Learning to Blog

It’s been a few days already since I started this weblog, and I do not regret it. It feels good to be able to write. However, I must admit that I am unsure of how to write, how to blog. Who is my audience? What kind of voice should I use?

I set out to blog, because first, my entire team blogs, and they keep reminding me that I’m not a team player if I don’t. And micro-blogging does not count (Twitter and Tumblr) to the point it has become an inside joke. And second, hearing Jeff Atwood’s keynote presentation “Is Writing More Important Than Programming?” at CUSEC 2008 was the tipping point.

Yet I did not start until just before Reception was going to be released. Obviously, we were in crunch mode. Blogging was not a priority. But I did take photos to try to document the weeks leading to release. My plan was to try to help promote our company and product via the help of the cat and the unicorn (seen in action here [maybe NSFW, but come on, these are stuffed toys]). Maybe it could be the start of some viral marketing campaign. Hahaha.

My impression with blogging so far is that it is a heavy process. I am spending too much time on this, but looking at the blog stats is addictive. It actually motivates me to find something to write well about. Nevertheless, I prefer micro-blogging. We’ll see how it goes from here. And maybe a pattern will develop. Should I write every day? Or just short posts and one larger one per month?

When it comes to reblogging, I find myself to be a bit slow. Reading is not an issue, and I would put myself in at the bleeding edge when it comes to acquiring information. Analysis and synthesis isn’t as easy. And then putting it to words. I suppose practice makes perfect.

I think I can answer to the who is my audience question. I write for myself. Whether people read or not, it does not affect me yet. But the views counter is compelling! What about my voice? Hmm, I think I write a lot better than I speak. I tend to think very fast, and spoken words cannot keep up. The writing you see here tends to be a distilled part of me. Maybe I should write about the emoticons I use, eh?