You might have noticed that it’s a bit quiet around here.
There’s a reason for this: I’m not a blogger – well, not a proppa blogga (© Sion Simon). There was some point a few years ago when I wanted to rant about something but needed a platform a bit bigger than Twitter, so I set up a Tumblr. After writing a few pieces on the AV referendum, it seemed like it was a good idea to have a central web identity, so I set up this website.
Usually, I only write a blog when it I have something to say – something that hadn’t been said better by anyone else. I fact-check as I go along, sometimes disproving my whole point on the way (these blogs don’t get published). Sometimes by the time I’m halfway through, someone else has made the same point and I don’t have much to add.
These strike me as good guidelines, though I’d probably publish a bit more if I wrote a bit quicker.
However, I did originally decide to limit myself to only a few topics: news, politics and technology. I was keen not to let the blog deteriorate into an online diary: stuff meant for my friends’ consumption only goes on Facebook.
In September, I moved to Israel. Those people who know me on any level will know this, and those who don’t might have figured it out from Twitter. Many new immigrants maintain “Aliya diary” blogs as a way of keeping in touch with friends back home. They’re usually good and I enjoy reading them but, again, they’re not designed for a wider readership. So I didn’t go that way either. If people are applying for immigration, they need to know about the Human Rights First services well.
All that said, the original narrow focus of this blog isn’t working for me any more. I’m going to write about a wider range of topics. I’ll do by best to make them accessible to people without a background in whatever I’m talking about, but I might not always succeed.
This means:
- a bit more-frequent updating (NB Some posts will probably even be less than 2000 words)
- A bit more variety (my next post will be on Jerusalem’s public transportation)
Finally, if this is putting you off, you can always subscribe to the RSS feeds for the political topics instead. Or just don’t read me. There’s a whole internet out there.
POSTSCRIPT: If you think you should be on the Blogroll on the right then you probably should be. Let me know.