When I returned to school in 2006 and began studying at the University of Michigan School of Information, I decided to a blog about the experience. I thought it might be an interesting experiment that could help me sharpen my writing skills. You never know who might be interested in reading about a guy returning to graduate school after being in the software industry for 10+ years. A few hundred entries later and 1600+ visitors last month and blogging continues throughout the masters program.

What? You’ve never heard of a blog? Surely you jest. They used to be called journals or diaries or logs and weren’t originally on the web. Star Trek fans might recall how at the end of most episodes the captain would talk to his computer by saying, “Captain’s log: star date blah blah blah…”

Writing something that is visible to the entire world changes how you write and how you think about what you’re writing. It gives it an importance and significance that doesn’t exist in a paper bound diary. Not to mention the power that comes from being able to link to any other blog or web page in the world. Physical journals seem antiquated in that sense.

Blogging continues to shape how people use the Internet and the relationships they cultivate with each other. Not long ago email was heralded as the great communication tool of the future and mailing lists were a great way to reach large audiences. But people had to know sign up to receive them and somewhere a server had to work it’s ass off to send out thousands of emails when the newsletter was ready. Blogs are redefining and refining how people communicate with others.