Expertease

Wha' d'ya know, Bloggee? Maybe you should write your own book!

Two experts claim you can become an expert by writing and publishing a book. As an expert on one arcane subject, I couldn't agree more. And (hopefully), my expertise in blogging and multi-media book publishing will be evident when Carbondale After Blog is finally published (motivational plug). Not expecting to sell many copies locally, but the finished product will help land me a teaching gig. (Yesterday, a major obstacle to having video on the pages was overcome by using Quicktime.)

But you don't have to write a multi-media book to become an expert; just start a blog and ride the wave of the future!

"In the 10 years since the first site known as a 'weblog' went online, the blog has matured from a geek niche to the internet's dominant publishing paradigm,"

says Wired magazine: After 10 Years of Blogs, the Future's Brighter Than Ever.

The same is true in Carbondale, Illinois. In the 5 years since the first post to this blog, some very good local blogs have been launched -- by academics, musicians, business, and upright citizens. I read them all. One in particular - The Beer Philos'pher's blog - has gone world class, complete with gift shop and RSS feed! I savor Shawn's worts of wisdom, even though my own philosophy of beer is summed up in two words: Sam Occam's. ;-) Based on his blog posts, the BP could write his own b(l)ook.

And speaking of BP, our local business expert got it right! . . . The Greyhound bus stop will be moving to a better location.

And speaking of better locations, I'm flying to Portland this week. Still hoping to move there next Spr'ummer - unless I land a job right here at good ol' SIUC, or my campus comedy goes into production, or . . . .