Return of the Blog

Dear Friends, I’m finally back!

It’s been some time since I posted on this blog and there are a number of reasons for this.  The first and probably most important, is that I never established a posting routine.  There are a number of bloggers who believe in the daily post.  I’m not sure I’m ready for this, but right now I’m committing to a weekly post and we’ll take it from there.  The second reason was that I approached the blog as something of a networking tool and platform for discussion.  I think these are great reasons to have a blog, but they’re just not enough for me.  In order to sustain  momentum I need to be passionate – blogging can’t be a chore.  Now I have a new job and I’m living a radically different life that involves working on 3-9 month projects all over the world. (More to come on the job later)

I’ve got two great new reasons for my blog.  I’m going to use it to document my experiences and discuss living and working in these various countries.  I’m also going to use it as a communication tool to keep in touch with my friends and family.  Now I can save emails and phone calls for the personal stuff, and centralize the communication of my general activities here.  This is not to say I intend on writing a travel or personal blog.  There will still be strains of more analytical and intellectual content.  Lets just say I’m looking for a more holistic approach to the blog.

Here’s to a new start with the year of the Ox.  May it be better than the year of the Rat!

Why I’m Starting a Blog

I have been flirting with starting a blog for some time now. I haven’t actually started till now for a couple of reasons. I wondered what I would actually have to add to the conversation. There are thousands of experts blogging out there, with years of experience on any given topic. What can I say that hasn’t already been said?

Yet here I am, writing my very first blog post. I came to realize a few things that changed my mind. First, one needs to develop a voice. Merely thinking about issues, reading stories and blogs doesn’t cut it. I’m interested in a ton of things, primarily Technology, Politics, Films, Music, Philosophy, Literature, Anthropology, and a bunch of other things tangentially. One day I hope to become an expert something within one of these domains, and if I develop a voice now, I’ll be ready “on day one” to contribute to the conversation. When I wrote papers in school, I found that I would gather my thoughts and form opinions throughout the writing process. So it could conceivably be that producing written material is a vital part of focused cognition. And now that I’m out of school I miss writing. Finally, I realized that the existence of experts doesn’t prevent me from talking about all kinds of topics with my friends offline, so why not on a blog? Theres even a chance that I might get caught up in larger discussions in a way that simply isn’t possible in a living room or restaurant.

So, that’s why I’ve finally taken the plunge. I’m excited to see where this goes!