This blog began, rather humbly, on April 29, 2004.
In just over four years, 3000 posts, about 2 per day. Give each post an average of ten minutes' thought--pressing it for some, not even close for many--and we're talking a minimum of 30,000 minutes. That's 21 days of nothing but blogging. (And that's a minimum, trust me.)
What does it all mean? I'm a national expert on Lincoln-Douglas debate. I'm an RSS feed. I'm a sparring partner. I'm a resource for randomness. And, these days, I'm busy elsewhere, too: two edu-blogs suck away precious blogging time.
Only one thing qualifies me for blogging sainthood, though: a steadfast refusal to keep it free. Free of ads, free of undue influence, free of charge, free of nasty odors.
I don't know what the future holds. National Board was supposed to be the last major distraction before I started writing a book, which would push blogging to the side for the summer. Can't say for sure, though. It is a deeply established addiction, a memory well, a jumping-off place, a reflection zone, an idea generator. And it's fun.
3,000 is just a round number, anyway. Nothing special about it--post 3,001 could be better.
I close by mangling the Emerson quote that has haunted me this graduation season, on cards, on invitations, on billboards, on pop-up ads, on ransom notes, and on love letters.
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies we tell ourselves."
Mine: blogging is just a hobby.
Congrats, Jim, and thanks for spurring on so many good conversations. Keep it up--you're one of the hidden gems of the blogging world, though I can't imagine you will retain that status for long.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I don't do a lot of self-promotion, which I used to make a priority. For example, I used to write more posts "over here" in response to others' writing; now I leave comments "over there."
ReplyDeleteI guess I've relaxed a bit, and worried less about drawing a larger audience, and more about using the blog as an extension of my mental space. My most popular posting, these days, concerns the world of Lincoln Douglas debate, so my pleasure melds well with work.