2007 March Archive - byteful project

Let this be my public declaration:

“I have given myself permission to make mistakes with this website.”

When setting out on new territory in one’s life, many people become paralyzed by their fear of making a mistake. Instead of doing what they should do, they become like a deer frozen in an oncoming truck’s headlights, unable to move. My experiences in life, especially in Martial Arts, have taught me again and again how vital it is to be comfortable with making a plethora of mistakes when one is first starting out at something, and then even more as one goes on. Why should blogging be any different?

Being a rather introspective person, my natural tendency is to assess the possible outcomes and ramifications of any course of action I take before I take it. To a certain point, this is always a good idea. One wouldn’t want to break someone’s arm, steal candy, or insult the President for instance. These kinds of mental checks are necessary in society – ingrained into people as they learn and grow. However, there comes a point where the mental checker in one’s brain begins to paralyze them, filling them with worry if they allow it.

I once read a quote that went something like this:

“In the mind, there is a madman and a janitor. Both are essential for creativity. The problem happens when people let the janitor out first.”

This quote holds special significance to me because, being rather analytical to begin with, I have a tendency to let that janitor loose early. It’s something I’m making positive change on. Everyone is capable of great creativity if they would only keep the janitor away from their ideas for a little while. “Perchance to Dream” is the madman’s mantra. The janitor part of our minds tries to order and arrange the mess before the mess has a chance to be made in the first place. What the janitor doesn’t know is that messes are the stuff of creativity and critical for any kind of synthesization of a new idea. (By the way, if anyone can tell me who originally said that quote, I would greatly appreciate it.)

So don’t remain in front of the headlights because the deer will eventually be run over. Plunge in! Life is too short to look back on it someday and remember all of the chances one let slip by because of fear. Instead, sing the madman’s mantra:

“Fail more to succeed more!”

As I begin this adventure in blogging, certain questions present themselves in my mind. I question, “What honestly validates a blog?” Another part of me, let’s call him Sub Conscio, answers in a blank tone, “What is this validation of which you speak?”, and that part of me is also asking an important question. Today, the amount and types of media is morphing faster than computer processors did back in the early 2000s, and there is no shortage of names for all of these: blogs, podcasts, video podcasts, audioblogs, soundseeing podcasts, vlogs… all coming along with the obligatory podcasters, bloggers, vloggers, netcasters, and the content creators who create them.

Who validates these new media outlets? No one but the readers, listeners, and watchers who appreciate them in the first place. There isn’t a central authority on the internet deciding who gets the primetime slot and who gets Saturday morning at 3 AM. That’s the beauty of it all, media isn’t trapped in a small box with 100, or if you’re unlucky 999, channels anymore. The only validation the creators of this content get is response from their peers.

The word validate comes from the Latin word validus which itself comes from an older word valere which means to “be strong.” Flashing forward to the 21st century, we could certainly describe the popular new media outlets as “strong” and growing stronger because they’re now building a strong reputation for great content. Indeed, by taking a quick look at the Oxford English Dictionary, we can learn a little more about the history of the word we’re using and therefore understand it’s current context in a deeper way.

The practical upshot of all this is that great content validates a blog. Nothing more, nothing less.

So Sub-C, does that answer your question?