blogging

Like so many bloggers before me, here is my look back on 2009.  Yes.  2009.  Okay.  Let's get to it!  Any time now.  Fine, now type!  Toss those thoughts onto the screen, my man.  Come on, Shane.  Let's do this thing!  Boo-yah!  Write!

(Chirp.  Chirp.  Chirp.)

2009 has been an odd year.  I have learned much about so many things and I have accomplished many, many things.  I have reached goals I thought I would never achieve.  I have let myself be who I really am.  I have helped others accomplish their goals.  Was this reflected in my blog?  Not so much.  It is a little weird, isn't it?  Or am I just giving some lip service to a sense of guilt I have about not writing on my website as I think I should be. I have thoughts and things to give.  Links to provide.  Pictures to share.  I do it all. 

But this website is neglected.  If it had feelings, I am sure it would look up at me with sad eyes and whisper quietly: why have you abandoned me?  Oh, it breaks the heart.  But it is only a website, isn't it?  Those who only read blogs may think so.  But a blog is different somehow.  Not only are you throwing a bit of writing out into the gray mass that is the Interwebs, but you're displaying a little bit of yourself.  You are opening yourself to complete strangers (no, not you, Mommy!) and websites like that deserve a little more respect.  Not a lot.  Just a little.  That is, of course, if you write posts like I do.

I will always remember 2009 as being one of the worst blogging years to date.  I suppose every year for the last few has been less than stellar in the blogging department. I do recall promising from time to time that I would write more (which I have, just not here) and interact more.  I guess I have done that.  So, what have I done that I haven't posted about on this website?  Let's see:

• Started guitar lessons.
• Have written several books (unpublished as of yet, still shopping them around) of poetry.
• Launched some kick ass websites for clients.
• Read a whole lot.

And I bunch of other things that I haven't written about here.  What I am trying to say is that I have been doing a whole lot.  I just don't understand why I haven't written about them here.  I am a blogger, aren't I?  Shouldn't I be writing here more often?  Am I not a kind of spokesperson?

I shall continue this thought process in my next post.  I shall call that next post: Part II.

I just remembered that I haven't made much of a splash about the third edition of Blogging For Dummies.  I will start with the publisher's verbage:

This is something that Susie and I worked on back in the summer and we made quite a few updates.  There are a bunch of new chapters and a whole lot of revisions to existing chapters.  We added a lot of stuff on social networking and whatnot and I was surprised how I had naturally adapted to newer technologies.  Getting it all down on paper was awesome and quite difficult at times to sort out all the details.  If you get a chance, why not head on down to your local book seller and get a copy or two.

I also have a shout out to Susie who is, as usual, totally amazing and rocks my world all the time.  The book comes out in January 2010.

It is that time of year again and I have decided not to do any resolutions this year.  I have come to this conclusion because over the last few years, many of the New Years resolutions I have made rarely get accomplished.  I don't know why but that seems to be the "way I roll".  Last year, I was able to accomplish a a bunch of my resolutions but many of them were only "half assed" and I was never 100% happy with how they turned out.  2009 seems to be the year where everything has changed. 

On a personal level, I took my health much more seriously this year and commited to losing some weight and getting my body into a much better position to start off on some extreme sports or some kind of program where I am getting to do things I never thought I would ever do.  So, in June, I was able to settle on an eating program (which is currently being put to the test because of Christmas cheer) and continue with my morning workout routine.  This has made my ever so happy.  I never really thought I would be able to look at my body in such a way where even I go: "Hey, not looking too bad, my man."  I think I want to slap my own ass just like all the sports greats but I have resisted so far.  I hear that Sham Wow guy already.  Bam!  Bam!

Professionally, we've done very well this year at the old day job and I can't be prouder of the group we've got.  There have been some ups and downs of course (how could there not be, if everything was even keel I would be suspicious) but we've weathered them as a group and it has made us stronger.  2010 promises to be an awesome year for Left Right Minds and it looks like our careful planning over the last few years has been paying off in spades.  Yah, I don't know what that means either.

As for blogging, I am a little shamed since I have fallen off the radar again and again this year.  Many starts and stops have come and gone but - wow - talk about slacking.  I suppose what happened (at least, for me) is I helped to re-write a bunch of the Blogging for Dummies book and the 3rd edition is coming out in January of 2010.  Head on down to your local book shop and pick up another copy.  There are some great tidbits about social networking and how you can combine your daily activities into your blog.  I suppose I could write about this kind of thing more often but I won't until January.  And if you don't pick up a copy soon, it will make me cry like a little girl with a skinned knee.  No, really.  Go buy one now.

I guess this is me saying that I am not dead and I am still around but I have been hiding a bit due to schedules, being busy, and also making sure I remain sane and get some offline time in here and there.  It is one of the most important lessons I have learned and share with every group I talk to about blogging: if you don't like writing or find yourself without enough time to dedicate to it, you may need to rethink your blogging strategy.  Participation is the key.

I think I will leave it at that because I need to return to the party.  If I don't see you, enjoy the rest of your holidays and I will blog like a mad thing in 2010.

Ack! There is no excuse. I haven't been blogging at all these past few weeks and months. I am not entirely sure why. I suppose I have fallen into that trap so many other bloggers find themselves. Periods of self-loathing take over and beliefs are inserted that tell our internal critics that anything they create is either no good or is simply garbage. There is never a silver lining in any of these situations. Nothing is ever any good. Some go so far as deciding they are themselves no good. I could be only speaking of myself but I have a hunch that there are many of you out there going through what I am going through - blocked blog syndrome.

In truth, such thoughts are rubbish. Here I am in the trenches, one who has "proven" himself by being involved in the creation of a manual that helps people start this bizarre career of "blogging". Yet, I find myself lost in a cavern of creativity. I have written hundreds of blog posts all over the Internet and I can't seem to get one finished for my own website. How cruel is that? I guess there is some comfort I can offer. It is a well known fact that writers of all levels will star blankly at a page (either on a computer screen or a piece of paper) for days before putting down a single word. They can get blocked up just like the average blogger. It is a natural part of being a writer. (Sorry, what was that?)

I am here to tell all of you that the act of blogging is an art. Plain and simple. Your ability to write is what makes blogging possible. So, how do you break the blockage? By doing something I haven't done in a while. You sit down, look at the screen with a little bit of defiance and you start typing or you start writing away from the computer. Write by hand (yes, you can do that!) and then type in your thoughts later.

And, please, don't feel bad in the slightest if you don't have anything to say. You can always follow a standard blogging formula and write a list of some kind. Fill out a meme about yourself. Offer advice (as I am right now) and keep that chin up.

I have been reading also a disturbing theory running around the Internet that is claiming that the days of blogging are over.

I hear them say: "Who blogs anymore? It is all about micro-blogging now."

Horse hockey!

As cool as micro-blogging is, it isn't the full kind of writitng that people enjoy the most. Sure, you can "tweet" a story out but the act of writing can't be touched by these technologies. Don't feel "afraid" or "less of a writer" if you are told that blogs are "not where it is at". I don't subscribe to such theories. Blogging is writing! To claim that the days of writing are over is such nonsense. Maybe we're in a collective slump but blogging or writing is not a dead art and I would guess that it is here for some time. You can change the technologies and the format but you can't change the truth. Human beings love stories. We love writing. Micro-blogging may be here for a while or it may be a flash in the pan. Who cares. Writing doesn't change. We change and get lost once in a while but we always come back to what we love.

There you have it. A blog post. How about that? No preparation and no cause for celebration. I just sat down to do a bit of research and look at what I created. It isn't Shakespeare but I think I can use it.