by Ron Davis on August 29, 2010
Hey, thanks for stopping by. If you'd like to keep current on all that's happening here, subscribe to my RSS feed.
Also, feel free to get in touch via email (ron at moreron dot com) or at any of the social network links at the top of the sidebar on the right.
I rarely look at my web site stats, but today while relaxing a bit during the ball game, I decided I’d look at my analytics reports.
I noticed a lot of people have been finding my site by searchingfor information on Foursquare and Facebook Places. Most of the time searchers are finding my post about whether Foursquare is safe or not.
Since I wrote that post, Facebook has started making it really easy to disclose your physical location, making their users’ personal safety a thing of the past. I suppose that explains the surge of people looking for information on the check-in services.
My recommendation for these check-in services like Foursquare and Facebook Places is to not use them. They are dangerous threats to your personal safety, and I’d suggest you just avoid them altogether. For more information about keeping yourself safe online, you can visit my employer’s site.
by Ron Davis on August 26, 2010
Somewhere out near San Francisco, my junior high English teacher is in tears laughing at the title of this post. When I was in Mrs. Losey’s 7th grade English class, writing was not something I enjoyed – not even a little bit.
Now, many years later, I operate and contribute to several blogs online. Some are for fun, some are serious, and others, well, I hope they’ll make me a little cash one day. I write much more now than I ever thought I would, and I’ve found that I actually enjoy it.
I’ve been thinking about this and trying to understand it a little bit over the past week or so, and I have come to the conclusion that when I write, it’s for one of two reasons.
Therapy
The first reason is that it’s become a rather therapeutic way for me to process my thoughts. When I got interested in politics a couple of years ago, I wrote on my political blog as a way of confirming what I believe about limited government and other things in which you non-political friends have zero interest.
Writing to process my thoughts was a bit unintentional at first, but now I see how well it works for me, and it’s not uncommon for me to sit down to write solely for the purpose of processing some thoughts, even if it’s something I have no intention of posting online.
Creativity
The second reason is one that I realized just the other day. I write to be creative. I believe that we all have been given some ability for creativity. My friend Geof takes beautiful pictures. My songwriter friends write amazing lyrics and music. My friend Brandy likes to make things in the kitchen (when she’s not writing).
I was reading this the other day, and at the end of that long post (that’s totally worth your time to read, btw), there’s a link to a Wendell Berry poem called “The Peace of Wild Things.” I read that poem and thought “Wow, that’s beautiful.” Then I read it again. And once more after that. And I’m not one to get all gushy over poetry.
The point here is that a creative outlet is a good thing.
Recently my wife and I launched a web site, a blog written from the perspective of our cat, Liberty. Yes, really. She writes most of the content, but I write the Kitty Haiku posts. I’ve found that writing there – even silly little poems – brings a sense of completion that I really enjoy. It’s like when the lawn is all freshly mowed, except without all the sweat.
So where am I going with all of this? I don’t know. Maybe I’m just processing thoughts.
Or maybe it’s a little note to some of you who have a creative outlet and aren’t using it. You know who you are. Go now!
