First Person

Back in April 2005, I created my first blog. Ever since that small beginning, I have posted thousands of photographs and commentaries about a wide range of personal topics.

With more than four years blogging experience, I look back for some useful perspective. I realize now that I adopted a specific ethical framework for my blog without any self-aware intent. Specifically, I made a subconscious commitment to address real, first-person events and to avoid excessive commentary on celebrities, politicians, and general news items. For one, the world has no shortage of paparazzi and punditry representing every conceivable idealogical slant. What more could I possibly add to the great political debates of our time? I just never want to use my blog as a platform for personal rants.

And besides, people who choose to read my blog want to know my experiences, however limited those may be. This is not to say that I will never express an opinion about some issue or event in the larger world. I'm simply expressing a preference for first-person blogging. I would much rather read about the direct experiences of my fellow bloggers than to speculate over far-removed people and events.

It "only" took me four years to identify my own blogging values, but now that the fog has begun to clear, I plan to post more in the coming days.