JamieUMBC

(21st Century axiom: “I write, therefore I blog.”)

This blog was created because I just wanted a place where I could write whatever it was that struck me as interesting. I am a man of varied interests, so that ended up being everything from the Ravens to Sarah Palin. And that was fine.

Being a writer, I wanted to be read, so next came the promoting of the blog. Each time I publish an article, the blog software automatically posts a link to Twitter, which, in turn, automatically posts to Facebook. I also discovered that message boards were good places from which to link (great places, actually). By the second week, the number of hits on my blog was climbing out of the hundreds and into the thousands. Soon I found myself addicted to the tally, and spending way too much time figuring out how to drive traffic to my blog. The blog monster had been unleashed.

The Blog Monster - Unleashed!

By week three, the blog was beginning to feel like a part-time job. I’d write at night, post before work in the morning, and then spend the day pushing up the tally. But to what end, I asked myself? Does the world really need more commentary on Sheila Dixon and Sarah Palin? Do Baltimore sports fans wait with bated breath for my view of the Ravens next game? Probably Certainly not.

So, what unique perspective can I bring to the blogosphere, I wondered. Why should people bother to read my blog rather than a better researched opinion piece at a commercial news site? And maybe more importantly, how can I return this monster to its proper orientation in my life, so that I can enjoy blogging again? These are the things I was kicking around today, and after careful self-examination, I came up with this:

My experiences at UMBC. How many people are alumni, student and staff at UMBC, all at the same time? I’ve seen this university from pretty much all angles; I also remember it from my first go-round in the early eighties, and I can see how far its come since then. I’ve gotten to know a lot of people on campus, and I’ve experienced many things here. Plus, I’m going to be here for many years to come, so that puts me in the unique position of being able to chronicle not just the past and present, but the future as it unfolds. There are over 15,000 students, faculty and staff at UMBC, not to mention prospective students and alumni, so I have a ready-made audience as well. So there it is: this blog will henceforth be UMBC-centric, largely relating to my life here on campus, as a student and as an DoIT staff member.

How many times have I walked this path...

Having said that, however, it will not be UMBC-exclusive. I will continue History List Friday, not because I have to, but because I want to. I’ll also occasionally interject something personal or random, whenever the mood strikes me (this is in keeping with my stated objective not to have the blog feel like a job). I also intend on using images more often, because people, myself included, like to look at photos.

So, there it is. I hope you enjoy JamieUMBC, and if you do, I hope you subscribe by email, so that I have a way to gauge readership beyond the hideous tally…