Guess Who's Back

Do you ever think to yourself, “That’s perfect blog material. If only I had a blog”? Maybe once upon a time. But probably not recently.

In August of 2003, I registered henare.co.nz, my own quarter-acre plot on the World Wide Web. It contained a basic intro message in a box. That bordered, rounded box required 21 elements, including eight individual images. Today, that would take one element.

After nine months of gestation, I published my first blog post on Google’s Blogger platform. In the beginning, I wrote for myself. I wanted to get thoughts out of my head and keep a journal I could look back on.

In 2007, social media was on the rise. What had started as small, interconnected communities of passionate nerds was exploding into the mainstream. For me, blogging changed. Short posts no longer felt substantial enough. Every post started to feel like it needed to be a full-length article.

After a while, I wrote less and less. In 2015, I wrote what would be my last post for over a decade. I’ve started several drafts since, but never finished one. I’ve rebuilt this website many times, always without an accompanying post. In hindsight, undiagnosed ADHD played a large part. But mostly, I got too concerned about how others might judge me for what I wrote.

I’ve missed blogging. I want to get back to writing for myself. This website is mine, and it’s personal.

Today, on my 41st birthday, I’m ending the drought with this post and a new version of the website. It’s still a work in progress. So am I.