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Wide White: Another reason I still blog and tweet

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Another reason I still blog and tweet

Yes, that's right, tweet.

I've been tweeting a lot more lately than I used to - more than I've blogged actually. It's much faster for expressing quick thought or linking to a story that intrigues me.

Those of you non-tweeters, you can stop laughing at the word "tweet" and any other twit/tweet references. Yes, tweet/twitter/etc. are ridiculous-sounding words, but we didn't come up with the name now, did we? Thousands of people drive Hyundais despite an awful name.

Okay, a crappy Korean car was a bad analogy.

Regardless, I was reminded tonight of why I still engage in social media like this. This blog's 4th anniversary is in 9 days. I posted some thoughts about this blog a few months ago, but at the risk of sounding redundant will throw a few more out there.

I started with the idea of being a big shot in Wisconsin conservative politics. "Wide White" alluded to my last name and my political leanings (wide right...I know, it's a stretch). In some ways, I started to move towards being that big shot, especially after breaking through with a big post outing a state senator for some rather contentious comments he made.

Over the last 4 years, I've left politics as a career, left the state of Wisconsin, and have all but left political activism as I've struggled to support a party I once (naively) thought was so great.

Naturally, the content on this blog shifted. It was heavily political. Now it's more personal. There's freedom in being able to say what I think, but there's also more limited readership since the content is rather unpredictable. I garner roughly 25-30 percent of the readership I once did.

But I'm no longer pressured to post every day. I post when I want, what I want. If people want to read it, that's great (and I'm a bit surprised). Posts range from local politics to family updates to national issues.

But back to why I'm still doing this. As I've said before, my "blog father" (that's such a weird title) is Owen Robinson over at Boots and Sabers. Owen has a wife who occasionally blogs on Boots and Sabers too. Her name is Wendy and she also happens to tweet at @Samdham. Tonight, she said:

Samdham
When @onejoey goes more than a few hours w/o tweeting and his wife goes w/o blogging, I wonder if they are bringing babies into the world.
Samdham
So excited for these people I've never met!

And that's what "social media" - Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. - is really all about. For all of the great ideas and collaboration that social media offers, I think the greatest value is in the relationships that are formed and maintained.

Blogging has provided much more than a writing/venting/thinking outlet for me. I've met people I didn't know before like Owen, Sean, and Bill - some briefly at an event, others for lunch, and others have stayed at my home - and have kept up with family and friends who are hours away, like my mom and my cousin. This blog has served purposes I couldn't have known it would when I started it.

So thank you for reading. More than that, thank you for interacting! It's never fun to post something you think will have relevance to a lot of people and receive no feedback or interaction.

And for those of you thinking about jumping into the Twitter fray, you can find me at @onejoey.

6 Comments:

Blogger Kara Jo declared,

Smiling over here, Joey. Liked the post.

2/03/2010 8:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous declared,

Just wanted to drop a line and say I've been reading your blog since it was a "political blog" and check in ever so often. I was very happy for you when you announced your marriage, followed by the annoucement of a baby, which turned into babies! How exciting. Keep on blogin' I think you do a great job!

2/03/2010 6:55 PM  
Blogger Wendy declared,

Isn't it amazing how many friends you make through blogging and Twitter? Most of the people who are our good friends now are people we met through Boots and Sabers.

(And it's been several hours again, so I'm wondering if you're off having babies...)

2/03/2010 9:34 PM  
Blogger Dana declared,

You give me a reason to not give up...you're my inspiration!...you're...lol, ok so I'm over exaggerating (sp?) slightly. But I did like the post and it does make me think I should jump on that blog of mine. I always though you needed pics to make it interesting. You're proof you don't.

2/04/2010 12:11 PM  
Anonymous Bill Roehl declared,

Finally catching up on some of the blog posts I starred for later reading/commentary--for some reason I have less time lately (the things you will soon discover Mister!)

---

Ahh yes, the social aspect to the web--something which I never expected would happen the way it has for me.

I have been reading your site probably every since I found you were in Burnsville but only recently have I found a good person to chat with and make changes to my own life because of that connection.

For that I say thanks and keep it up dude.

2/06/2010 8:19 AM  
Blogger Joey declared,

Thanks guys, glad to have some good vibes here! (Can I say "good vibes" and not be a California stoner?)

2/08/2010 11:31 AM  

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