Meme With An Actual Purpose

I’ll just quote what Katz said about it (got it from her as well)

Saw this meme making the rounds, and I thought I’d participate. Because as far as memes go, this one goes beyond self-promotion (although I suppose it still is, in the teensiest way…that’s why it’s still fun, grin) because it actually has purpose!

1. How long have you been blogging?
   Wow, 6 years as of this posting! The calendar drop down list on my home page has an archive of the months/years… disregarding the 1979 “test” entry, I started in 2003.

2. Why did you start blogging?
   Hmmm, I guess this post would partially explain it. #12 (below) would probably explain the rest.

3. What have you found to be the benefits of blogging?
   The ability to have “discourse” with a much wider audience. I like hearing opinions, no matter how different they are from mine; it makes me understand people and the world better.

   It also allows me to articulate my rather “unique” perspective ¹ But the truth is, it’s not unique at all, there are a bunch of “enlightened” peeps that share the same perspective as I do in life. Meaning because I take the time to explain why I think this and that way, people who don’t agree with me, at least understand where I’m coming from – and proper discourse is still achieved in spite of different perspectives.

4. How many times a week do you post an entry?
   Ideally it would be one per day (obviously I have no requirements of them being “siginificant” posts)

5. How many different blogs do you read on a regular basis?
   I use an RSS reader, so I don’t keep count, I read blogs via RSS the same way a person would absorb a newspaper I guess.

6. Do you comment on other people’s blogs?
   Yep

7. Do you keep track of how many visitors you have? Is so, are you satisfied with your numbers?
   Yes and not applicable. I find it more interesting how a bunch of my posts are actually helpful. I have very technical posts (about programming, product reviews etc.) and it’s surprising to see how many hits they get over the months, and the numbers never deteriorate.

8. Do you ever regret a post that you wrote?
   Nope – it’s my nature to be brutally frank, and I put my name out there so I’m not hiding under anonymity – if I say something, I mean it… and more importantly I’ll stand by it regardless of the consequences.

9. Do you think your audience has a true sense of who you are based on your blog?
   Very much so, If you would click on the “Perspective” category, all those posts usually are of very controversial topics where I state my side and exhaustively explain why I came to those conclusions.

   I think it’s a good thing, because it makes it possible for me to be myself without any compromise – wether for the sake of political correctness or otherwise.

   It also “weeds” out the people that don’t matter; that is to say that “real friends” or those with the potential of earning my respect and friendship tend to be the people who can understand me. They don’t need to agree with me, but it’s paramount that they understand me if they’re worth being friends with or not.

10. Do you blog under your real name?
    Yes… no compromise 🙂

11. Are there topics that you would never blog about?
    Not really; from controversial (Perspective section) to mundane (Nonsense section), I’ve done it all.

12. What is the theme/topic of your blog?
    While I do post about absolutely anything… my blog’s overall purpose is to just chronicle my life and mind.

    One thing I’ve been always proud of is that I’m a very consistent guy with regards to arguments and issues. That is to say that unlike people who flip-flop on arguments when its convenient for them, I never had to “manipulate” truths in any “debate” I’ve ever had. This usually makes my arguments rock-solid, because even if you try to dig up my past posts, you cannot, and will not find things that will contradict what I’m saying in a current argument.

    The only time there will be an inconsistency is if I changed my tune along the way; which means either I’ve been proven wrong. But even then, I would readily admit the mistake and announce it on the blog for future reference 🙂

    This exercise is especially fun when there’s an issue I’ve been vindicated in. History doesn’t lie, and fortunately, my history has been pretty solid. Mind you, this isn’t arrogance or closed mindedness; I love to use something a skeptic once said in one of the podcasts I’ve heard. He was explaining what he says to Religious nuts who say that atheists or skeptics are “closed minded”:

    Hardly… In fact, we’re the most open people you will ever know; just give us proof and we’ll be the first to apologize and change our tune. So us versus say people like the creationsts… who’s more closed-minded?

    While that was in a religious context, it’s applicable to my view of life general. And having said that, I’ve yet to be proven wrong with most of my “takes” on my overall perspective of “life.”

13. Do you have more than one blog? If so, why?
    No, only this, but I try my best to get it to crosspost (if the technology permits) to as many of my other “networks.”