There is the old saying, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” That is the general explanation of how I have felt about blogging. In my case, however, “nice” means “with useful content that will move the human race forward.”

I have been on the Internet for quite a while (since maybe August 1989) and have definitely played a part in many of the major themes and memes, but never consistently blogged. I have always considered myself a fairly decent communicator and everyone that knows me can testify that I am in no way an introvert. So, why not get up on a virtual soapbox and scream diatribes at the top of my lungs? Because I didn’t want to be that guy.

In geek culture, there’s tons of that guys and gals. It is a bit strange that in a group that is known for having lots of introverts that there is a significant sub-population that is willing to stand up and give you a 50 point dissertation on why your favorite thing sucks. Sometimes it is funny to hear one of these, but after a while, it just gets tiring. More importantly, I made an important observation as I advanced through my career: a lot of the big shots (a/k/a the people handing out the cash) were not big fans of that guys/girls. So, I decided to make sure that I was the smart, helpful, polite – yet still boisterous – guy instead. Overall, that has worked well for me. That is…until now.

A number of times over the past few years, I have felt the urge to sit down and write out my thoughts on a number of different topics. On occasion, I would scribble some thoughts down in a journal – yes, a paper journal! Other times, I would diagram something on the whiteboard or whip out OmniGraffle and put an idea down. Usually, I would just talk about it with some friends over beer and forget all about it after a few pints – oops. In the past year, I have been really trying to make a conscious effort to document life events and add some context around them. The impetus for this newfound goal was the arrival of my daughter 2.5 years ago. Having a kid really makes you think about the kind of person you were, you are, and are going to be…

Things reached a tipping point last week when someone asked me if I had a blog. I, sadly, had to tell them that I did not really have one. My explanation was that I wanted to wait until I had something “important” to say before blogging. I thought I should put more thought into what I wanted to say and not go on and post things simply because bits are cheap. After all, just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should do it.

Over the weekend, their question burned in my head and I started to ask myself, “Why aren’t you blogging?” Other than the fact that I was having a conversation with myself, I did not have a good answer. I chalked up my recent hesitation to bout of analysis paralysis. After a click or two here and there, I was off to the races. My blog was born!

I have been thinking about a whole bunch of topics for a number of years, so I hope that I am able to put some decent words to the page and cause some reflection in someone else’s mind. The biggest promise of this whole Interwebz thing is the ability to reach out and exchange thoughts, ideas, and dreams with other people. I am looking forward to an intelligent discussion with people I know as well as people I have yet to meet. And, if that doesn’t work so well, I can always fall back to the old standby of telling people why their favorite thing sucks. That’s how we used to roll on Usenet after all…