Ramble with Me

Starting Late… May 25, 2007

Well let’s see. I’ve been using the internet in some way, shape, or form since 1983. This was long before domain names were used. How many people remember e-mail addresses like this:

…!ihnp4!umn-cs!umn-phys!lee

Not many I’m sure. I’ve just dated myself.

Anyway, while early to the internet, I’m late to blogs. I’ll admit it, when I first heard about this new “fad” called blogs, that’s exactly how I thought of it…a new fad that would be over before it started (kinda like push-content from the late 90′s). I sighed, and just started waiting it out.

Boy was I wrong. Not only did it catch on, but it actually started showing value! It’s ability to communicate what people are thinking in a casual manner, rather than the ridged “create a website” manner, makes it appealing for just getting thoughts down on paper. Once a thought is down on paper, it’s suddenly available to the entire world to see.

Almost overnight, the amount of content on the internet increased dramatically, and the quality of the content was surprisingly high.

What finally convinced me that blogs were not something to avoid was earlier this year when I was talking to a co-worker. A new manager started in our company that we knew nothing about. While talking about how this new manager would work, my friend mentioned that he was reading this new manager’s blog for insights on him. I turned around and said “He has a blog? How did you know”. My friend simply did an internet search, found the blog, and had gained a lot of insights on this individual. I was now sold on blogs.

I could see it now. When considering whether to hire someone, I would now not only look at their resume, work samples, interview results, and references. But now I had one more avenue…their blogs. Could I actually get a feel for what a new hire would be like, how they’d fit with the team, what their work ethic is like, etc., simply by reading their public blog? I don’t know, but I’ll let you know as I explore this further…

It’s taken the last few months for me to go from “hey, these are useful”, to “hey, I need to do one”, to “ok, now I’ve started one”.

So, I’m starting late. So what. Better late than never. Good things come to those who wait. Patience is a virtue. There is never…ah, forget it, you know what I mean.

Now I’ve started…let’s see what happens next…enjoy.

…and to my next boss, I really am a great guy, so hire me…
…oh, and to my current boss…no, I’m not looking right now…