The First Use of My Web Log

Truth be told, I have avoided creating a web log for a very long time. I have been using the internet since the late 80's/early 90's. Over time, I grew to follow two specific beliefs

1. There is no reason to put up all your information on the internet, privacy is very important
2. It is better to keep your mouth shut and let everyone think you're a fool than to open it up and remove all doubt.

I was much younger then and was not confident that I had anything worthwhile to say on the internet. Six of the past seven years have been spent in academia. Architecture didn't pan out when they found out my artistic abilities were sub-par. I found the communication program and actually *liked* my classes. They were intriguing, interesting and enjoyable. When all was said and done, communication fit me much better than architecture did. After I took a year off, I went to graduate school for my Masters of Science in Public Relations, because I wanted to further my education before entering the field.

Now I am educated and trained and am confident in expressing intelligent beliefs that other people will hopefully find interesting. And thus, this web log.


So now you might be asking yourself "Why in the world does a public relations guy hate buzz words?" Better yet, you probably wondered why I have called it a web log and not a blog. Buzz words, according to Wikipedia, are used to create the pretense of knowledge with a word that has a cloudy meaning. That is not a bad thing because it creates shared meaning.

Unfortunately, over time the word is then applied across all industries and (mis)used by people who want to sound savvy and knowledgeable. Examples of these are "buzz", "2.0", and "open source." All these words had excellent uses (well, I never liked buzz in the first place, but it had a good use) and then they were misappropriated by people and applied in ways they were not intended. Some of those applications were good... others were just absurd (the Open Source Swift Kick to the Balls Project). So I rebel against them, trying my best not to use them unless quoting someone. I often find words that provide a clearer meaning.

As for web log versus blog, I just am sick of hearing the word "blog" over and over again. I'm aware of the irony of being on the site Blogger.com, but quite frankly it's one of the best sites to start a web log.

A few notes about this web log

• Anonymous posting is on. Some people are not comfortable posting their views with their name attached and I respect that. I ask that you do post with your ID if you're comfortable with it. Also please don't use anonymous posting as an excuse to be unnecessarily insulting.
• If you have any suggestions for buzz words, please comment with them or email them to me.
• All comments and feedback are welcome, be it positive or negative. I believe freedom of speech and opinion are important and I do not intend to moderate the comments section. Flame wars will be extinguished if they become too much.
• Last, this is meant to be fun! I want to share my thoughts and have thoughts shared with me. So let us educate each other and enjoy our vast levels of knowledge.

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