This blog of mine has sputtered and struggled for years now, and I finally know why.
It is the norm these days to deliver ourselves to the masses as a branded product. The public will make judgments about who we are whether we like it or not, so we may as well exert some control over how we are portrayed online. (Folks who don't have anything online? We can make judgments about them, too, based on their lack of online presence). That's all well and good, but honestly? It drives me nuts. Online media, social or otherwise, tends to portray people from one very unique perspective - the perspective those people wish to share, whether they've thought really hard about it or not. But it's the ones who are clearly branding themselves who really bug me. I often think "geez it's a good thing I know this human in person, because I know he/she is a really cool person but online he/she is really just obnoxious!" And that obnoxiousness really comes from just seeing that one very carefully crafted perspective: Friend as Photographer, Foodie, Parent, Mormon, Jesus Freak, Super Active Person With Many Accomplishments... you get the idea. I'm sitting here thinking, come on. Your whole life isn't this great.
I really don't want to be another one of those obnoxious people.
When I started this blog, I knew it wouldn't be focused on any one thing. I'm a generalist, not a specialist. I enjoy too many different things to focus on just one. I also didn't really want to incorporate my professional life into it. For me to have work/life balance, I prefer to keep those things as separate as possible.
My rebooted blog probably won't stray too far from that initial intent, but the difference is: I'm really going to make an effort to present all the perspectives of my life. My work life will probably intrude. Some weeks are pretty mundane, and this blog will reflect that. Hopefully most of it will be interesting. Ultimately, I'm hoping that a more honest, multifaceted effort will be something I can stick with. We'll find out! Until next week...
