During Thanksgiving 2009, I was talking with a friend about writing. And I was casting about, trying to come up with some different approaches to reach a reading public. My friend said, “What about a blog?” And I said, “Never thought about it.” But right then and there I did start thinking about it. I told her I wouldn’t be the kind of blogger who reports what I’ve had for lunch or how I spent my summer vacation or when I realized I was a writer. She said that was fine; I could write about anything. She was right, but the thought of trying to come up with connected thoughts about something/anything seemed intimidating. I said I would think further about it and that, in theory, I liked the idea: the sense of direct connection with readers, of their ability to respond in a comments area, of my words going out into the electronic universe. I just didn’t know what words to send out.
A week later, I gave it a tentative try. Following an easy step-by-step process, I had created a basic blogsite via Blogger. Here was my first baby step:
What Is Your Pet’s Eco-footprint?
In Time To Eat the Dog? The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, Robert and Brenda Vale argue that the resources required to feed a dog equal about twice the eco-footprint of an SUV. Based on their research, my daughter's cloud minnows have a footprint of a Vespa LX150.
Posted 5th December 2009 by Martin Perlman
That was it.
Not exactly brilliant but it was a start. This first posting set the tone for the ones that followed on an irregular basis, weekly, sometimes twice a week: The Future of Reunions in the Digital Age, Facebook Connects to the Other Side, Clouds R Us (more on that one later).
I alerted friends and family, and, to reach a larger audience, I found web articles on the same subject (Reunions, Digital) and in the reader comments area made a comment and added a link to my post. People visited. Some commented. I was a blogger.