Finding My Focus
Heraclitus said that the only thing that is constant is change. With everything that has happened in my life over the course of the past 8 months, I would have to say that it’s a truism. Some change is good, other not so much. Regardless, change happens and ultimately your perspective on change has more to do with what you do with it as opposed to the actual change itself.
It’s not breaking news to share that I haven’t been posting at levels consistent with what I had been doing prior to the period I mentioned above and I definitely hadn’t been posting at a level I consider effective or essential to maintain a consistent level of readership or even really consider myself a blogger. It wasn’t for a lack of desire, interesting stories and experiences to share or new learning and worthwhile finds, rather I found myself at a bit conflicted.
A lot of my absence has been due to trying to find a new normal after Laura’s car accident back in September. I was, and continue to be touched by the outreach of my friends and fellow blogger, but I make no apologies or excuses for that period of time. I simply did what I felt that I had to do. We all have those experiences in life…something, large or small, that fundamentally alters the fabric of our lives and causes us to stop and rethink everything that we had done previously.
However, the one thing that I have learned in life and it’s especially applicable to blogging, is that anything worth doing is worth doing well and it takes discipline, persistence and perseverance. Some days are easier than others but in the end what you get out of it is directly proportional to what you put into it. I simply fell out of my daily blogging routine and I really struggled to find my footing. I made one attempt to get back into the saddle a few months ago but the confluence of my new position at work that was (and still is) taking more than its share of my time and the fact that I made a decision that I was going to narrow the focus of my blog, left me without a whole lot of time, and more importantly very short on inspiration.
My original goal was to provide a fresh perspective on working at an association as someone who was brand new to the association world. I thought I could combine 10 years working doing technology work in corporate America with my thoughts and experiences as I progressed with my passion for learning, social media and technology. As I reconsidered my purpose I thought I would limit my focus to social media as it applies to the association world. My restated purpose was far too narrow and my excitement for writing waned largely because my finding my focus led me to feel like I lost my voice.
For the past few weeks I have really been contemplating how best to proceed I made the conscious decision to persevere and yet again refocus. I also came to the conclusion that in order for me to get as much out of my writing as I put into it I would have to broaden my focus and instead of being razor sharp with what I write about, I would inject more of myself back into the mix. Finally, I decided that I would continue talking about social media and technology but also pepper in other areas that I am involved in on a daily basis such as virtual communities, knowledge management and creating, innovating and maximizing my own use of the web at work and for fun.
It’s a new beginning of sorts, but really it’s a return to who I am and what I am most interested in. I’ll be able to be well rounded, well read, and generally enamored with all of the potential and possibilities that lie in this thing we call the Interwebs and share all of my thoughts, feelings and opinions in a much easier manner.
As part of this refocusing exercise I also decided to “reboot” my blog and give it a brand new look and feel. That is yet another reason why it’s taken me so long to get back up and running. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a passionate Ubuntu Linux user. I made the jump almost 6 months ago and have been learning my way through the whole process. My goal with my new site design was to not only give my blog a new aesthetic but also in doing so use only open source and free tools to accomplish that end. I have come a long way in what I know about Ubuntu and probably even further in developing both on a Linux system and at this level for WordPress. I will definitely be sharing all of that learning too.
The long and short of it is I am back, and hopefully this time for good. I do ask for your patience and support as I get back into a regular routine and iron out any inconsistencies with my blog. For now things look good, but I also know that life has a way of throwing you a curve from time to time. All of you can help me along: what are some topics you’d like to see? What is intriguing you? What is driving you crazy. This is a great chance for you to help me get going again while at the same time get some insight into areas that you are interested in.
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My name is Dave Sabol and I work at the intersection of technology, online learning and knowledge management. Associated Knowledge is my way of capturing the insight that I gain as I navigate my way through the world of social media and open source technology.
You ROCK, man! Anything that you bring more of “you” into is going to be good. I look forward to it.
I love your new blog aesthetic and I love the new focus. For me, it helps to focus on the reason I blog. In my case, it’s a quest for learning and a way to connect with people. I’m not doing it to create a top 25 marketing blog, so that gives me a lot of freedom. I can post when I want about anything I want. And if I need a break–we all need a break, sometimes–I take it.
You’re doing all the right stuff and I look forward to reading more!
@JNott: Thanks buddy. I think the whole experience over the past few months will lead to something overwhelmingly positive.
@Lindy: I appreciate the feedback on the look and feel of the site. I am definitely my harshest critic so I created and threw away over a dozen designs before I finally developed one that I was actually happy with. I really like your thoughts on your focus and that is exactly what I am trying to accomplish. Glad to know that I am in good company.