I began blogging in January of 2010 with several goals in mind, but my primary goal was flexing my thinking and writing muscles. With this idea in mind I dubbed my blog my “digital notepad.” However, when my first anniversary approached I decided to embrace the idea of my blog as a “blog.” Though the blog as a medium of communication is still not fully accepted, I find it a wonderful medium to communicate to other scholars and members of “the public” in addition to working out the thoughts in my own mind.

I experimented with adding the subtitle “An Unprofessional Professional Blog.” While I still feel this name describes my blogging philosophy as my blog talks about academic topics (my profession) in a more casual, sometimes quirky way, but I axed the phrase worrying that the connotation of unprofessional may continue the negative associations with blogging. I strive to maintain a thoughtful, but conversational tone, or at least one relatively jargon-free. Approaching my posts with a more causal tone in mind keeps me interested in continuing to blog, which now seems to me to be both an hobby outside my profession that still aids my professional development.