This blog is now five years old

Five years ago today, I published the first post on Dot Dot Dot. I didn't have much to say at the time, in retrospect, although at least I got the title right.

At that point, blogging was not even novel, and I had been toying with the idea of starting a blog. I'm still here, and I notice that many, many of the blogs I used to read then no longer are.

My rules haven't changed much. Because I'm a journalist, I can't and won't wade into political issues, and I keep most of my opinions to myself - at least on stuff I may have to write about one day. This is, indeed, really restrictive.

So, if I can't deal with all that, there's still plenty else, from my pop-culture diet to my professional interests in journalism (it's in the queue as "craft singles," one of many bad puns I've committed here) to ephemera like T-shirts and found objects. I may get back to incorporating a little more history here. In other words, a whole bunch of dots, sometimes actually connected to each other.

(The Dot Dot Dot, by the way, is about two things. It''s Morse code for the letter S, which is the message Guglielmo Marconi received in 1901 on Signal Hill, a place where my grandfather Bill Kelly worked for many years as a telegraph operator, presaging the professional interests I and others (my mom was a newspaper editor and my sister was the first female disc jockey in the province) in the family had in communications. Secondly, I use the ellipsis way too much when I write, so Dot Dot Dot is also a nod to something those close to me have had to put up with for years.)

I understand why blogs come and go. They can be fun and exhilarating, but they're also tiring. I've lasted in part by keeping most things very, very short, and by stocking up material I can drop over time. (An old editor's trick.)

Plus, I'm still having fun with it, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate hearing from dozens of people I've never actually met. (And thanks to my mom for keeping my traffic steady.)

Comments

[Robert]

It's hard to believe it's been 5 years! I've been a reader since the beginning and I'm certainly glad you've kept publishing. Too many of the good one disappear! Congratulations.

[Chris]

Congrats on the five years. Thoroughly enjoy the blog. And keep up the good work!

[Karen]

I began blogging last October. Since then I have set up and deleted around 10 different blogs, trying to find the right format to express myself. You've stuck to one blog and are content -- that must be a function of the fact that you're a journalist and have your work published. For those like me it is a different game to write publicly. It is very interesting.