Why Start a Blog?

I’ve been avoiding blogging.

Why? Mostly because I thought blogs were evil—just another contributor to "bad information gone wide." Despite my worries about an expanding universe of vacuous claptrap, I’ve decided to take my own advice and view blogging as just another tool—with strengths and weaknesses.

Why am I starting to blog now?

1. Kathleen Gilroy, pixie mensch and esteemed leader of the Otter Group, talked me into it when she explained the Web 2.0 idea to me.
2. I needed a way to convey information quickly and informally.
3. I needed a way to get the Work-Learning Research newsletter up online permanently.
4. I wanted to learn firsthand about the potential of this new technology for learning.
5. I wanted a way to connect with clients, thought-leaders, colleagues, friends.
6. I wanted a way to learn from others.
7. I wanted to get started on idea projects that were on the back burner, pushing them toward completion, getting something out there in the event of my early demise.
8. I wanted to get younger, hipper, and better looking.

I’d like to offer a special thanks to Kathleen and also to someone she introduced me to—Bill Ives, author of Business Blogs: A Practical Guide. Bill’s wisdom has helped me think through my blogging strategy as he has eased me up the learning curve.

This blog, Will at Work Learning, will throw out lots of ideas about research-based learning design and the learning-and-performance industry.

The Work-Learning Journal will offer longer pieces on more in-depth topics. It will also include thought-provoking pieces from other researchers and thinkers in our field.

Please Note the name of this blog, Will at Work Learning. Not only is this convenient because it parallels the Work-Learning Research company name, but it is also my dearest hope—that this blog will engender my own learning. Please contribute with your comments.