To blog or not to blog
The presumed default now appears to be that as a tech-savvy person, if you're doing something big then you'll be blogging about it. And I assumed that I'd do similar on my grand trip around the world. But I don't think I will. In a boring bullet point style here's why:
a) Subject Matter: Middle class white-boy does at almost 30 what other people do the year before uni.
I think it kind of falls at the first hurdle. What exactly can I say that's new and inspiring. My thoughts on America were "oooh, everything really is big" and "skyscrapers are tall". Hardly inspiring sticky content. I can't help thinking that most other travel commentators have done that before and better.
b) I missed my window of opportunity
If i was going to do it, I should have started prior to America and SXSW. Starting now seems jarring, and as of Tuesday I've already left Japan for Hong Kong.
I'd have to install Wordpress, set up the blog, etc - and pride dictates I couldn't live with a default theme. Alas, my slightly rusty CSS and HTML skills mean it would take too long to set that up properly.
As an ongoing operational thing, most of my effort at the moment is about doing fun tourist things, essential things (like finding food that I can eat) and boring back-home things like juggling money. I'm not convinced I've the time to devote to this.
Also, when I arrive in Sydney I'm going to be working again, and that reduces my drive to write a lot.
c) Anything interesting is too personal to plaster over the internets.
"The emotions I felt sat on the Heathrow Express were the first time I realised that I was actually doing what I was doing..."
It's whiny EMO stuff. The internet already has enough of that. And I'd rather that I was associated too heavily with it either.
d) I don't actually write that well
My copy is full of flowery phrases and generally needs subbing with an axe. Until there's an online subbing service I can submit my work to for a reasonable fee, I'm stuck with that. Annoyingly I'm aware that my copy isn't that sharp, were I in blissful ignorance I could just publish and be damned.
e) I'm putting up photos on flickr
I'm a visual person, (I'm happiest explaining stuff with a bit of a3 paper and a pencil) and I take far better photos than I write words.
