I was looking back on this blog and in March 2009 I did a similar post, but more focused on my life. Here’s how that has changed: (yah – long post, but lots on my mind)
- Work: We launched that CMS back in the day for the Department of Defense – it was super cool and unlike anything I still have yet to see in the CMS world. I left the company and now am a contractor for the Department of Justice doing more web development work and communications outreach. I host a monthly webinar series focused on criminal justice topics which has been pretty successful. I have really honed my skills in online outreach and hope to build-up my “traditional” press-shop skills. Ideally I’d write more on public policy, but since my current job isn’t in line for that, I’m looking at other means (see podcasting below).
- Academic: I graduated with my MBA and am preparing for my next adventure. Long term sites are still on a PhD – looking at public policy or some other interesting area where I can blend government and technology. On the side – I’m starting to compile more research on social media for my Facebook Study site and have plans to launch a sister site for Twitter (probably not focused on college student research, but Twitter research in general).
- Personal Biz: Webtomic officially closed last year and DemConnect is still a work in progress. Programming and time were lost these past few months, had a few bad developers come into my life, and now I’m spending time refocusing the company prior to launching. I want to make sure it’s hitting the mark I want it to hit and I’m really prepared. I’m seriously hoping that in the few months I’ll have our first product up and running.
- Podcasting: I’m working on launching a podcast site that will feature regular (looking every 2 weeks to start) discussions on the intersection of technology and government. My first show will be a 30-45 minute discussion on policy-centric issues around Congress and the White House. Hoping to get some regular guests and a cohost too. The second show I’m planning is a weekly look at the social media arena in government – who’s making moves and who’s falling behind.
I spent some time thinking this past weekend also thinking about this blog, where it’s been, where it’s going, etc. and I’m thinking it’s time to figure out it’s real purpose. In the past, I’ve covered everything from tech tutorials to startups, to e-commerce (partly required), to research, to gov-tech. I am thinking it’s time to decide if this blog will continue to be the randomly update potpourri of things it has been or if it’s time to chart a course for what it will be in the future. I have plans for what I want to be doing in life – lots of plans. How this blog fits into all those plans will not necessarily shape the plans themselves, but can enhance the message being sent out to world.
The reality is, I’m probably going to write about what’s on my mind at the time. I don’t think this blog will be limited to any one topic — it’ll probably the be catch all for other blogs I’m writing on (assuming I write on other blogs). So, what to see moving forward (theorically):
- Gov-tech stuff: it’s what’s on my mind for the past year. Really interested in the intersection of politics/government and technology. I’m working on a blog post around the research of Bartle which I hope/expect will start to draw connections between classic MUDs and current online political campaigns.
- Business and Startups: I like tech and I like my MBA (thank you George Mason). I want to keep talking about the trends and what’s hot in the online IT space. There are some cool business models out there, and some I just don’t get. I wrote a some notes regarding Twitter last May I might through up in the upcoming months regarding its potential business future. I’m curious which of those will come true and how they will evolve.
- Research: I still am into social media research. In the past I’ve focused in the 18-24 year-old market and now I’m focusing on government social media outreach. I have a few things I’m working on from the business side to try to tie things together, but the reality is I will be gathering a ton of data…and with data we’ll be able to do something with it. I’m hoping to do some serious research this next year on Twitter and Facebook and the impacts it has had. Additionally, I wouldn’t mind finding an institution to sponsor a continuation of my master’s research. (I’m happy to say I tend to be the most viewed thesis at K-State’s online library…available worldwide!)
What you probably won’t find moving forward (unless something crazy happens or pure brilliance):
- Tutorials: I never posted many of them, and my ability to do a great tutorial is past my time now. Many others are doing great tutorials which are far more detailed and current than what I can do. I might throw something up if I get frustrated enough not seeing one online that’s needed, but this really won’t be the go-to place for tutorials.
So, that’s the update on my blog (and parts of my life).
