David Parish-Whittaker

I hear from reliable sources (to wit, some guys on the internet) that blogging is dead.  Once the sort of thing every gran with a knitting fixation did (judging by Janet’s favorites list), it’s now being taken over by social media like Facebook.  And I get that, I really do.  Looking at this blog, which I’m told I ought to be keeping up for professional reasons (see earlier “reliable sources), I haven’t posted a blessed thing since Leviathans came out.  I’ve done a bunch of stuff since then, both writing wise and in my other lives, but haven’t seen fit to blabble about it here.  I chatter away on social media, though, as any of you who haven’t blocked my on Facebook are all too acutely aware of.

So what’s the deal?  Two fold, I think.  Social media feels a lot more like a conversation to me, whereas this blog is more of a stage.  I’m sitting here tapping the microphone nervously whilst the imagined eyes of thousands (well, four or five, but tell that to my subconcious) are upon me, waiting for me to say something vaguely interesting.  To wit, performance anxiety.

Point two, I’ve thought of this a bit too much as my “professional space”, I think.  And that ends up with a bit too much “pushing the product”.  Since I hate being on both the giving and receiving end of that sort of thing, I end up just not posting stuff.  Oh, I figure that many of you do in fact want to hear about some of the upcoming stuff (if so:  go read the latest 1889 stories!  They’re like, really good and stuff.  I helped on the editing!  Whee!!!)(See, told you I’m terrible at ad-blogging).  But if for nothing else than my own personal gratification, I’m going to prate about other stuff here.  I’ll try to be good about tagging so visitors can find stuff they actually care about.  All seven of you, that is.

Speaking of tags, that is probably point two and a half:  God, but I find this interface clunky.  Social media has a point and shoot quality to it that WordPress and other blogging platforms I’ve looked at don’t.  On the other hand, it’s probably more flexible in the end.  Practice makes perfect, I guess–  here goes me trying to put a picture up.  

Up here in Spokane on a thirty hour overnight on Christmas.  Yep, that’s “snow” on the ground.  But managed a riverwalk without slipping.  Too badly.