A propos the Blogging - a real conversation? conference, Lloyd Davis takes up my request to write down what he said during my talk.

He claims to have a "rambling, inarticulate style". And in the next paragraph, he writes this!

I blog because I want to understand who I am and make better choices about who I want to be. I see life as an endless process of self-discovery and self-definition. When I blog, I say "This is who I am today, this is what I've done and this is what I think about it". I then invite you to reflect on that and to add your experience. Both these acts, of me expressing myself and then seeing what comes back help me to remember better who I really am and how I wish to present myself to the world.

An important point here is that I cannot do all of this inside my head. I have tried (for about 35-40 years) and it doesn't work for me. My experience has been that I have to get it out. I have to instantiate the idea, to make it real, visible to the world, sometimes tangible, other times more ephemeral, but real nonetheless. Then other people can kick it around; help me to see the holes; share their experience of similar things; judge me, if they must; hopefully have a laugh along the way. But most importantly encourage me to continue to articulate what's inside.

I can do all of this in 'meatspace'. In fact it's vital that I do - nothing has changed my life more than improving my ability to connect to other human beings. But blogging gives me the opportunity to take it further - to express my thoughts and receive feedback from a global, self-selecting and hugely diverse group of people, whom I would never otherwise have met (and most of whom I never will meet face-to-face.

Two marketing roads: one to ShoutLouderopolis and the other to the lovely village of Engagement Parva - take the pretty way, please.