6 Years of Blogging...So What?

Six years ago today, I fired up GearBits for the first time with no idea what would become of it. I was pretty sure I had no desire to turn it into a business (been there, done that), but, apart from that, I wasn't at all certain what I'd write about, how frequently, or in pursuit of what objectives (if any).

Now, it's pretty clear that GearBits has gone through several stages in its short life. At first, it was a curiosity...a chance to learn about blogging, host a webserver, and some other aspects of a techno-centric life that are best acquired through hands-on experience.

Then, I invited some friends to play. Mitch, Sam, and Ken, and later Bob, all brought unique voices, but as the site was never more than a casual outlet for occasional thoughts, it never really gelled with any of them. But, seeing friends contribute their thoughts and ideas in ways very different than I would have was educational for me and a lot of fun.

As their interest vacillated, my own did as well. While I continued to post, it became much more sporadic. I deviated from technology and consumer electronics more heavily into politics around the 2004 and 2008 elections, primarily as a cathartic tool...one small voice calling out the absurdities and injustices.

Then, in Spring 2008, something happened that changed how I see my blog entirely: Twitter. I've become a bit of a Twitterholic. As my brain is rather limited in its capacity for complex thought, many of the things I think seem to fit nicely in 140 characters or less. Since my joining Twitter less than a year ago, I've made nearly 4,000 posts (tweets). Compare that to less than 1,200 posts on GearBits in six-year span.

But why? Thinking about it, it seems there are three reasons: convenience, engagement, and reduced expectations. First, posting to Twitter is incredibly convenient; I can do it through text messages, via the web interface, on custom apps...all easy and quick. Second, given the size of the community on Twitter, it's easy to be engaged in conversations and get feedback very quickly. That's rewarding, so it prompts me to do it more often. Comments work here, too, but they're not nearly as quick and convenient to post, read, or respond to.

Third, and perhaps most surprising (to me), is that I've always felt like anything I post on GearBits needed to have some meat...be substantial. While I clearly didn't always accomplish that, I almost always strived for it. On Twitter, however, there's no such pressure to create meaningful content. When giving a talk, every sentence matters. When chatting with friends, however, there's a much lower bar to clear. And that's the way Twitter feels to me.

So, will I continue with GearBits? Probably...almost definitely. I want to continue having my own server -- it's just too convenient. Since that's in place, hosting Movable Type isn't a huge amount of incremental effort or cost. A second reason GearBits will continue is that I will, from time to time, have information I'd like to "put out there" that doesn't easily fit on a tweet. Product reviews, short essays (like this one), graphical content, etc. all fit much better on a proper blog than on Twitter. Finally, there's value in what I've already done. I don't get huge numbers of people at GearBits...a thousand or so each day...so, if it were to go away, it's not like the masses would rise up and demand I put it back up. But, during the six years I've been adding content, there are some pages that a nontrivial number of people seem to find helpful (see the most frequently commented entries, for example). So, if having it around helps a couple people a day fix a problem or make a better tech decision, then that's more than enough.

Thanks for reading (if anyone actually does) and I'll hopefully see you in another six years.