Results tagged “blogging” from jsstudios.com

I've been a little neglectful the past few days on this blog due to the fact that I have been quite busy building content for my new one at Boxedfool.com. If you haven't yet, visit now and quite often.

The ideas for posts are a heck of a lot easier to come by - that's for sure. But, I'm trying to apply some of the principles and information that I came across in Technorati's State of the Blogosphere as well as many other good resources.

The most difficult part for me right now is managing to build up visitors. With a large chunk of the day spent at my day job and my evenings spent trying to build content, it's difficult to do the networking part of the job. Hopefully things will start to fall into place - after all, it's only been less than a week. On the upside, I've managed to keep my content count within the range that I desired.

In other areas ( beware - political digression forthcoming ), I watched the debate last night. McCain certainly came across like a bitter, cynical, old guy - just the kind I hope to avoid becoming should I get to be as old as him.

About the whole healthcare issue the two of them are trying to address:

While getting $5K is nice, it doesn't really help all that much. Obama was clearly the more knowledgeable of the two. The both stated what they believed was the "average cost of a healthcare plan." Well, the FAMILY plan that I have costs roughly $12K a year. I am fortunate that my employer pays 100% of it - and I am thankful for that. I still have co-pays and deductibles that I am responsible for, but there is no way that I could pay all of it on my own. With McCains plan, I'd still be responsible for $7K. That would still be a bit of a juggling act to manage.

When McCain said that the average cost was $5800, I couldn't believe he threw out that figure. He must be thinking of single people seeking health insurance, because families pay significantly more than $5800.

So, here's to voting for Obama.

I finished changing stuff on the ol' blog. Which, I must say is really kind of ironic since I haven't posted anything since . . . uh . . . a long time.

So anyways go ahead and look around at the new look. I haven't tested it with Safari, IE or Opera yet so we'll see how that goes later.

Still a bit of work to do on the archives and About page - so bear with me, I'll be filling them in as I get back into the swing of things. My goal is to get back to a regular posting schedule first.

I'm trying out a new feed reader this week. I wholeheartedly intend to try it all week long, too. I've grown accustomed to using Google Reader for following the blogs, news, and any other feeds I find. However, lately Google Reader's just not doing it for me. I tried the new and improved version of Bloglines, but still was left wanting a bit.

Not long ago, Feed Demon ( a product from NewsGator ) was released as a free download. I kind of spaced it off, but decided to try it out yesterday.

This is a screenshot of Feed Demon in the wild. As you can see, it lists your available feeds to the left in a collapsible pane with the text from the feed in the larger window on the right. A pretty common layout for most feed readers.

Feed Demon allows you to start out with a bunch of popular feeds from various categories like news, entertainment, gaming, technology and gossip. I went ahead and let it subscribe me to all the feeds it recommended as I can always get rid of them later.

You can also add feeds that you subscribe to by importing an OPML file. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to work using the OPML file that Google Reader allowed me to create. So I ended up importing all the subscribed feeds from the Bloglines account since I had used it when I started using Google Reader. That worked just fine.

Certainly, there are times when you want to use a web-based feed reader and times when a desktop reader is more appropriate. The nice thing about Feed Demon is that you can synchronize your desktop Feed Demon with an online account - NewsGator Online. The interface is very much like the desktop version of Feed Demon - although the desktop is packed with many more features. Regardless, either version will be aware of where you left off.

One week without using Google Reader. Is it possible? I'll let you know.

I've gone back and forth through the years using Movable Type, Blogger and Wordpress. They each have their pros and cons. When a new version comes out I try to get my hands on it and give it a shot. This afternoon my son wanted his blog upgraded so that he could use tags. He uses Wordpress. Using tags in posts has been around for MT for quite some time, but Wordpress is easier for him to use and he has grown accustomed to it. I don't force change where it isn't needed. Like the saying goes, "if it ain't broke don't fix it." Needless to say, I upgraded him to Wordpress 2.3.1. Seeing an opportunity to try out a new version of Wordpress, without hesitation I prepared my site for the change. So far, here's what I've found if you should happen to decide to move from MT to Wordpress:

• Using Wordpress' import for MT will cause all of the posts you've published under MT to lose their tags and categories. They don't lose any comments and the formatting seems to have worked out just fine. But be prepared to face the consequences of having to go back and re-tag everything you've ever published.
• The categories all get imported. But they don't get applied to the posts. Everything gets thrown into the "Uncategorized" category.
• Links to other posts you've published under the same blog will most likely be broken. So set aside some time to hunt those down and fix them.
• I have yet to find a theme that actually says it is for WP 2.3.1 and has the code for displaying tags rather than categories already in it. ( I had to go hunt it down so that my son could have it on his blog )

So now comes the fun of hunting down a theme and fixing all the broken stuff. I've only had this installed for an hour or two so I'm bound to find more things to complain about.

I imagine I could always re-install MT . . . and I may. Until then, I'll play with this.

In the past I've been subscribed to way too many rss feeds, as I've come to realize. Over the last week I've slowly weeded many of the feeds out of my reader. The majority of these feeds disappeared because:

• There was nothing really captivating. They couldn't hold my attention. I'll admit that's pretty hard to do anyway - if it's not bright and shiny you're already operating at a deficit with me anyway.
• No boobs. Ok, it's not required, but it does hold my attention.
• Too many posts to weed through in order to find interesting stuff.
• It was a blog about blogging or a blog about blogging to make money. I mean, aren't there enough of these by now? And all they seem to do is regurgitate the same information over and over and over again.
• Blogs without personality. Very subjective, I know. But when I read a blog I want to be able to get to know the person behind it.
• Feeds that don't give me the content. If you're putting blurbs ( or excerpts ) in your feed, you can pretty much count on the fact that I unsubscribed. Don't force me to visit your site. Publish the whole post. Make it easy to enjoy your content.

I imagine there will be more to be banished to the circular file in the coming weeks. It was just taking too long to sort through what was interesting and what was not. I also realized I was reading very few feeds and skipping through the majority of them.

I'd like to be able to say I am, but that's not the case. I love a good t-shirt that allows me to express myself and the things that I do. For that reason I found this contest being thrown at Everybody Go To a pretty good deal. They're giving away free t-shirts and I'm certainly hoping I'll be one of the lucky one's who'll get one.

It's quite simple . . . write a post with a trackback to this url http://www.everybodygoto.com/category/shopping/ and they will throw your name in a hat and draw some lucky winners. I almost forgot - make sure you use the "funny t shirt" keyword. Here's a link directly to the post. Just in case my name gets drawn - I'm kind of partial to the index.tshirt - if you happen to have a large.

So I upgraded to Movable Type 4 - somewhat painfully. A brief account of what I went through . . . My original theme/style/layout - whatever you like to call it - was working fine, but I wanted to be able to take advantage of the new tags that came with MT4. So I went to MT's documentation to see if I could find the default templates. If you are looking for them, you can find them here. However, funny things happened. One of the most annoying things is MT4's use of this

<__trans

tag. MT4 makes use of modules. For example, your index page may "include" several modules like the header and footer. For some reason, MT does it like this:

<$MTInclude module="<__trans phrase="Header">"$>

The most hilarious ( in a twisted, cruel kind of way ) thing is that even when you have a module ( let's call it "Header" ) and that module exists but is included like in my example above, MT doesn't seen to recognize the fact that it exists. It tells you this in two ways. One way is through the designer. It lists the modules that any particular, other module links to. Another way is when you attempt to re-build your site. It throws an error that tells you that the module cannot be found. You can alleviate this if you go through and take out the

<__trans phrase="

part of the MTInclude tag leaving this:

<$MTInclude module="Header">"$>

It also makes use of trans for the text output on buttons or headings. I have no idea what "__trans" actually does yet. I searched the documentation and I can't find any reference to it. It seems as if ( by virtue of the name ) that some kind of translation may occur. Perhaps for other languages? If you know - I'd really like to find out since it is used extensively throughout the templates. And for some odd reason, it wasn't working at all. Every time the "trans" tag was being used, the code was being output on the site. This made for some pretty ugly stuff.

Frustration set in and I decided to refresh the templates. Basically that means rolling all the templates back to their original or back-up state. And voila . . .everything mysteriously fell into place. Of course, re-styling to get the look and feel I want will be another matter entirely. I think my best bet is to install a version at home so I can mess with it at my leisure without screwing up things on this site. Additionally, I'd really like to be able to explore this new platform and exploit the new features as much as possible.

For anyone who happens to be interested, I'm planning on trying to include my findings, trials and tribulations as much as possible in the future not only as implemented here, but also as content for this blog. I haven't installed any additional plug-ins yet, but I plan to after I've modified the theme. I'm going to stick with the default template for now - at least until I've had a chance to muck around with this at home. So if you choose to slam me because I don't have an About page or a Contact page - feel free. Better yet, if you're really that curious you can read about me here.

The new template system in MT 4 is giving me some troubles. Not sure exactly what the problem is, but I'll track it down pretty soon. Besides some styling issues, things appear to be functionally ok. UPDATE I think things are fairly stabilized now. It still kind of looks like crap. The sidebar isn't doing what it's supposed to and that means I'm incredibly dissatisfied with the way the style thing works. So it looks like a re-design is in order. I was planning on this anyway. Either way - it's something to do and I've been looking at some stuff to use as far as re-styling this blog. Perhaps by later tonight I'll be able to unleash it.

It didn't take long for my web host to get MT upgraded to MT 4. They are great at responding to requests for support. However, because the current templates are styled ( theme in wordpress lingo ) for version 3.35 I'm going to have to refresh my templates to the default style in order for things to accurately reflect the changes in MT 4. I'm ok with this. I get bored with my style after a while anyway. I guess it's time for a change. Furthermore, one of the plug-ins I was using for "Related Entries" is not compatible with MT 4. When I tried to rebuild my site, I received an error about that plug-in. So for the time being I won't be able to include related entries until I either find another plug-in or develop my own. Hopefully things won't blow up when I refresh my templates. More to come later if everything works out.

I've used Movable Type for quite some time for this blog, as well as other common blog software packages. While each one of those software packages has their own ups and downs, I've come to appreciate MovableType. My host regularly upgrades the MovableType installation and I have asked that they upgrade my install to MovableType 4. I'm currently on 3.33. I just fired off the request a few minutes ago so we'll see how everything works out. I have high expectations as it boasts a large number of new features. If everything works out ok, perhaps I'll be able to find a way to work some of those new features into the the content of this blog. We'll see what happens. If you're curious about MovableType, by all means, check it out. Better yet, if you have questions I'd be more than happy to answer them either by email ( fortywhat AT gmail DOT com ) or by simply commenting here on my blog.

Not much to say today. I finished my wifes theme after my son's soccer practice and got it all uploaded to her site. Might be a few things to get worked out - but I'm sure she'll find little things that need to be done. I never said I was a designer. I had pointed her to someone who does some fairly nice work, but they asked a little too much. So, I found a theme and tweaked it as she requested with graphics she had. Now I'm tired but I want to stay up and watch a movie.

Yesterday I came across a post at Untwisted Vortex about blogging and grammar, punctuation and spelling. The point of the post:

I believe that how you write is just as important as what you write. Your level of accuracy in grammar, spelling and punctuation are obviously dictated by the level of professionalism required (or desired) for your blog. Even if you're writing a purely personal blog, some level of accuracy is necessary in order to convey your message and the meaning behind the message.

I couldn't agree more. Even though it would appear I am placing myself up on a pedestal for all the world to emulate, I acknowledge that I am capable of letting mistakes fall through the cracks. I am not perfect. I try to proofread my posts, utilize the spellchecker and make sure that things are up to snuff before I press that post button. But, as I said, sometimes I miss stuff due to time constraints, distractions, or other things that prevent me from being absolutely perfect. The only time it bothers me is when I'm reading someone's blog ( or other online publication ) and I come across errors that demonstrate an obvious lack of any effort to proofread. What will further irritate me is when I know that they are held in high regard in the blogosphere. So with this in mind I decided to compile a short list of words that seem to be commonly used in the wrong context, provide the correct usage and a few links that might be useful.

Firefox is a pretty awesome browser. I not only use it exclusively to surf the web but also some of its features come in pretty handy when you develop web apps. There's an abundance of extensions and themes available for it. However, some of this stuff can get pretty overwhelming and tweaking it for your own benefit can be a little imposing to the non-techie. This guide could come in pretty handy if you're trying to personalize all those Firefox tabs.

This one is not for kids or those who are offended easily. So if you click on the link - don't blame me !!. If you're in the market for a t-shirt that expresses your innermost feelings ( even when they're not very acceptable ), here's the site for you.

Words of wisdom that, even though they were muttered almost 70 years ago, ring true even today.

Eminem, Bruce Willis, Jean Claude Van-Damme . . . ever wonder what they looked like when they were kids?

Ever wonder where you should hide your money in case a burglar finds his ( or her ) way in? Here's a guide written for you.

I found this cool t-shirt a week or so ago. If you'd like your own go to North Shore Shirts. I've browsed their selection quite a bit and they have a wide variety of stuff to pick from. With shipping it only cost $15.
 

When I was growing up my family moved around a lot. My father was an accountant and he was constantly chasing a better paying job. Up until I was about thirteen it was pretty cool. Never living in the same place for more than a few years had its virtues. If ever you did anything that made you look like a complete and utter fool, it was ok. It wouldn't be long before you could have a fresh start in a new place with new people who knew absolutely nothing about you.

Incidentally, my father was often drawn to cities like Houston, Salt Lake City and Chicago, where it was not only a larger place but your anonymity was amplified by the sheer volume of people. Way back then the children-should-be-seen-not-heard doctrine pretty much ruled. In the event some kid forgot that, well . . . corporal punishment was employed as a reminder. Let it be said that I had a short memory and a sore ass to show for it. Times changed as I grew older and I think it's great that teachers aren't allowed to use corporal punishment anymore. And there's been a movement to foster kids' self esteem in the hopes that children will think better about themselves and what they can accomplish.

But, have these changes produced a generation that not only gives little thought to their own privacy but also gives little thought to anyone but themselves?

I came across this post earlier today. It is an Open Letter to Michael Moore suggesting that he make a movie much like Sicko, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 911 or Roger and Me. I have yet to see Sicko, but I have seen his other movies. I do find his movies thought-provoking enough that it has ignited an urge to find out more about the topics he chooses to grapple with. While some would challenge the validity of the facts Michael uses in his films, ( and I'm not going to debate that point ) he clearly wishes to see people dig deeper that what they are commonly exposed to via major news outlets.

Which brings me directly to the point of this post . . . Do you trust the news you receive regardless of its vehicle or source of delivery? The news you watch on TV? The news you read in magazines? Newspapers? Internet? Even if there was some sort of expose would it really make a difference?

Within the last couple of months I started a new job. The people you work with can always serve as wonderful resources for insight into human behavior and entertaining caricatures. I've always resisted the urge to blog about my job for a few reasons. There are those that would easily be offended if I ever blogged about them - and they found out. For that reason, I've kept this blog to myself and a few select friends that I know understand me.

My anonymity has been kind of important to me with this blog. I wanted to be able to say what I wanted without fear of inadvertently offending someone. Since I would never directly attack someone without provocation, I made the choice to reveal more information than I originally planned. However, it isn't just the anonymity factor that has previously impacted the content of what I choose to write.

My kids are in the small group of people that know about this blog. I wanted to be sure to set a decent example for them. Therefore I've chosen to write things that wouldn't generally be any more offensive than they might see on TV. Thankfully, the bar was set very low. I know my daughter doesn't read it - all she does is play Club Penguin on her computer. But my son does read my blog looking for ideas about new posts on his blog. It's well known that blogging about your job can be hazardous to your occupational health. However, I don't believe I've ever shared exactly where I work. So, I'm feeling a little more comfortable about my most recent decision to use some interesting developments, humorous incidents, and notable observations that I find worthy of inclusion to the content here. Along with that announcement I suppose I should say something like this . . . If, by chance, you do work at the same place I do and I just don't know it. For example, you find the punishment of reading this blog pleasing in some way . . . don't be offended. And if you do get offended, shoot me an email . . . leave a nasty comment. I have thick skin and I can take it. I will post your comment.

The judge read the verdict, "You Mr. Fortywhat!? guy are hereby found guilty of the following crimes..."

1. Failure to update your blog in a timely manner.
2. Failure to abide by a previously described schedule for posting to your blog.
3. Total disregard for any faithful readers who might have otherwise enjoyed reading your posts
4. Complete and utter lack of respect for the blogosphere as demonstrated by the previous

Me: "But . . I . . " The Judge: "One more outburst like that and I'll hold you in contempt!!" At least I'll be able to count on our clueless fearless leader to commute my sentence. Whew . . . that's a relief. Yes, I know it's not all that funny. What can I say? I've really kind of let things go. It isn't so much that I haven't had anything to say as it is that I haven't had the words to express everything I've had to say. It's as if I've been overloaded with things to rave about, things to bitch about, and things to moan about. Things have been about as crazy mixed-up as a toxic-waste train derailment. It's left me really exhausted and confused. Almost all of it is contained now and I think I can re-focus on what matters rather than all of the interruptions and peripheral stuff that so often side tracks me.

OK, maybe I've understated a little . . . When I started this blog I had a little idea and the means to follow through with it. In looking back at the last four months or so, I'm not particularly satisfied. The idea was alright, I just think that my implementation could have been better.

What could I have done better?

1. More follow through on scheduling - Lately it's been hit-or-miss as far as when I'll post on any given day.
2. Better definition of topics - Here again, it's hard to tell what I'll post when I do.
3. Better planning and preparation - I rarely write posts ahead of time. I often try to research topics for lengthy posts, but time prevents me from doing good research.
4. My blogroll needs work - I link to a lot of stuff, but I'm not sure how well it's paying off. It could also better represent my interests.
5. Better marketing, promotion and networking - I sometimes do make a good effort of visiting and commenting on others' blogs. That has served me well, I need to do more of it.
6. Too few posts? - I'm not sure about this one. I know that posting too much can drive people away. I've omitted feeds from my reader because I never have the time to read all of a feed's posts in one day. These are few and far between, however. But I do think I could manage more than one post per day if I tried, and specifically for certain topics and days.

How to fix it

1. Pick a scheduled time that each post will be posted by.
2. Refine topics and coordinate with my schedule.
3. Get ahead of schedule and stay there.
4. Refine my blogroll and better coordinate with topics.
5. Visit a wider array of blogs and utilize more networking opportunities.
6. Post more frequently

I'll elaborate more on this as time goes by since Wednesdays are going to be set aside for blogging topics. However, after looking at the way the traffic for this blog tends to go and some of the topics that I think will be productive, I've decided ( tentatively ) that my schedule will be:

• Monday - DVD or TV
• Tuesday - Web 2.0 / Tech
• Wednesday - Blogging
• Thursday - LinkTo's ( My version of the blog drive-by )
• Friday - Anything humorous
• Saturday - Random Photos ( perhaps videos, too )
• Sunday - An open day. Anything goes.

Skipper, at My Life Starts at Forty-Two, anointed me with the coveted Thinking Blogger Award. I'm not sure I really deserve it. I admit I have moments in which words of thoughtful wisdom may flow freely from my fingers and grace the pages of my website. But, by my own admission, they are few and far between.

All too often it is so easy to post something short, funny, or just plain irreverent than it is to compile an essay worthy of the blogger-spotlight. With that being said, however, I do have a short series that will be a little more thoughtful in the future. I'm going to try and pull something together this weekend and be ready for it to start Monday. According to the rules I must list five other bloggers who also are Thinking Bloggers. That would be:

1. RT at Untwisted Vortex. He works really hard at his blog. What's more, he obviously thinks through his decisions about how he implements his blog.
2. Head Coach at Can't Coach That. He makes me laugh. What's more, he puts enough thought into his posts so that I don't have to think too much to enjoy them.
3. Gabrielle at Tech Chick Blog. It's more than just a cute girl blogging about technology. What I think is best about her blog is her dedication and immersion into the social scene that the Internet has become and the passion with which she pursues it.
4. Kassindra at And To Think . . .
5. Misa Gracie at My Life My Opinions My Blog

If you've been tagged for this meme the following guidelines apply:

1. List five people that you wish to award with, "The Thinking Blogger"
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. You may display, The Thinking Blogger award image or the silver version if the gold one does not match your color scheme. This is not mandatory however. The Thinking Blogger Police will not raid your website should you choose not to.

Looks like there's a meme flying around.

BigSibling has tagged me in his post about, "Five reasons why he blogs." I know I'm probably going to look a bit like a anti-social, pretentious blogger-guy. After all, I've been invited to participate in a couple of memes here and here. However, due to time and changes in my life, I've decided to pass on those opportunities.

The main reason I decided to answer this one is because . . . well . . . I already answered this question back in March. So it's easy enough for me to just throw the link out there and be done with it. I mean, us fortywhat!!?? guys really appreciate things that are nice and quick and easy to do. It gives us a lot more time to ponder the meaning of life and what's on TV and why there's hair growing in places in places that never had hair before and disappearing from the places it should be.

As for the tagging part of this little exercise - if you're reading this post and feel compelled to respond . . . then by all means, contribute. It's a fun thing to do, makes you think, and you'll enjoy the links back to you. It's like having a backyard full of hot cheerleaders jumping on trampolines.

Ok, maybe not that good, but you get the idea.

This evening I stopped by a blog that I tend to visit on a fairly regular basis. I couldn't help but want to comment on the post, Why 15 Million is a Big Number, on many different levels.

The post makes a reference to another post at A VC. Of course, as things tend to go in the blogging world, the post at A VC certainly wasn't the starting point. It appears that the bubble has burst - that bubble being blogs. Evidently, there are somewhere around 15 million blogs. I guess, because some people tend to start up a blog and abandon them entirely, Technorati tracks a much larger number of blogs.

It is this disparity that seems to be driving the controversy. After all, how many people do you know who started a blog but didn't seem to follow through when it came to posting regularly? Personally I don't feel that this indicates that any bubble has burst. There are a multitude of reasons that people may not follow through when starting up a blog. So, while this is clearly a demonstration of conjecture and speculation, I don't mind building on a few examples that began at Virtual Economics and even illustrating a few of my own.

Late last year David Pogue commented about an observation he made. Frankly, it went something like this:

But what's really stunning is how hostile *ordinary* people are to each other online these days.

Most recently, a popular blooger by the name of Kathy Sierra was threatened on her blog. She decided to cancel some presentations. She was afraid to leave her house. However, an interesting thing has happened. Tim O'Reilly put out a call for a blogger's code of conduct. It is still a work in progress. You can see that it has generated a lot of input and discussion from a variety of people.

While a lot of the discussion centers around the legal responsibilities, I think it would be much simpler if we just resorted to one simple thing . . . treat others as you would like to be treated. I know that's much too simple. You're probably wondering if I still believe in Santa Claus and if I still put my teeth under my pillow in anticipation of the Tooth Fairy. Well, er, uh, no. Of course not. I learned the truth about Santa Claus a long time ago . . .

Evidently I've been tagged by Jen to participate in a little meme. I'm a good sport so I think I'll go ahead and play along.

The idea of this meme, as described by Alex, is to list your best, most exclusive, and over-the-top goals. The funny thing for me is that I haven't really set any "goals" since finishing graduate school. Since then, it has been just going to work and paying the bills. So, I guess my goals have mostly consisted of dreams that I can say I am working toward, but finding time to make them become reality has proved to be difficult.

• Financial Security - I'm sure you'll find this at the top of most people's list. It's pretty simple. It would be nice to be able to stockpile a little money, save enough to pay for my kids' education ( so they don't have to do the student loan thing like I did ), and retire comfortably.
• A business of my own - This kind of goes in hand with my first goal. I've been working towards my own software business for some time. Money, time, and the right idea have always been elusive, but I haven't given up.
• Publish a novel - I've already written one when I participated in NaNoWriMo. However, I never edited it.
• Move to a better climate - The Midwest isn't a bad place to live. You get to see all the seasons. However, it always seems to be at either extreme. Someplace like San Diego that has a pretty consistent climate would be my choice.
• Strong family - I want my family to have a better relationship than my parents' family.
• Independent Kids - I want my kids to become strong, independent adults with the tools to be successful in everything they do.
• Visit Europe and Australia - I've always wanted to see Europe. All of it. Traveling down under is something I've wanted to do as well for a long time.

So that's pretty much it. I think I've made a lot of progress towards many of them. Now here's a few other people I've tagged:

• Zep over at In-Sect
• Ian at Living in Canberra
• Gina at Brainfizzles
• Wonder Woman at Disjointed Intelligence
• Lady Banana

Simply Successful Secrets The Internet is truly this incredible thing. A single topic can spread like a flowering vine ( or a festering rash ) with great speed and touch a huge number of people.

As is normally the case, there is a new meme traversing it's way across the Internet and ( surprisingly ) I've been tagged by Mig to participate. If you haven't stopped by one of her sites I highly recommend doing so. She's a fantastic writer and I find many of her posts though-provoking and informative. The question, quite simply, is, "What little secrets do I have that have helped me to be successful?" Personally, I think every person measures success differently. Some people measure their success based on money, some on their accumulation of material possessions, some only by the happiness they feel. I imagine that each person's secrets will reflect how they measure success. Regardless, I have to come up with 5 - 10 secrets, so here goes . . .

1. Read every day - I filter through a plethora of blogs every day to get a feel for what's going on in the world beyond my doorstep. It's also very helpful for the next secret.
2. Write - It doesn't really matter if it's an email, a personal and private journal, or a blog. Besides speaking this is the next, most important way we communicate. Practice makes perfect ( or at least close ).
3. Be cynical - I try not to believe everything people tell me. Sometimes people have motives that they would prefer you not know about.
4. Learn something new - There is always something new and interesting to learn. The field in which I work ( technology ) is constantly changing and it requires that I either learn about new things or become extinct.
5. Don't be late - Nuff said.
6. Treasure your family - At the end of the day these are the people who treasure you.
7. Spend time doing absolutely nothing - Down time is good.

So that's my list - or at least what I could come up with. Now I have to tag a few people. Let's see . . . how about:

• Paula
• Jenny
• Coach
• Beth

Have fun with it.

I've come across a few blogs this year that have individually tried to address the question, "Why do I blog?" Although I don't have the links that spawned this post right at my fingertips this very second, a simple search on Google for the term, "Why I blog" turns up approximately 278 million hits.

So, although I didn't bookmark each thoughtful post, you are welcome to find one that suits you. I've come across posts on forums and other websites that effectively suggest that blogging is a self-indulgent act that adds nothing to the Internet. I've read that blogs, serving no purpose other than providing an outlet for the author's own interests, pets and family, do nothing but consume bandwidth and storage space. Many times, I've read statements, primarily from technical people, that they would never stoop to building and maintaining their own blog. I know the reasons that I blog - as much as I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat to read them, I will get to those later - but first I'd like to look at some of the reasons that others blog.

After all, blogging is not an intra-personal act. It's inter-personal in nature. The author, generally speaking, puts their thoughts - good, bad and otherwise, out there for anyone and everyone to see in the form of images, video, audio and words. Sometimes a blogger's communications can be anything from pictures of their cats to words so intimate that many people would find excessively private or offensive. Regardless, blogging is inter-personal. Not only do bloggers express their thoughts and feelings, many expect some sort of response - and welcome it. It's a two-way street. It's communication. As I sat down to write this post I searched for a few posts that answer the question, "Why I blog." Here are a few answers from others:

Thinking about starting a blog to expose your employer? Complain about a business?

Better think about the consequences . . . Unless, you decide to blog anonymously. Here's a link to a blog that lists a number of people that have been disciplined, fired, or not hired for blogging.

I don't know exactly what the nature or content of their blogs were that got them fired, however. The list is kind of long if you ask me. The bottom line - blog for fun, blog about your life; but don't blog about your job unless you can do it anonymously.