I suppose the inaugural “this-is-why-I’m-blogging” post is in order—less than a rite of passage but much more than a necessary evil.  In a world where we have more control than ever over what we want in the media, where people turn to Twitter before their televisions for information and insight, I felt it was time I stepped into the blogosphere.  I am by no means an expert in anything; I won’t even pretend to be a jack-of-all-trades.  Luckily, from what I’ve heard, I don’t have to be.

I won’t pretend that my insight is going to be revolutionary. In fact, much of it you may have heard before.  I hope this can be a place where I can share my thoughts, my encounters, and my opinions in an effort to make this world a better place, one reader at a time.

Everyone has an opinion about something; I’ve been blessed with opinions about everything.  You might not agree with everything I say—in fact, that’s what great about this whole experience—you don’t have to.  Blogs are our personal soapboxes—our cyber sounding boards, if you will.  If I post something, even if no one reads it, it’s out there, and I’ve said my piece.  I certainly encourage and would love to foster discussion here.  This is going to be a learning experience for all of us.

So before I get too far, allow me to explain the goals of this endeavor.

1. Insight—We all have different experiences, knowledge sets, and outlooks we can share with each other, and I’ve found I enjoy other people’s perspectives quite a bit.  I felt it was time I verbalize (or textualize, rather) what I’ve learned to help others.
2. Intrigue—The whole blogging process is wild to me.  Who knew that we could all speak just as loudly as the big boys?  I’m putting my words out there, and I’m curious to see what impact this tiny blip on the screen of the information super highway will have on others.
3. Intelligence—This blog will be used to pass along information, ideas and other thoughts, and it will certainly not be used as an extended Facebook status.  Sure, I’ll update you on my life happenings when I think it adds value.  I’ll frequently draw on my experiences and conversations to elaborate on future posts, but I promise not to post things like “Bed. Sleep. Shower. Egg McMuffin. Work. Home. Shark Week.”  That’s web pollution.  I don’t want that, and you don’t want that.  And, I’ve already made that mistake.
4. Influence—I want to influence you.  I want to challenge you to think differently, to stretch your mind, your body, and your spirit to places you weren’t sure you wanted to go, all in a pursuit of a better understanding of the world around us—and the things much beyond what we see.
5. Interlude—I want this to be fun.  I want you to turn (or click) here when you’re having a rough day, or you need a good laugh.  I want you to think of my blog when someone asks, “What’s that blog where the guy doesn’t know anything but he makes stupid jokes just endearing and entertaining enough to keep me reading?” I want this to be that blog.

For the sake of brevity, I’ll end this preliminary post here.  I’m excited about this whole process.  I hope you give this novice-ex-journalist-with-a-whole-bunch-of-opinions blogger a chance.  I’ll be here.  I hope you will be too.

Your thoughts: If you’re blogging, what are your goals?  If you don’t blog, why not?