing great academic blogs. Like Jill, if I couldn't write about the specifics of my life--the conferences I participate in, the research areas I'm exploring, the people around me--it wouldn't really feel like my blog. While I recognize the risks inherent in blogging, my experience has been that the rewards greatly outweigh those risks. I wouldn't be sitting in this office in Redmond if it weren't for my blog. I wouldn't be speaking at SXSW, or have travelled to Dubai. I wouldn't have the worldwide network of friends and colleagues that I've acquired over the past 3.5 years. So yeah, it was worth any risks. And I need to remember that, and not neglect this fertile space that--when properly tended--has yielded such a bountiful harvest.
(The "ftw" is short for "for the win," an expression I've acquired since starting to play World of Warcraft.)
I'm just a random reader of your blog, which I started reading in 2004. I nearly left a comment last weekend, to the effect I missed you not posting as frequently.
Via blog reading, its a privilege to get window into a person's life, and when that suddenly disappears there is a gap.
Down with WoW!
It would be easy to blame WoW for the lack of posts, but it's really not that simple. :) The blogging slowdown was much more a function of too many non-bloggable things in my life, both personal and professional. WoW was only a minor factor.
I think it's also the case for anyone who maintains a blog for a while that there are going to be slow spells. I've had a couple in the past. But I think this one might be over. I hope so!
Thanks for the nice comment!
I hope so too, Liz!
Actually I've found that WoW with a guild where I know a lot of the members in RL by reputation or personally feels similar to good, closeknit blogging. It's social, it's conversational, it's about exploring stuff "alone together". It's a group I can hang out with and yet we also have contact with a larger, more random community.
I mean, obviously WoW isn't the new blogging, it's completely different - and yet sometimes feels similar to me...
Yes! I know exactly what you mean. And I've been telling people here that I've got the same "this is important" sense about this that I had about blogs.
There's something important happening in this space right now, I think. Something that strikes a responsive chord in people from the standpoint of connection and community. Like blogging 4 years ago, it's not quite at the tipping point for "regular folk", but I think it's pretty close.