200607181510.jpgDarren’s got a new group writing project going. Welcome Back, Dad!

This one’s on what you would do differently if you could start your blog over. Since I’m a bi-blogger (i.e. I have a personal blog and pro blogs) I’ll provide two sets of answers.

Pro Blogging

First off I’ll confess: I feel a little silly talking about starting over when I’ve been doing it less than six months. Though, I suppose that’s an entire generation of hardware, and more than twice the lifespan of the average blog. (I’m inferring from Dave Sifry’s 2006 State of the Blogosphere address, where he says 55% of blogs are still active after three months. Ergo 45% are not.) So, perhaps I’ve got something to say after all.

What would I have done differently? First, I’d have made more lists. I’d have thought about the type of posts I wanted to do up front and made long lists of topics within each type. Perhaps I’m a little slow on the uptake, but I’m just learning the value of this as a tool for remembering ideas and sparking new ones.

Second, I’d have doubled my estimates on how much time it would take. Goes back to the old adage: “The secret to happiness is to lower your expectations.” (I coined that back in high school. Since my 10 year reunion has come and gone, I feel justified using the adjective old.) If I anticipate having to spend a boatload of time but only wind up needing a dingies worth, then I will be pleasantly surprised by the extra time I have magically found. Much better than doing things the other way around.

Personal Blogging

Now I’m in my element since I’ve passed the three-year birthday earlier this month. (Damn! Forgot to celebrate.) This really does make me pretty old.

So, what would I do differently? Once I figured out that I would stick with it, I would have moved to my own domain name sooner. It was one of those scary things I didn’t understand but actually turned out to be pretty darn simple. That’s about it though. Everything else is a part of the learning process, so it’s hard to go back and short-circuit the loop.