Last week, I feared I was going to lose my blog altogether. A series of events led to some all-round nastiness: bloated MySL tables, some corruption in the database and some long stretches when the blog wasn’t available.
As the problems stretched out, my initial reaction was surprisingly close to sorrow. I hadn’t realized how much of my identity or sense of self (I’ll let the philosophical among you figure out if there’s a difference between those two) was tied up in the blog, both as noun and verb. It’s not that I live and die by what happens here, or what Sitemeter reports, but it is tied into a couple of things, including my continuing struggle to figure out what is (and can be) happening with journalism and media, and my place in the conversation about that.
But the more possible it seemed that I might have to start over with Notes from a Teacher, the more I started thinking about what it would become. The blog was saved, but I’m still thinking about what this blog wants to be and how it will change.
Some of that change is inevitable. The semester is about to begin and that means less time to surf and blog, at least on the three days of the week when I am pretty much solidly in the classroom (and, no, that does not mean I have a three-day week). Even with that, it feels like it’s time for a little reinvention, some changes, or at least some tweaks.
Stay tuned. I’m not sure what form they will all take, but changes are coming.
Stewart:
Quite right. As for dropping/reworking squibs, I’ll make sure to provide sources for anything I stop doing.
Cheers.
Mark,
You’ve been a great supporter of mine oiver the years and I read your site daily for inspiration. Should you decide to drop the squibs let us know where we might find other timely journoblogalism links. As for quitting blogging – PFFT! Both of us know we’re way past that.
Thanks for the kind words, all. Whatever pleasure you find here, only tries to repay the value I get from the work you folks do.
John: I’m tending toward the idea of letting go of/substantially reworking the squibs. When I started, there were only a few of us doing regularly media link blogging. Since then, many more have emerged.
Antonio: I don’t think I can stop blogging. I need the form to help me think.
Angela; I hope that continues to be true into the future.
Thanks, again, to all.
Mark
[...] Notes from a Teacher: Mark on Media » Rethinking notes “The more possible it seemed that I might have to start over with Notes from a Teacher, the more I started thinking about what it would become. The blog was saved, but I’m still thinking about what this blog wants to be and how it will change.” (tags: blogs journalism content+strategy change adapting tidbits+fodder) [...]
I would have been just as upset if your blog went down the tubes. I love this blog. Always find useful stuff here.
Please, do not stop blogging.
My two cents: I understand the demands of the paying gig. If I had to choose, I’d scale back the daily squibs and focus on the analysis/interpretation/Mark’s take on the news and advances of the day. I find them insightful. I can get the links elsewhere.