Trying something new.

I'm not sure how "new" it really is, but I guess I'm playing around on the Interwebs.

I started this webpage as a place to build my brand as a thought leader in the area of organizational development. Don't get me wrong, I've still got a long journey ahead of me. At the same time I wanted it to be a personal corner of the Internet where I could post my thoughts on various things that I'm interested in. I've struggled with that definition. Like anybody, I have my opinions on a variety of things. Should my opinions, especially in a blog, be available for people to see who may be coming here to gain a better understanding of who I am as a professional? To a certain degree, I say yes.

However, do I think it is a appropriate if everybody sees my blog?  Or should I have different blogs for different audiences?

The first thing I decided was that a blog was a great way to keep developing my craft as a writer. I certainly do not see my blog gaining a large readership that anticipates my next post. Just the opposite, in fact. You see, a blog is more for my personal development rather than for other readers. The writings I do want (hope?) people to read are my articles on a given topic. The types of articles I write for this site is a similar, but different, argument as well.

To satisfy my desire to write, and to keep things separate regarding my personal viewpoints about topics and a more professional viewpoint on business topics, I created a Wordpress blog. No, I'm not going to link to it from this site. It's also not under my real name and email so people won't find it if they go searching. Although, I'm sure a steely eyed reporter from the New York Times would find it in 5 minutes if I were running for president, but I digress.

I know I'm not the only person in this world who has different masks that they wear in public. There's that professional (or semi-professional) mask we all wear when we are with colleagues, at work, or just generally in public. Then there's a relaxed mask we wear when we're out in public in much more casual environments. These are still public personas, and each is very much who we are as individuals. However, we use different language and allow our different opinions to fly depending on the environment. This website is for the former, the Wordpress blog is for the latter. Both sites are designed to focus myself as a writer.

Enough of that. I'm off to work.