Why do I (still) blog?

For me blogging is not necessarily about building an audience or readership. Really, that’s happening more on social networks like Twitter and Facebook, and on the motorcycle forum BonnevilleAmerica.com (BA.com). There is some cross-pollination between those three sites, but I believe this is natural.

While blogging on all my various sites is part of my larger personal brand, I primarily blog to own and maintain my own content separate from these social media sites or the forum. My blog content automatically goes to Twitter and Facebook. Many of my friends on BA.com are on Facebook. It’s all intertwined. But I still own it. If the forum crashes, or Facebook or Twitter go away or change their policies to such a degree that I no longer wish to participate, I don’t lose anything. Well, not exactly true. At most I lose specific interactions with people such as “wall posts” or “direct messages.” But those relationships can recover easily from the loss of such content. These sites are ephemeral and of course, completely out of our control. Some day they will be gone.

I don’t put a lot of time into other sites and services such as Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket, Delicious, etc. They are completely disposable to me, although losing Picasa (unlikely due to its ownership) would break some image links I’ve placed on my blog and the forum. All of my images on Facebook (and Twitpic) are backed up elsewhere.

If anything is falling through the cracks, it’s my tweets. I am not backing up my entries on Twitter, though recently I saw an article that either the Library of Congress or the Smithsonian are archiving every tweet ever tweeted. Crazy. I’m also not archiving my Facebook updates, but I rarely update Facebook directly, rather, I post to Twitter and those automatically update my facebook status.

The only remotely active blog I’m operating is my personal motorcycle blog, Friarsride.com, and that’s mostly during riding season. As mentioned above, these entries are posted on Twitter and Facebook. I no longer blog on my eponymous site, JohnBedard.com. That is just a simple portal. My portfolio site is technically a blog, but doesn’t get (or need) updated often. My business site is a blog, but I don’t feel the need to blog about the industry or the business at large.

What these all have in common is they are very low maintenance–I can update when I have the time or desire, and they are tied to social media. Regardless of what the Facebook of the day is or will be (of course, it’s currently Facebook, but it used to be Myspace). Tomorrow, who knows what the social media site will be. But I’ll still have all my stuff. The important stuff, anyway.

The New Cage

I’m now the proud (?) owner of a 2003 Chrysler 300M (the one that “looks like a Sebring, not the one that looks like a Bentley” as Zdenko said). Black, light tan (almost cream) leather interior, chrome 17″ wheels, 3.5l V6, and automatic with the sportshifter(?). It’s also has fairly high miles, most of which seem to be highway miles, at 138k. But it has been very well cared for. It has recent new brakes, tires, battery, timing belt and a bunch of other stuff I’m forgetting. It also has every bell and whistle: cruise control, electric adjustable heated seats, tilt column, CD changer, onboard computer, tire pressure sensors, full instrumentation, central locks, etc., etc., etc. Some of that seems silly to list; how many cars don’t come with most of that these days? But when you’re used to old VWs and a beat up old Dakota pick-up truck, you’re easily impressed. The car runs like stink (for what it is) and handles pretty well. For it’s size it seems to be pretty nimble. I got a decent price from a private party sale of $6k.

I’ll post a picture once I get a chance to wash it, but it looks a lot like this picture I found on the intarweb…

Tons more information, including idiosyncrasies…

Soon I’ll probably put the ’94 VW Golf up for sale. I’ll keep the Dakota for dump runs at least.