New Blogs and New Directions

One of the concerns that has long been in the back of my mind is "how can I manage a professional and a personal web presence at the same time?"

For a while, I wondered if there was any need to keep the two separate. After all, tagging and category settings can be used to separate "professional" from "private" posts. However, as the number of posts, of any kind, increases the blog starts to look more like a mess of clutter than the "balanced mix" of types of post that I originally envisaged.

This is why I am going to create another blog... This one will be used to post ideas and experiences related to work, or the sort of activities and ideas that relate to my work. The specifics have not yet been fully planned

However, I am certain that my work is taking me more and more towards training and instructional design. So, I am going to blog about topics related to ID, elearning, and elearning implementation.

I'm also planning on launching a Twitter account. If I can make it accept image files, I will share the random pics from my day that way. Otherwise, I'll be using it as a daily journal, without images.

The new blog is called "Operations Theatre" and, as mentioned earlier, it will focus on topics related to: elearning design and deployment; topics of professional interest; and, website design and deployment (I am a beginner on this one).

A note about coming topics: Team Awesome is getting a new member. Puppy pictures and stories will doubtless follow.

Edit: 29 April 2010 - The original title of the new blog, "Learner's Craft" was replaced with "Operations Theatre". I could not use "Learner's Craft", so I scrambled to come up with something new.

-- This post was sent fom a mobile device. I apologize for any spelling and grammatical errors that may have gone unnoticed.

An ode to lost blogging...

It has been quite a while. The funny thing is: I don't really have an explanation. Did I fall off the planet? Might as well have.

Notice that I did not say "I don't have an excuse." It may seem a semantic difference to some, but if here is one thing that has started to irk me, it is explanations delivered as excuses. Delays, lateness, failing to respond... I seem to get a lot of comments that come down to "I'm just too busy and your tasks are too far down on my priorities." Actually, I like that explanation. Especially if it was followed with an estimate of when the situation will change.

So what is my own explanation? Working long hours, courses, playing computer games, swimming... the list can go on indefinitely. The main thing that I notice, upon reflection, is that I have not blogged in some time because I put something, anything, else ahead of writing.

I guess a lot of other people can sympathize. Especially when your job involves a lot of writing, and if you are taking a course that requires writing in the evenings, more writing just seems onerous and soul crushing.

But, I'm returning to the blog. My main motivation: to keep writing and updating my own personal thoughts. I came to realize that with so much "work writing" and "school writing", I was limiting the kind of thinking and discussion that I can focus on to those two areas as a function of the time devoted to both.

That is to say, I've read so many more things and had so many more ideas that I have not yet put to paper because all of my writing time is devoted to topics that are not personal.

Thus, my return to blogging. I've realized that I need to try to write and update this area regularly, because it is (right now) my best place for expression.

So I guess this is more of a paen to blogging than a real statement or post.


-- This post was sent fom a mobile device. I apologize for any spelling and grammatical errors that may have gone unnoticed.