Welcome to my blog...AfterWords

10-23-10

If you're reading this, you probably know me, and if you don't, you can read my profile on this blog...

Let me tell you my goal with this blog.  I've entitled it AfterWords and it is borrowed (nee stolen) from a number of magazines I've seen that reserve the last page of their magazine for a final comment, summary or a unique special interest feature.  I'm not a feature novelist or one given to long tomes about topics.  Rather, I hope and expect that this blog will give me a chance to drop in and drop out with quick hits (beyond 140 characters, sorry Tweeters) and without having to be reduced to pithy comments like one might find in a Facebook Profile Status (apologies to Zuckerberg and the gang). 

Speaking of social media, I have actually embraced it and I hope this blog can be an extension of it.  I resisted Facebook for awhile and ultimately it won me over.  I resisted Twitter for an even longer time, but because of my chosen profession of being a marketing professional, I've been forcing myself to embrace social media because it seems to represent the next wave of journalism and communication and it also has business implications.  Many establishment journalists and old-timers believe that my generation and especially the ones behind me will magically accept old media as useful and relevant, say, when they turn 30.  But I've concluded it's not going to happen; that train has left town.  Old Media is Dead, Long Live New Media.

I hope to be able to use AfterWords as the larger platform for sharing my political and theological views; sharing movie and book reviews; commenting on other articles and OpEd pieces I read; and, generally promoting the things I am passionate about.  These are things that I regularly do on Facebook and Twitter, but I've become frustrated with both those applications and their limitations.  However, I have noticed an increasing number of people who are merging old media and new media in really effective ways.  For example, I follow a number of establishment news services on Twitter.  So, when Peggy Noonan writes a column for the Wall Street Journal, or when The New York Times breaks a story, they shoot off a tweet and simply share a link.  It's like an electronic abstract, with a brief "headline" followed by a bit-link.  The reader can choose to read, or completely ignore.  I've also noticed many amateur writers who have no official "portfolio" or notieriety, but armed with a free blog and a Twitter account (or, say, 800 friends on Facebook), they simply package their opinions on blogs and fire off links into the social media universe.  And people read them.

Writing or blogging, with the added components of social media, can become interactive between readers / friends in ways that old media had never been able to imagine.  So, if you choose to occasionally read this blog, it would be great to comment in any of the aformentioned applications or actually comment on the blog itself.

Here's the really beautiful thing:  You may say, "Well, Kevin, who are you and why should we care?"  To which I would respectfully respond:  "It's a free world, tune out if you'd like."  Comically, my wife has been patiently watching me bang out this first entry and the curiosity got to her.  She finally said, "What are you doing?".  When I responded, "Starting a blog," she laughed out loud and said "...you mean, like one that other people will read?"   I laughed with her, but the answer is "yes." 

And if no one reads it, it's okay.  I've been suspending my need to write for a long time while launching a career and raising a family.  But, yes, periodically I think I have something to say that's relevant.  On those few occassions that I have stuck my neck out and written something more substantial, I've always been blown away by the positive vibe I've gotten and it rekindles my fire to use the written word to communicate, persuade and inform people of things I care about. 

So, welcome, thanks for checking in, and be prepared for me to launch links back to this blog via FB and Twitter when I have new posts.  For example, I am currently reading a fascinating book entitled "The Unlikely Disciple:  A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University."  It's about a non-Christian who goes undercover and attends Liberty University (of Jerry Falwell fame) for a year.  For those like me with a similar undergraduate experience, I think this is an important book for you to read and understand the comical yet legitimate viewpoint of those outside organized Christianity.

You can follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/kshawsby if you'd like those alerts.  You can also e-mail at kas0624@yahoo.com. 

Talk to you AfterWords...