Unfortunately, I’m the kind of person who holds the deepest respect for the written word. I believe that when someone composes a message for the world, they should take the time to craft it well.

This attitude seems to be quite antithetical to the culture of blogging. People’s posts tend to trade away elegance in exchange for immediacy. It’s all about discussing the here and now– careful editing be damned.

Over the years, I’ve been blessed to have been the student of some terrific writing mentors, like Robert Baldwin and Robert Kanigel. I can’t help but want to honor the lessons these great writers have taught me. Given the limited time I have to blog, the net result could very well be that many posts remain unwritten.

But the time has come for me to cast aside these inhibitions. I’ll try to write posts regularly. Although I won’t be able to compose them with as much care and attention as I’d like, hopefully I’ll still do my mentors some justice. Let’s see how it goes….

Although I’ve always enjoyed reading various blogs, I’d never really felt any compulsion to write one myself. The idea of broadcasting my thoughts globally always seemed a little soapboxy. But the internet has evolved. The infrastructure and culture underpinning blogging is now one where rich discussions can flourish.

So with this post, I bid farewell to being a passive listener. And I say “Hello, World!” to the exciting prospect of contributing to the conversation.