Revealing myself to myself

So far, so good. It's week two and I haven't missed a day. Gotta say, this is the first time I've sat down to the keyboard without knowing what I wanted to write about. It's a good time to toss out a few thoughts about blogging. Hopefully, some of these will resonate with others...

In no particular order:

1. I never know whether to be pleased about how much I know about the blogosphere in comparison to others or, more important, in comparison to what I knew a year or two ago.

I suspect I know more than the average person but so what? I'm also humbled by what I don't know. There are so many web sites I've never seen -- or even heard of -- that I expect to learn a lot from my students in the class I'll be teaching this weekend at PSU.

2. I don't honestly don't know who gets more out of this, the writer or the reader.

I recognize the good it's doing me to have some discipline and write every day, even if in a short burst, and especially if it gets me to open up about things unrelated to work. There's something about having your own blog, though, that strikes me as egotistical. I've never seen myself that way and I'd hate for anyone to think that's my motivation.

3. I'm thinking that I just might enjoy this individual blog more than Facebook or Twitter.

I've tweeted a few times on Twitter and had numerous people sign up as followers. Honestly, I don't think expressing myself in 140 characters is intellectually nutritious. Feels too superficial. Facebook is great for easily tapping into a network of friends, but it seems to also demand more time than I'd like to invest to make my page really stand out. I face a similar challenge here but at least I recognize that Rough and Rede will only be whatever I make it.

4. If this blog is going to have any value beyond self-expression, I suppose I need to start making people aware of it.

I started the other day with family. Time to step it up and start sharing the URL with friends. I see I have exactly one follower so far. Thanks, whoever you are. I can truthfully say "You're No. 1!"

5.. You know, the good thing about editing my blog is...I can stop at No. 4 and move on.