It’s a little known fact is that I have two blogs, this one and “Slimfast Buddha Live Here”. It’s a little known fact because so few people have read the posts I've made on “Slimfast Buddha.” (The blog's name alludes to a nickname a friend gave me to pay tribute to my love of all things Zen and the fact that after a few surgeries years back, I was frightfully thin. Zen + Skinny = Slimfast Buddha.)
I posted my first blog entry at “Slimfast” in May 2006, shortly after our dog Miles died. That entire post amounts to: Long Live Miles The Great, the king of all dogs and his snoring, big tail-exploring, problem-ignoring big bad heart. Not a day . . . Miley. Not a single day . . .”
(God, I miss that dog.)
That same day I also wrote about our new dog Slim: This dog, Slim, he follows me around all day like I'm his dad or something. I tell him I have three kids to keep my eyes on already, but he sees my bluff. He's a smart dog, being just a pup. I bet if he was a boy, he'd be a ladies man. He's smooth and good looking with these steely blue eyes, and he's cocky-sure. I like his style most days, but he's relentless. One-track mind dog. Dogs are pretty cool, though. Good teachers, too. Slim's teaching me about confidence. Pure-breed little bastard.
A lot has changed since then. I now have four kids, and it turns out that Slim wasn’t nearly as smart as I thought he was going to be. In fact, he's not too bright at all. Further, he didn’t teach me nearly as much about confidence as I anticipated. Our cats push him around all the time.
What hasn’t changed is Miles is still a major influence in my life, and few people visit “Slimfast Buddha.” Although I had big (but probably naive) plans for “Slimfast,” it never became what I envisioned. As the years slipped by, I wrote less and less, and before I knew it, the blog had pretty much become little more than a poor excuse for a journal that I more or less neglected. Still, I’m fond of it and appreciate the intention and effort I initially put into it.
I may be reaching here, but what I find really interesting about the two blogs and the two dogs are the correlations one could draw if so inclined, and I am. Miles and Slim are both dogs, but they came along at far different times in my life and mean different things to me. Similarly, “Slimfast” and “Absopositively” are both blogs, but they hold very different meaning. “Slimfast” is like Miles, an old friend I’ll always have a strong connection with. “Absopositively” is like Slim, a work in progress that continually morphs before my eyes. I don’t know where either will end up, but I know it will be interesting. Both blogs have also been influenced by Facebook, but in far different ways.
“Slimfast” was created in the pre-Facebook age when “social” and “media” were words few people put one in front of the other. Back then a blog was social media. A blog was the long-form equivalent of Twitter. A blog was your Facebook page. Today, it’s safe to say Facebook has pretty much supplanted “blogging” for the Average Joe.
I've written about technology roughly 15 years, I’ve been lucky to see things like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, and other sharing sites in their infancy, often while they were still in beta and only a select few were privy to using them. I wrote about Facebook, for example, nearly two years before the world started to notice and its popularity exploded. I had no idea the impact it would have. The impact has been huge.
On a personal level, I’ve experienced Facebook’s impact via these blogs. Sometime late this week or early next, for example, “Absopositively” will pass “Slimfast” in the total number of page views it amassed. Again, I started “Slimfast” in 2006. I started “Absopositively” about 40 days ago. I attribute the disparity in numbers entirely to Facebook, and I view Facebook's impact as positive.
I’ve always been hesitant to share personal writing with close friends, let alone anyone with Internet access. Hence, I made little to no effort to share "Slimfast." For better or worse, though, writing is the best way I know how to communicate. Thus, the concerted decision and effort to share “Absopositively” because I want to step into the light a bit more, make a decided effort to examine that part of myself I've never been pleased with, and dare to share what I discover while simultaneously learning from the people who read and respond.
I have no idea what value there ultimately is in having a blog or what value those who read it might obtain. I do know Facebook and social media has made sharing what I write incredibly easy and convenient and exposed me to all types of creativity, wisdom, knowledge, insight, and varying views from all types of people I otherwise wouldn’t have had easy access to. I’ve truly been enlightened on a few occasions, entertained on many others, and always interested.
There is power in Facebook. I’m thankful I’m allowing myself to tap into it, both to learn more about the people I value and to learn more about myself.
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