Why blog?

Everybody’s doing it! Or so it seems.

I am told you MUST blog if you want your website and social media to show up in Google and other search engines (that SEO thing), so that’s one reason I am doing it. But I also want you, the reader, to understand what makes me tick. When you read these short posts, you will get to know me better, and perhaps trust me to help you professionally.

The words curmudgeon and persnickety have been used to describe me, as well as demanding, picky, nerdy, professional, and trustworthy. All of them apply.

I am bombarded on a daily basis by emails (more than 100 per day), newsletters, and – yes – blog subscriptions. Some of the bloggers are friends and people I admire, and many are fantastic writers. But I don’t really have the time to read them all. So, I understand if you skip mine.

I learned, from my “research” (OK, Google) that the average person reads 250-300 words per minute. So, I think that limiting myself to 301 or 451 words (60 or 90 seconds of your time, ⅓ to ½ page) every other week is doable, both for me and for you (I expect my readers to be above average, thus 301/451.) This will limit my verbosity (I hate the word “verbiage”,) and make it like a fun puzzle I can enjoy producing on a regular basis. On alternate weeks I may post something written by others, hopefully of similar length.

Topics for the future may include: the importance and need (or not) for accuracy, typos (written spoken or drawn), racism in architecture, mangoes and tomatoes, LEGO, compare and contrast, Vitruvius, accessibility, pet peeves, brevity and simplicity, why people have such long names in Spanish, and more…  I’m looking forward to your comments!