The first draft of this article was written with a mechanical pencil in a small Moleskine notepad.  This was not because of elitism or necessity, but just the simple curiosity born from the mind an aging “wannabe” writer. I want to see what (if anything) seems different when it finally ends up in your feed-reader.

When I paint, the results are more satisfying when sketches are drawn out by hand first.  When I design, a sketchbook can allow me to work out thoughts and problems before a single pixel is pushed.  And when attending a training session or meeting, paper notes feel more natural to the flow and timing of what is being said.  Perhaps (I wonder to myself), could blogging also benefit from this analog exercise?

We use computers because they are convenient.  Because they allow us to do the things we want faster than ever. However, I suspect that having the ability to do things faster doesn’t always equate to doing them better.  Think of what the microwave oven has done for our lives, yet we still don’t use it for everything cooking-related.

Try this experiment for yourself (or for me, if you’re willing to share the results):
Write your next blog article’s draft out by hand, on real paper.  Take your time and let your hands transcribe your thoughts at a more natural pace.  Then consider whether this change in speed altered your own value of the work.  If it feels like it’s worth more to you, then doesn’t it stand to reason that your audience will pick up on (and gain from) that increased value?

Feel free to add your thoughts »

Sit back... relax... put your feet up... and think about the last time you become completely absorbed by a great book, movie, or even video game. Recall if you will the surprise you felt when you suddenly realized that two, three, or even four hours or more had passed by so easily. That time when you could swear that you had only been experiencing fifteen or twenty minutes at the most, right?

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I'm sitting here thinking to myself that I need to write something new for 2008. No, wait. I need to write something really PROFOUND for 2008. Which is a rather intimidating challenge, to be honest. It's a challenge because toward the end of 2007 I began to lose focus on this site. I started to slack on updates because of many other new and exciting ideas that had been brewing in my head. But since none of you are mind-readers, all that you got was the slack. My people were beginning to lose faith, so to speak.

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It’s interesting to me how strongly things that we do as children can affect how we think and act on things as adults.  I have two bits of history that I’d like to share with you that have given me a fresh bit of insight on how to approach things as an adult.  How I’m finding a personal path on the journey to “getting things done”.

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In case you haven't heard of it, there's a little geek event that happens once a year down in Austin, Texas. A little festival fondly known as "south-by", or SXSW. I like to call it the greatest gathering of designers and developers, ever! And coming this March, 2008 - I will be there once again rubbing elbows with some of the greatest minds in the industry.

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It’s been a couple of months since I’ve done an Artcast, and to be honest - it definitely isn’t for a lack of enthusiasm.  Nay, if anything I’d say that it’s more a lack of inspiration that holds back the ever-popular video podcast.

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