Back in the day when I was a stay at home mum, part-time photographer, and web design consultant, I spent a lot of time blogging. It was a way for me to keep exercising my creative muscles and, as a side effect, keep my transatlantic family up to date with my son’s infant and toddler years.
But, times change. As I went back to work full time and started re-dedicating myself to my career, personal blogging became I thing I no longer prioritised. Also, my son is now of an age where it’s really not fair of me to put his life on display. Having an online presence and sharing his life needs to be his decision now, not mine. So it’s been five years since I last posted on my blog. It’s suffered the fate of so many personal blogs, sitting around taking up dusty corners of the internet, stale, out of date, and collecting cobwebs.
At least Google never forgets. I’m caught off guard by the occasional interview candidate who’s taken the time to Google me. “I read your blog,” they say. My first reaction is that I want to hide in a corner but with more considered thought, I’m ok with it. First, well done said candidate for preparing for an interview. Always recommend doing a bit of research on the background of the person with whom you’ll be interviewing. And, second, the fact that in the past I’ve been more transparent about my life outside of work shows that I’m human. What’s so bad about showing people a bit about who you are? In the context of interviewing and recruitment, this certainly gives someone interviewing with me more insight into what kind of person I am and whether they’d like to work with me.
So, I had considered deleting the old blog but I’ve decided to leave it out there for the historical record. It’s full of great memories and content. Maybe one day my son will appreciate the memories I captured from his early years. My guiding principle was:
“Never post anything I’m not comfortable with my grandmother or employer reading.”
Since I stuck to that philosophy, I’m ok to leave it on a shelf collecting dust and cobwebs but where it might occasionally be found.
However, I have found that I miss creating content. My creative muscles have atrophied over the years as I’ve stopped writing. I’ve been spending more time consuming and not enough time creating. So I’m going to start creating again. But for all the reasons above, I’m not going to dust off the old blog, I’m creating this new space. (Plus, my family has no idea what I do for a living. Trying to mix personal & professional topics always ended badly.)
So here we are, my new digs. No dust, no cobwebs, nice and shiny. Here, instead of musings on why I can’t get my child to eat vegetables, I’ll write about my professional life. Of course, there will be technology topics but you’ll also find stuff on career development, management, productivity, diversity, etc. I’m an avid reader so book reviews will make their way in here as well (added bonus – this will help me internalize what I read.)
The creative cobwebs won’t shift overnight, but I’m excited about the journey to dust them off.
Won’t you tag along?