Reflections.

Yesterday my friend Rich Siegel celebrated both his birthday and the third anniversary of his wonderful, funny and occasionally caustic blog "Round 17." http://roundseventeen.blogspot.com/http://roundseventeen.blogspot.com/

His post got me thinking about the act of blogging, or writing such as it is.

Since I was a young boy, I've always wanted to be a writer. I've always regarded the profession of writing whether it's allied to academia, journalism, publishing or even advertising as something to aspire to. I've always admired writers, usually finding a writer I like and going through his or her opus like a fat kid through a cake.

Writing, for me, is not something I merely want to do, it's something I have to do. Blogging has helped me with this.

I try to write at least once a day. I feel uncomfortable if I have no ideas for my blog. (Usually when I have no ideas, I write a post like this one. Or I write about some conversation I've had with my Uncle Slappy.) If the morning slips by and I haven't posted I feel real and palpable angst.

I am glad and pleased that Ad Aged has gained its small audience.  But I write primarily for myself. I don't post my posts to my LinkedIn or Facebook. There's nothing wrong with doing so, but it's just not me. I am too shy and am loathe to self-promote. It's just not what I do.

Also over the years I've "met" a few other bloggers (Rich Siegel is one of them.) These are guys with their own blogs. They are people whose writing I respect. People I respect. I keep them in mind when I write. I think it helps keep my standards high.

I have written over 2,700 posts at this point. Some are throwaways, jokes or attempts at funny observations. Some, I like to think, are more thoughtful and intelligent.

My favorite thing about blogging, however, is perhaps the most obvious. Writing as I do, everyday, has simply made me a better writer. I practice writing everyday and because I treat the writing on Ad Aged journalistically, I write fast and most often "publish" my first drafts.

That's all for now.

And if you're reading this, thank you.