Ideas of March

If you haven’t read an Ideas of March post yet they all start by explaining what an Ideas of March post is. I’m just going to link to Chris Shiflett’s 2012 update.

I believe I’m suppose to write about writing. When I started this blog in 2008 post-graduation it began as a tiny link hidden away in the footer of my portfolio website. I couldn’t write back then. Now, five years on, I’ve become exceedingly efficient at it (if you’ll excuse the Matrix quote) and this blog has become my website. That’s not to suggest I’ve gotten any better at writing (obviously), only that I’ve become more prolific.

What Do I Write About?

I blog because it exercises my mind. It forces me to think deeper and it allows me to share ideas and things that I’ve learnt.

I can knock out a thousand words before breakfast. A nice skill to have but one with many downsides. Primarily: I have more drafted posts than published ones. Only after I’ve tried to write about something do I realise how much I truly know. I think a lot of people would benefit from analysing the ideas they’ve expressed; they’ll probably come to a similar conclusion.

That is one reason why I write about some topics and not others.

I try to avoid preaching “best practices”, only techniques I find useful (though I’m sure there’s evidence to suggest otherwise). I like to share my experiences related to my career; you can’t beat a conference write-up. But above all, I never comment on industry-centric issues. Professionalism, elitism, sexism. I do not write about these things. It’s not that I don’t have opinions or interests — I do — it’s just that I’d rather concern myself with other, more positive topics. That doesn’t mean I choose to remain ignorant and shun any responsibility I may have as a fellow website maker, only that I choose not to share my thoughts on the Web.

I rarely blog about myself either — the “me” outside of the web designer & front-end developer. I have an account but I don’t use Facebook. I login maybe twice a year. I use Twitter strictly for “business” (though the occasional banal tweet is unavoidable). I simply have no desire to share my life online.

I know I’m not normal in that respect.

For kids these days the Web runs parallel to the physical world — a dimension where culture is not yet censored by man-made borders. A place where expression and sharing is encouraged and publicness is default. For people born into both worlds it’s understandable why the digital one is so exciting, so addictive. I belong to perhaps the last generation who can remember growing up without the Internet. I did, however, adopt it early and at a very young age. I made websites, I continued with over half a decade of education, and then I went back to making websites. Everyday I witness how powerful the Internet has become in shaping our future. Everyday I contribute to building part it.

Yet for me there is a disconnect.

As much as the Web fascinates me it also bores me. The more it draws me in the more I think about what is left behind: a world that I probably know less about. A world less explored. I guess that is why I only blog about website production. If I were to write about anything else I’d start to drift away from the keyboard.

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