It got past me that last Sunday marked five years since I began blogging…and I don't think anyone even called it that then. It was "keeping a weblog" and mine was hand-coded (a primitive process, not unlike the way Gutenberg first set movable type) for the first half of its life.
It's an extraordinary experience…one that has made me new acquaintances and caused me to reconnect with old ones. It's also an amazing resource. If I ask a question here, I almost always get replies, many of them correct. I once asked a question about a movie and ten minutes later, I had an e-mail from the film's director — whom I'd never met — giving me what I later determined was the wrong answer. But I do get answers and if I start a campaign about anything here, I almost always get some response. I've received some very nice gratuities in the form of cash donations and some splendid gifts and goodies.
People sometimes ask, "Why do you blog?" And I must admit I sometimes wonder why some other folks bother to do it if they're not going to do it often enough to develop any sort of steady readership and Internet presence. One reason I do it is that with all the other things I write that are subject to the input of producers and editors and collaborators, it's pleasant to have something that is totally mine, right down to the website design and software configuration. Back when I used to draw more, it was fun to just sketch with no publication or marketplace in mind. This is fun in much the same way.
I do not recommend it for everyone. Like I said, I don't see much point in it if you're going to go to all the work to set one up and then only post every time Halley's Comet reappears.
You also have to constantly remind yourself that though it may feel like you're writing in a private diary, it's actually about the most unprivate thing one can do. I hit the "Publish" button and it's out there for the world to see and read and Google forever. Before any of us had websites, I used to run computer bulletin boards on which writers chatted about their craft. One reason I gave that up was that there always seemed to be someone who forgot that. Often — usually late at night, most often on Saturdays and perhaps aided by alcohol or drugs — someone would post something libelous or hysterical or way too personal…something that in the cold light of day, they really didn't want out there for all eternity with their name affixed. But they hadn't thought about that before releasing their emotions into cyberspace.
I've learned it's important to hit that "sweet spot" between bloodlessness and overstatement. You want to write what you believe in with some passion and conviction but not box yourself into a position you'll regret in six months. In spite of that, some people will read the most astounding things into what you post in clear, inarguable English…or will even respond to something you never wrote nor believed. One person for a time apparently didn't grasp the concept of links and was e-mailing me scathing rebuttals to articles on other sites, apparently believing that if he could start clicking my page and eventually reach some article he found offensive, I must have written that article. Some others who do read what I've written seem equally confused because I often don't take firm, I'm-right-and-you're-wrong positions. On the 'net, if you write that you're leaning towards some position, someone will invariably read that as if you said, "Anyone who believes otherwise is an idiot."
The best thing about blogging may be the feeling of connectivity it creates. If at 4 AM, I have a thought I want to share with my friends, I can get up, run in here to my office and have it up on the web by 4:10. If I then sit here and surf for ten minutes, I'll sometimes receive an e-mailed response from someone. Within twelve hours, a pretty high percentage of all the people I know will have read it, along with countless strangers, some of whom will become friends at least by a very loose definition.
If you're one of them by any definition, thanks for visiting here. I've enjoyed doing this for five years and I have no intention of stopping.