Jay Rosen is asking his readers to de-cloak in the comments section of his blog on its tenth anniversary. I started to write something but found the space too confining, so I decided to write what I have to say here and will post a link to it over there.
I am a struggling programmer, the way some people are struggling artists.
At least I'm not a starving artist.
The work is getting harder not easier.
Tired today, but maybe tomorrow is better. I'm pretty much an in-the-moment guy when it comes to Who I Am.
It varies from year to year.
When I first met you at BloggerCon in 2003, I was delighted to meet someone from the world of journalism who didn't see what we were doing as a threat and didn't talk about blogging in a dismissive way. You actually predicted what we were doing, but from a wholly different perspective. I found this both validating and illuminating. You don't expect to see your own work in a different light, you don't not expect it either. But it's great when it happens, so thanks.
Over the years, I've paid more or less attention to the struggles of journalism. Some years I'm paying close attention, some years I don't even want to look. This is one of those years when I'm not looking.
But reading your blog posts at least keeps me current enough to know what someone with my world view, if they were paying attention, would think.
That's the point. Today, ten years later, we now share the same world view. We more or less come from the same place. And I enjoy your writing, and humor and appreciate what you do.
Here's to many more years blogging and innovating!