This is the 4,000th published post on my blog, going back to 2006 (including a couple of starts and stops across various platforms and a few years when I was encouraged not to have a site). I’ve written around 600,000 words here, which is equivalent to around 10 longer books.
I view this as my personal thinking space… sometimes it’s coherent and polished, and sometimes it’s a random thought or link to something that I want to share with others to read (and my poor friends and family can only take so many links about randomness in a day).
I think Seth Godin said it best here in his celebration of writing his 5,000th post a few years back…
The 5000th post* | Seth’s Blog:
My biggest surprise? That more people aren’t doing this. Not just every college professor (particularly those in the humanities and business), but everyone hoping to shape opinions or spread ideas. Entrepreneurs. Senior VPs. People who work in non-profits. Frustrated poets and unknown musicians… Don’t do it because it’s your job, do it because you can.
The selfishness of the industrial age (scarcity being the thing we built demand upon, and the short-term exchange of value being the measurement) has led many people to question the value of giving away content, daily, for a decade or more. And yet… I’ve never once met a successful blogger who questioned the personal value of what she did.