Monday 30 March 2009

Where to from here?

As you may have noticed I haven't updated now for about a month. It's not that I've had nothing to talk about, quite the reverse in fact. It's just that I've been unable to decide whether or not a particular topic was appropriate to include. The fact is that I can't decide which direction to take this blog. Or even whether to just leave it as it is. I now have so many draft unreleased postings in here, most of which are topical issues both locally and nationally, that tonight I took the decision to delete most of them as I do know I don't want to run a political blog.

My original idea was for a 'magazine' style website of my own featuring the things that interest me and which hopefully would also interest others. The advantage of using a 'blog' is that it also allows feedback comments from readers who can agree or disagree with, or to even add additional information to my published articles. In this respect it has been highly successful, I've read so many blogs where there's no feedback comments at all.

Worth noting that I'm not a journalistic person in any way, definitely not a scholar nor an academic, I can't spell (I need an online spellchecker, and a dictionary to hand), and I fully appreciate my English Grammar is atrocious!

I'm a practical 'hands-on' technical person far more suited to building and supporting large IT infrastructures than I am to using 'Weblog' facilities . And yet, with this screen up, with thoughts of what I want to say in my head, with six flexible fingers poised around the keyboard, is it just possible that I've actually caught the dreaded 'Blogging Bug'?

Anyway, I do intend to review the postings I've made on here with the intention of deleting several of them, mainly where I'd drifted away from my original ideas. Certainly as the weather improves I will be out and about with my camera again, so there's definitely some posting update potential there. But who would actually be interested?

And my own hobbies and leasure interests are mainly technical ones (apart from my local walks and strolls along the Bridgewater Canal, the interesting 'Linear Walkway' through the originally posh Victorian area of Salford behind 'Millionaire's Row', and I have still yet to tackle the full length of the scenic re-landscaped disused mineral railway line path right up to the outskirts of Bolton). But again, given that this area is already well documented via Google searches, and given that the technical stuff could possibly go beyond the understanding of the average reader, who's actually going to be interested?

Oh, a question I'm often asked is why did I call this blog: Kevin 'In Salford'.

Quite simple, my name is Kevin, and for good or bad I live within the Salford boundary.

No, actually there's also the fact that Salford City Council wasted hundreds of thousands of pounds on changing a very attractive and meaningful crest of arms, referring to the seven original urban district towns that formed the City of Salford, into a very bland car numberplate style "IN Salford" in white letters on a Pink(!) background. Hence a local saying around these western areas of Salford, including Monton and Worsley villages: - "IN Salford? - We'd rather Not be!".

5 comments:

justin said...

Hi Kevin ~ how to please your average reader ~ that's an interesting question. I think it's best to assume we're not average, and to just "go for it". The creator of the popular US series "The Wire" has been quoted as saying: "f--k the average viewer" ~ he aims to make viewing difficult but compelling to watch.

B said...

No reason to censor your self. Simple enough solution.. create another blog for your political topics. Can be completely independent from this one, linked..whatever suits your purposes. Good luck.

Keith said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Keith said...

The "comment deleted above was me. Part of my original comment is now irrelevant.

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Justin says "just go for it" but I think in this day and age you should think carefully before puting pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!) because it is so easy to offend and upset people.

Actually I have 'gone off' blogging for a while, although I still read and comment. I think it is because now that the better weather is here I would sooner spend my time on the garden and going on walkabouts. Comes the dark cold nights I will be more inclined to sit in front of a roaring fire with my laptop and blog.

B hit the nail on the head. I have a political blog where I have a go at the establishment, but I was very careful not to give any hint as to my identity and I use a 'slave server' in another country to hide my real IP address.

Tom said...

Blogging can be a difficult business. I've stopped and started mine 10 or 20 times due to lack of real direction.

Have you ever considered writing articles by the way? SalfordOnline would be glad to have more contributors and we have a fairly decent readership. And no pressure to come up with one every day/week.

I came here via MCVA, just looking for potential writers in Salford....

Tom Rodgers
News Ed

tom@salfordonline.com