Last night I hit up the pre-PSFK-conference drinks thought-up by Noah and Faris. I got to meet F-bomb for the first time (which was a treat), shoot the shit with Jason (which was a treat), chill with some other acquainfriences (I know I’m off my term-coining game) living here, and meet a handful of others. And lots of those introductions and friendships were made and over the past year and a half or so have been developed because of this site right here.

So it’s fair to say, last night I got a reminder that this blog is still a great catalyst for meaningful interactions. For me, the snippets of interestingness may happen over on Tumblr (for now), but the most interesting conversations are still happening in person and good, old-fashion blogging still works wonders for making those connections. Maybe it’s that the blog (unlike Tumblr) allows comments—even if not used, it says I’m open to hearing what you think. Or maybe it’s that bloggers share a mutual respect for the process (the ups and downs, freedom and captivity) that we all go through when writing a post, deciding to post…even deciding to keep posting somewhat regularly. I, for one, don’t necessarily apply “are you just creating more noise?” filter to my Tumbles (or Tweets) like I do here. (Sure, that’s debatable.) And though it may sound weird, I like that this platform is not as easy as it could be and not as conducive to my on-the-move lifestyle. That becomes the proof that I’m committed to it.

Wow, that last part felt like I was on a “Does Blogging Matter?” panel. Jealous that-I’m-not-over-at-the-conference much! Let’s go New York.

But it does seem it may be being squeezed by Twitter and Tumblr on one end and papers, articles, manifestos, books on the other (including The Age of Conversation: Part Deux, to which I will be contributing).

I, for one, have been far better at updating my Tumblr than my blog, and a look at the first page of each will show how much more interesting I’ve been over there. I almost wrote that I’ve “been spending more time on Tumblr,” but that would be false. In fact, I have come to my blog to start posting a few times and realized I didn’t have the inspiration, the words, or the time. Tumblr currently seems to fit into my life better at this point, and I realize I may be over-extending myself keeping both and perhaps even duplicating efforts. If anyone has figured out a plan for managing the blog + Tumblr efficiently or has a strong perspective I’d love to hear it. Frankly I’m jealous of Chet on a regular basis that he’s firmly set and singularly on the the Tumblr platform.

Oh yeah, and of course there’s also the upwards of a billion dollars being lost in productivity starting this week due to March Madness. I’d factor last week’s Big East Tournament into my own productivity levels, but I’m certain many more people are likely impacted by the NCAA Tournament (which I’ve noticed many girls like to call “the Final Four” all the way through – as in: “Are you going to watch the Final Four on Thursday?” or “Are you filling out your Final Four bracket?”). Anyway, back to a crazy week of work, basketball, plays (yes, tonight I’m performing – I’ll let you all know about the next shows on Saturday and Tuesday of the following week), and Tumbling.

Probably the first thing I learned was that it was “unrealistic” to use “dreams” as a strict theme for this blog. (Here is my first post. Note my first 4 had that word in the title.) More importantly, I realized I didn’t really want to limit myself that early. At the beginning, I was using this blog as an experiment, as a way to better understand the space (sphere). Learning is still the primary goal but it has now taken different forms, which I’ll touch on later in this post.

The second (in time and second biggest) thing I learned was regardless of theme, it is hard to sustain momentum in posting. At three months I briefly joined the 45% of people that give up on their blog after the initial honeymoon period. See. I think it’s safe to say I burned myself out; I had 27 posts in my first month. That was cut in half in the second month, and by month three I was down to 1 post. April was a complete drought, and then I picked back up in May and June (even changed the color of the site) only to stop blogging for about eight months until March of 2007. (So I guess this post should really be titled, “Having a Blog for Two Years.”) Anyway, since then I’ve been pretty consistent on a month-to-month basis.

I got my start contributing to the blogosphere at Fallon’s Planning Blog. Specifically, I found my niche in that team was presenting links to the videos, articles, and sites that were being passed around my young “professional” group of friends. The Inbox of Immaturity was meant to give people a quick look into the taste level of twenty-something guys and if not that deep, a quick break from work and the heady posts of others in the plannersphere. Posting almost weekly for the IOI helped me get into a rhythm and develop my voice.

It also inspired the renaming of my blog. No, it wasn’t always called El Gaffney. Likely only my parents and a few friends remember the days of Salvador Walleye. My Vonnegut obsession at the time, and the fact that I lived in Minnesota led me there. Man, did I think I was clever! (The renaming post should clarify.)

At this point, I must thank Aki (AKI SYSTEMS 2600) for starting that blog and opening up this world to me as well as being my most helpful teacher of everything Web 2.0. I also must thank Michael for deciding to interview me back then and showing me the potential of blogging for sharing ideas and making friendships.

Honestly when I look back over these couple of years, those have been the two greatest roles my blog has played:

1. A gateway to (trying) new technologies (for ex: twitter, del.icio.us, slideshare)
2. A gateway to (making) new friends (for ex: clay, whom I met in person last week – and confirmed is just as awesome as expected)

I had no idea what a catalyst this blog would become. Blogging has helped me stay interested (and perhaps become more interesting) and get involved in the conversations happening in the advertising industry mostly. And I am proud to have inspired other friends to create blogs.

What excited me most is I realize that I’ve only scratched the surface of what this blog can be and do. I look forward to more experimentation, learning, entertainment, inspiration (both being inspired and hopefully inspiring), and action. So it goes…with a plethora of pinatas!

(Picture from B-Mel on Flickr)