Nerdvana

So I’ve been trying to get more into blogging and writing with a bit of luck (you have to admit I’ve been doing better.). This all came about after izeafest. I was inspired by some of the advice I got from Merlin Mann. So I decided to really concentrate on my “personal brand”.

I know that sounds kind of lame and cliche but there’s a genuine point behind it. One of the reasons I never blog is because honestly, “who gives a fuck”. Most of the things I find interesting would make Urkle call me nerd.

I get facinated by languages and tearing apart and reverse engineering complex systems. My wife loves me to death and is very supportive. So I’ll run home to tell her the latest “neat” thing I’ve discovered and she smiles, nods, and pats me on the head. She doesn’t get it. Not that she’s less intellegent mind you, it’s just a simple lack of interest. I glaze over when she starts talking about gardening.

I was thinking about this the other day when I was trying to think about what I was going to blog about and then I realized. There are people out there who are interested. And most likely they would love to find other like minded people to discuss this stuff with.

Then I wrestled with the whole “Well I’m not that smart, I don’t really know as much as some of these people out there.”. It doesn’t matter. Be who you are, throw your thoughts and opinions out there. Let people correct you, it’s how you learn.

The key to all this is to be genuine and that’s where building your personal brand comes in. It’s important to me that my “online personality” is a fair reflection of who I am in real life. So many times I’ve met some of the bloggers in our network and have discovered “these people are just like themselves in real life.”. It makes it so much more personal when you read their posts after meeting them because you know this is real. This person is experiencing this, or has this thought or opinion and are genuinely interested. They aren’t just trying to drum up readers with asshattery or drama. One of my favorite people to read is Andrew Bennett over at Benspark. He’s a photographer, an avid kayaker, a proud father, and a bit of a geek. He’s genuine and it really comes out in his posts. I enjoy the chances I get to see him in person.

So I’m going to be doing some posts and maybe a bit of design around here to reflect my “personal brand”. To let my readers know (both of them…Hi mom.) a bit more about me and to add some of my own life and insights to my posts. I think it makes it easier to relate.

This blog is mostly about nerd stuff…tech, comics, gaming. But it’s also about my views on the world and the facinating people in it.

Welcome to Nerdvana.