Why this blog?

I started my first blog a while ago.  It's a personal blog about my accident ( I fell of a horse and broke my back).  Writing and publishing this deeply personal story was a big step for me, but I liked it.  My audience was mainly my family and friends.  They wanted to read the stories because they care about me.  It was a safe audience.

But to talk about my work, is very different.  Frightening really.  I have to be very careful.  I can't say anything that may be perceived as confidential.  I don't want to get myself in trouble.  And also, there are many people out there in the corporate jungle who would love to see me fail.

But, I work in media.  I work with people who are really creative.  They show themselves all the time.  I respect and admire their vulnerability.  They are in the arena.

And I want to call myself a story teller.  So, I want to get better at writing stories.  And to get better, you have to do it.  Begin anywhere.

So, here we go.

First, I have a confession to make.  I have been very judgmental about some of my peers who are not active on social media.  I feel and I have voiced that you cannot be credible in this field if you're not active on Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter.   Harsh, right?  And also pretty hypocrytical because I just recently started tweeting.  I have less than 100 followers and am totally clueless about the other social media tools, like Instagram, Tumblr, Google+ and all those other intimidating things.

So, I should be more empathatic.  My girlfriend explained to me that she would never put pictures of her or her family on the internet for everyone to see.  She values her privacy too much.  It feels wrong to her to just share everything. Now, who am I to judge that?

I sometimes feel that I am not protecting myself enough against the breaches of privacy we hear so much about.   Perhaps I should be more cautious instead of judgmental.

Also, I was definitely not one of the early adopters, either.  I was scared.  I have nothing interesting to say.  People would find out that I am a terrible writer.  And also "Who do I think I am."   This insecurity prevented me from becoming active for years.

I wanted to be sure that people liked me and respected what I had to say.  But, there is no such thing.  And it should not matter anyway what others think.  Writing about yourself is showing yourself.  It is being vulnerable.  It is uncomfertable and I hated that.   But, it gets easier the more you do it.  And then it is fun.

What I hear a lot from people who are not active, is that it is a total waste of time.   That they have no time to spare on this wasteful activity.  They are very busy.   There is some judgment in that statement as well.  It always leaves me feeling a bit bad.  They probably think that I do not work hard.  But perhaps they are just as scared as I was.  And this argument just makes them feel better.  Who knows?

But, it does not matter what they say.  They are not in the arena.  I believe in sharing.  I believe it is the key to gaining trust.  And we need more trust.  More trust in our corporations, in our leadership, in each other.   So, I will write about my experiences, good and bad.  I will Walk my Talk.