I’ve sat here for the last few minutes and re-written this opening sentence several times. How do you start? What should your first words say? How important are they? While dithering, rewriting, changing my mind, and writing the words you are reading now, it occurred to me that I was already doing the right thing; recording thoughts.
This business of “blogging” doesn’t have to be difficult. We make it difficult by setting our own expectations. Now might be a good time to introduce myself, and explain how I ended up here.
I am a blogger. One of the old guard. I’ve been writing online in one shape or another for nearly ten years. My words have travelled the world aboard most of the popular platforms during that time - from hand written HTML files, PHP scripts, LiveJournal, Vox, Blogger, TypePad, WordPress, Posterous, Tumblr… over three thousand posts. Something in the region of half a million words.
So why have I made a clean break? Why walk away?
The canon of past words had begun to feel like Jacob Marley’s chain, hanging from me each day, relentlessly. Towards the end of this year I had grown weary. I needed to do something decisive - make a clean break, unshackle myself somehow.Several nights ago I exported everything, backed up, and then sat on my hands - fearful of what came next. The unloading of 10 years writing. I’m still not sure I’m doing the right thing - only time will tell.
While writing this “first post” this evening, the words of a favourite movie come to mind; the words of another fool offered the chance to begin again; I’ll begin today Throw away the past And the future I build Will be something that will lastHere’s to the future, to building it, to recording it, and to sharing it.