Blog Anniversary

Missed the anniversary last Friday but its now been 19-years that I started this silly blog as a place to jot down my thoughts. Back then about half my posts were about sports (baseball in particular).  

Sports has taken up less and less of my time and attention but old habits die hard and I'm still a fan of my Boston teams.

The photo to the left is of Fred Lynn who was one of my favorite players gowning up (still believe Lynn would have been a Hall of Famer if he stayed in Boston). Going with Lynn seemed right to mark the anniversary although Steely Dan's Hey Nineteen may have been a more clever way.

The Code of the Entrepreneur

Steven Pressfield with some excellent advice not just for writers but for everyone in general: 

I will expect no remuneration until I have created value for someone else. - Dan Sullivan

An excellent coda to live by whether you be a writer, entrepreneur, or otherwise. The thing that gives me pause, however, is the fact that I've been doing this blog for 16+ years but haven't made any money off it. Does that mean I'm not creating value? I'm doing it wrong? I prefer to view the situation as me not being an artist but an artiste - in the way Pressfield explained. 

Think other bloggers who are also compelled to toil at this often thankless task will understand the feeling.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The many lives of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah

- Tim Ferriss is getting "back to basics" meaning he's going back to blogging on a regular basis.

- Very Cool

- Interesting - new study in mice finds boosting NAD (500 mg/every other day) reduces alcohol-induced liver damage. Gonna get me some NAD

- Truth

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Tom Brady practiced nude? I did not know that.

- Very cool - archaeologists uncover ancient Mayan "megaopolis"  in Guatemala

- This stat is troubling

- I still get a kick out of this. A muggle IT person working at Hogwarts.

- Heh heh

- A periodic reminder of why I blog

-  Awesome!

Why I Blog

This touching post about a woman retracing her deceased husband's digital steps hit home. It made me think about why I have this blog in the first place. This blog is NOT for YOU the READER. This blog is for first and foremost for ME. (Although I do hope you find some enjoyment sharing my thoughts and interests.)

Let me explain.

Many times I write a post because if I don't put a particular thought down - it will keep circling my brain to the point of distraction. Writing the thought down allows my brain to say "OK on to the next thing". Plus I will also jot down occasional thoughts because if I didn't they would be lost to the ephemeral nature of life. With these little gems jotted down I can look back at posts from years ago and experience them as if they were new.

I will also sometimes note things which I found interesting or amusing during my day. Or document trips or experiences I might have had. My own personal digital time capsule. I can see a post from five years ago and it will spark memories about where I was in my life, what my kids were doing and many other feelings that might have otherwise been lost. These memories are precious to me.

That's why I blog. Maybe you should blog too. It's great therapy.  

Blog Updated

Finally had to update the blog to a new style. The last one was good for close to 8 years but when Halo turned off their comments widget on October 1st - it kind of forced my hand.

The update kept the old posts but gone are my cumulative stats (over 1.3 million page views) and my blogroll. I'm not in this for the stats - so that's not a big deal to me but I am sad about the blogroll. So far I have only one blog in the blogroll but my plan is to add one each day to get it back to its old robust self. Keep an eye out and if I forget to add your blog please drop me a reminder and I'll remedy the situation.

Hope you like the new look.

One Million

Sometime last night this site got it's one millionth page view. I think that's pretty cool. I know that number isn't that great when compared to some of the bigger blogs out there but still to be able to get one million of anything is an accomplishment in my eyes.

The site also has had over 700,000 visitors. That means since starting this blog back in March of 2004 - this site has averaged over 10,000 visitors and 14,000 page views per month. Many of you have been here since the start. Thank you very much for stopping by.

Eric McErlain Interview

Nice interview of Eric McErlain. He covers the future of sports blogging but he makes an interesting observation that really caught my attention.

I'm beginning to experience some interesting tensions in my own life. It's fairly common for many folks to define themselves through their job: I'm a lawyer, doctor, bricklayer, etc. But now that we have the Web, there's a whole other side of people's personalities that suddenly have a creative outlet.

In my own case, I'm having a Web 2.0 identity crisis. On the one hand, I'm Eric McErlain, the reasonably successful corporate writer and communicator. It's provided me with a comfortable lifestyle, rewarding work and the opportunity to work with and for some very interesting people.

But then there's Eric McErlain the sports blogger. That Eric McErlain gets invited to watch a hockey game with the team owner, helps teach seminars on blogging at the National Press Club and gets written up in Forbes, Rolling Stone and Newsweek.

Guess which Eric has more fun? And once you answer that question, tell me what you do about it. As for me, I'm still trying to figure it out.

One of the big dangers of blogging is that it is addicting and can sometimes cut into time that should be spent on "real-world" work. The healthy balance is tough to maintain. That is why you see so many bloggers get burned out from blogging.

This is probably a subject that should be explored in more depth.