After a few years of debating over what I could possibly put up on my own digital space, I figured that it should serve as a collection of all things “me”, both digitally and physically. I’ve been using Twitter for the last month or so, and have realized that it is wonderful for a few reasons: 1). it aggregates all of the RSS feeds that I produce from the various online communities I participate in (i.e. delicious, my info-blog The Interactivist, etc…) and 2). it acts as a great social networking platform. As your follower/following base grows, people start talking to you and you to other people. I use Twitterfeed to pipe in my “digital footprint” and your Twitter feed really does end up becoming a digital thought stream that equates to, more or less, you.

I have read a few articles recently that state that blogs are dead- and moreover, if you’re thinking of starting a blog, don’t. They state that Twitter, and other micro-blogging communities are replacing blogs altogether. I tend to disagree for the most part, though the previously stated article’s stance on how “corporate” blogging is becoming, I fully agree with. Teams of decently paid pro-bloggers cranking out dozens of articles per day equate to the contemporary version of a magazine, only one article at a time. Yes it may be relevant to your interests. Yes, the content may be great and/or breaking. But not very often can complex, personal thoughts be expressed in less than 140 characters.

Don’t get me wrong, I love short-form content just as much as the next Internet addict. But there is a place for ideas and interests to be expressed openly, and that place is a blog. However, I don’t think a personal blog should be just words on a page. It needs to be a more well-rounded home for all things “you”. Gary Vaynerchuck gave a great speech on building your personal brand online using social media, and I must say, the man is quite inspiring and makes a lot of valid points.

So now that blogs are dead, I am starting a personal one. No ads, no ulterior motives- just a place for anything worth taking more than 140 characters to say.