It’s true, I do.
I don’t do Facebook. Never have. I did MySpace back in the day. It was fun while it lasted. I even did a few blog entries on it back when I had some interesting biking adventures. (I need to see if those are still somehow available to repost here for laughs.) The Facebook empire took over and I was simply too busy to get involved. Some of you who know me think I’m anti-FB. That’s not entirely true. I have a certain respect for it. Facebook has changed the way we communicate. Being a FB outsider makes this even more obvious. I’m often out of the loop because I’m not in the club. If my wife didn’t have FB I would miss party invites, travel arrangements and probably never see pictures of family and friends. Yes, I’m a little anti-establishment, independent, old fashioned… That’s only maybe 15% of the reason I don’t do FB. It’s mostly because I know me and I know I need to deny myself or I would go fanatic. I’m talking hours a day at the computer. I’m much better off suffering the communication inconveniences of not participating in the FB frenzy. I like to have a life away from the screens.
Then there was twitter…
I love the twitter. I bit and got caught, hook line sinker. There is something that just strikes the right chord with me about the challenge of 140 characters to express a thought, make someone laugh, make someone think. It’s just the right amount of real estate. Think about it… Reading a twitter feed is like scanning a list of cyber-first-impressions. If you haven’t peaked my interest in 140 characters I’m probably not going to be disappointed in the amount of time I wasted reading your blurb. Buzz off, try again, whatever. If you did catch my attention, well then we’re having a conversation already. (It’s also a great source of news, opinions, and a communication avenue for facilitating revolutions. That’s cool too.) Twitter doesn’t consume me, though I’m not sure what I would do if I had to give up my smart phone…
So why did I decide to do this blog thing, you ask? It’s been a long time coming I guess. Several times daily I find myself needing an outlet for these thoughts that rattle around in my head. Sometimes I need more than 140 characters. Over the last several years I had so many reasons to write. I’ve become more politically active. I’m a father of a 4 year old. I’ve experienced living in two completely different Milwaukee neighborhoods. My father deals with Parkinson’s disease, has been through brain surgeries, has had a nearly fatal accident. I’ve read some amazing and important books. I endlessly make home projects for myself that always end up both maddening and hilarious, yet rewarding. The list goes on and on… These are the important and entertaining things in my life that I feel I can use to make me a better writer, or something…
In my basement I have the archive of scrapbooks and picture albums my mother kept. When they come out I am amazed at the amount of time dedication love she put into them. She chronicled so much with stuff taped into blank books with penciled in dates and arrows drawn all over. It was her generation’s way to blog and she put her whole heart into it for us. I just have a lot of words trying to get outta my head onto these screens via my fingers. I have always made it a point to try to enjoy or appreciate a moment rather than take away its impact on me with concern for documenting it with a picture or video. Life doesn’t unfold with the same magic on the other side of a camera. Mom and Dad take a lot of pictures. Mom always makes sure there are people in her pictures. She has no need for pictures as art. They are meant to capture a moment so it can be remembered later. I get that. She is still documenting with the camera. I think I prefer to recall the moment and tell the story later. That’s why I’m here.
I’m planning to fail terribly in my documentation. Just setting the bar nice and low for myself. Maybe I’ll manage to inform or entertain here and there. I’m not really doing this for you. It’s an entirely selfish endeavor. I like to think I have some decent communication skills and can put sentences together in my own way. I decided I have to give it a shot. I’m tired of telling myself I should have a blog. No more excuses. On with the chlorophyll!
skepticandtonic 