Surfing around because this exam I have on Tuesday is doing my head in – I randomly came across an Aussie blog by a Sydney media man called Phil Sim. And God it was refreshing to read what he has written. Crude like a true Aussie, but good points and analysis on things I think about myself regarding the technology sphere. Sometimes it annoys me with the amount of crap that get passed off as the latest meme (hot topic), pushed from the Americans that dominate the tech industry. Most bloggers just link to other content, usually because it benefits their blog rankings, but also because it requires little intelligence. Original analysis happens, but anyone can do that. Actual thought-provoking analysis is rarer to find.
It got me thinking: where are the other Aussies? This year I have met some great people like Tim, Lachlan, Lisa, Martin, Mick, Sri, Brownen, Nick, Jan, Jodie, and Christy (and I might as well drop my former partner in crime when we shook up our firm – Charlie :)); people I haven’t met but have had some great discussions with like Brisbane-based Chris (through the APML workgroup) and a Melbourne-turned-London work colleague Tim. And of course another score of people in the industry I have met through the year but are too lazy to blog! But what about the others – or rather, the other active and thought-provoking bloggers? People that give me, a news junkie, the reason to not have to read the pathetic mainstream media.
Turns out someone has already asked that question, and she now maintains a top 100 which is a great start for me to start adding to my RSS reader and find other local thinkers. There are some great bloggers there, so have a look.
I’ve also started to realise I have finally got myself into a blogging habit, since I restarted again this year. So now I need to take it to another level – blogging this year has been an excellent networking tool (people I meet read what I write and will get into chats offline with me) and it’s a great outlet for a writer like me to clear my head.
I am blogging because I love writing, and it helps develop my thoughts. And to that end, I’ve done alright according to the feedback – I seem to also get a fair view visits from search engine queries on some of my original thoughts, on top of my existing traffic stream due to the previous content on my blog (nine month travel blog on places most don’t visit!). However the thing about blogging is that it is a social medium, and is akin to have a conversation. It adds a dimension to writing that should be taken advantage of.
I had given myself a once a week policy to make sure I stay regular on this blog – studying fulltime, with fulltime work and having a life as a 23 year old red-blooded male is hard to balance. But now that I am in the habit, I think I can step it up and do more.
So what that means:
1) More postings. Not sure if I can do daily, but something to that effect. (God I am going to regret saying this…)
2) More engagement with memes. You can never get writers block with the tech blogosphere, so the only thing stopping me from regular postings is bad time management excessive alcohol consumption. Engagement with the memes forces me to keep up to date with this rapidly-changing industry
3) A new design because there is a lot more I want to be communicating (like my link blog) but also to take into account things like how people read in online environments which blog-writing-video-creating-and-rss-reading-machine Scoble got me thinking on his meme of what blogging should look like in the future.
So there – I’ve said it. I am going to look like a fool if I don’t follow through now (which is why I am writing this posting in the first place :))
