This blog post might calm the “shakes” I’ve had recently. Why the “shakes”? Because I ended 2024 with 5 posts, and started 2025 with 7 posts on this blog alone. Sure, some of them were shorties, but they broke the log jam and they just kept coming. One person even described me as “on fire”. En Fuego one might say. Alright, enough with the silly banter. This post is to throw my missive in with all the great #4life bloggers out there who accepted the Blog Questions Challenge 2025 and to join the Great Blogging Community of Practice (the AA of blogging – BA). So on with the challenge…
Why did you start blogging in the first place?
About the most fortunate thing that happened in my edtech career was to find work at a small liberal arts college in Virginia, Mary Washington College. Later known as the University of Mary Washington. I worked with, and provided technical support for, some great faculty members in the brand new science building (1998). I also had outstanding colleagues that I worked with – other “faculty liaisons” in the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies (DTLT). Eventually, the right frequencies were attained by a merry band of support techies, and an English professor (a chap by the name of Gardner Campbell) who not only had a penchant for Milton, but also for the “other IT” (Instructional Technology)! In what started as the “Fantastico experiment” (using first a company called Bloghost, then 6 months later, Bluehost), we edtechies were given an emporium of web applications. Spinning up any and all apps that looked interesting and documenting my experimentation brought me incredible joy. Eventually settling on this new thing called WordPress, I began to share my “findings” (blog posts) with my great colleagues. I have a brief summary of my Web 2.0 life that I did in 2009. I know I have some links to update in that post.
What platform are you using to manage your blog and why do you use it?
In the early days of WordPress, and it still is true today, consistent updates to the software brought wondrous new capabilities. A community was formed early on around using WP that spawned the radical idea of writing code snippets that would add functionality to the platform (plugins), and afford you many styles of presenting your blog (themes) to the world. Latest controversies aside, it’s that community that is the reason I’ve used it for 20 years. I can make a website do almost anything, especially with my focus on instructional media.
Have you blogged on other platforms before?
B2 Evolution, Blogger, Tumblr, Evernote/Postach.io. Does Drupal count? I’ve Moblogged and I’ve InstaBlogged too.
How do you write your posts?
Early on, I experimented with so many ways to begin blog posts including Blogo (circa 2009 from BrainJuice Software), Microsoft Live Writer, Postach.io, MarsEdit. I needed tools to provide that instant workflow starting mechanism. I used software that supported bookmarklets that took whatever webpage I was on and converted the title and excerpt to the beginnings of a post – an “InstaPost” or “InstaBlog”. Today I guess that’s microblogging. I write long form posts here, and I microblog on another site. My workflow was outlined in a recent post as it relates to the Fediverse, which I’ll write much more about in 2025. Whatever can support the POSSE philosophy. Keeping the origin of a post on my computer (or my “cloud”), publishing to my domain (the dozen or so that I own), and then distributing it to my federated channels. Currently I use Apple Notes as the starting point for ideas and seeds of posts – for the long form ones anyway. Microblogging begins in the browser and has been going through a MarsEdit bookmarklet, but lately I’m seeing better workflow possibilities through PressThis. This process is constantly evolving and has done so for 20 years. More on this in 2025 as well.
When do you feel most inspired to write?
I was excited way back when because of the community of edtech bloggers. I wanted to share new discoveries and with the encouragement (and competition) of my DTLT colleagues, I had a good run. I continued the passion as I brought what I learned to the University of North Florida in September of 2015. I blogged here sporadically, only because I was managing blogs for UNF faculty. I fell out of the habit of sharing the process and the discoveries on the web. That excitement is back in 2025 for the same reasons as in the DTLT days. Federated social media has been that community that has spurred me on to begin that sharing process again. And also by having been encouraged to shun the billionaire platforms of those fuckers Elon and Mark.
Do you normally publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit?
A bit of simmering and getting ideas for future posts into Notes, but lately I sometimes have the need to immediately get my thoughts out there. Hence the need for both AndHeBlogs and MicroThoughts.
What’s your favorite post on your blog?
I hope it’s not the one with the most comments. Here are a few, but like your children, you wouldn’t dare claim a favorite in public. Oh and by the way, I have one offspring so the question is moot. Anyway, try these – Play Misty for Me – In Search of Serenity – The Love YouMake – A solitary bird house on the edge of the woods.
Any future plans for the blog?
More experimentation. Heck I even bought another domain name today! I’m always asking “What if?” when it comes to supporting education. I’m close to that golden age of retirement. I don’t know when it will become reality, but I will never retire from trying to “Do Good Work Online!” Many of my explorations lately have to do with consolidation of my web identity, and working to make the ActivityPub/Fediverse space a prominent part of that.
Bonus question: Who will participate next?
I’m hoping to get our Web Designer in CIRT, Kayla Little, to join the blog chain as well
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