Hello World! « General

Well, I’m back.

It’s been exactly two years, six months, 1 day, and 12 minutes since I last published a post on my website.  You could say that I took a vacation from blogging got a real job, so coming back to the activity of blogging feels like running into an old friend that I’ve hardly talked to in years.  Do you feel the tension?!  Recently, my sister asked me to dig up some old blog posts, and you know what?  Reading my old posts, I remembered just how much fun it is to write.

The problem is that my writing skills have grown rusty, since I have spent the past eight years in a “business” environment writing:

• mostly bullet
• statements directed
• at managers and deans
• who “don’t have time” to
• appreciate literary wit…

…so I’ve been trolling the Internet looking for good tips for blogging.  Here’s a smattering of what I’ve found:

1. Offer the Reader Something

So, I can tell you right now that this post will offer you absolutely no rewarding value.  There it is.  In fact, I wrote it just in order to have something besides the WordPress default post to start off with.  So, now that we have gotten that out of the way, the next tip I found was:

2. Include Bulleted Point Lists

Done!  See my bulleted list above.  Actually, I’m a pro at this.  One thing I’ve learned over the past few years is that nobody in my department has an inclination for reading.  Especially not emails.  Especially not from me.  So, I’ve learned to avoid complete thoughts, because writing bullets is just way more effective.  But anyhow, I also read that you should…

3. Make Headlines Snappy

What could be better than “Hello World!”  And, I’ve included a nice “hello”-themed picture to go along with it.

4. Write with Passion

You can’t see me right now, but believe me, I am writing with much passion and vigor.  The reason for this is that I have had at least eight cups of coffee in the past three hours.  My right eye is pulsating like crazy and my hands are like paint shakers.  But, as Paul Erdős has taught us, without amphetamines, there can be no creativity.

5. Publish Often

Well, if you consider every two years to be “often”, strictly speaking, then I am good.

Seriously, I do plan to put a lot of useful stuff here.  The problem most people have with blogging is thinking up good content to share.  Some people spend weeks tinkering with their blog’s design and playing with plugins but then forget to, y’know, write something.  I, on the other hand, have a laundry-list of topics queued up to be posted here.  So, now that we’ve cut the tension and gotten introductions out of the way, I look forward to reacquainting myself with my blog.

It’s been a long time, old friend.