For several weeks now, I've been mulling whether to launch a blog -- and if so, why.

After all, there's no one topic that so interests me right now that I feel like I absolutely to start writing about it on a near-constant basis. And frankly, the idea of adding yet another "the kids and the dog did the funniest thing today..." blog to the web is just more self-absorption than I could bear. (Then again, I do have an eponymous website, so clearly there's at least some narcissism at work.)

In any case, I obviously decided to pull the trigger, or there wouldn't be this post. So here's a quick outline -- for my own benefit as much as anything else -- on why I decided it's worth the effort.

"Owning the Brand"
In my day job, a big part of what I do is work to raise New America's profile -- not in the typical P.R. sense, but rather making sure my colleagues and their ideas are visibly in the online mix, wherever the debate or discussion is taking place. And a significant part of that work involves planting the New America flag in an ever-growing range of online sites, services and networks: YouTube, Fora.tv, Twitter, Viddler, and others.

It's not that New America needs to be text-messaging updates out to interested Twitterers everywhere, necessarily -- though it's far too early to know for sure how that service will play out. But it is important that, if anyone's going to stake out the policy & ideas space there (not to mention lay claim to http://twitter.com/NewAmerica!), it should be us. Think of it as the Web2.0 equivalent of buying up all the variations of your company's domain name, minus all the annual fees.

And as the world goes increasingly online, this becomes as important for individuals as it does for organizations. When some other Troy Schneider let their ownership of this URL lapse, I jumped at the chance to lock it up. And while I'm even less sure of the value Twitter/FaceBook/LinkedIn/etc. offer to me than I am for NewAmerica, I'm certain that I'd rather define the "Troy Schneider" space myself than leave it to others.

Granted, this is more important for those of us who write, perform or otherwise participate in public life than it is for lots of people. And yes, there's more than a bit of ego at work too. But in a world where everyone can publish, and vitually everything is searchable, there are really only two compelling reasons NOT to "build your own brand":

  1. You're simply not interested. (In which case, more power to you!)
  2. You're actively trying to stay off the radar. (Good luck with that...)

Since I'm clearly not zen enough for reason #1, and don't think I'm wanted by creditors or the law...

Keeping Up on the Latest/Greatest Online
One of the best things about changing jobs last year was that it gave me the chance (the mandate, actually) to re-immerse myself in the world of what's interesting and innovative online. It's a topic I love, but had largely lost track of the last couple years at Atlantic Media, where our specific needs and business models left little time for open-ended exploring and experiments.

There's only so much one can learn by observing, however, and there are lots of interesting ideas out there that aren't fleshed out or stable enough to try on the various New America sites. So this site is intended to be something of a personal sandbox, and the blog is on some level a forcing mechanism to keep me constantly tinkering.

Organize My Thoughts and Re-Impose Some Writing Discipline
As this ramble makes clear, my writing could use some discipline these days. There's information overload on the input side -- I feel like I'm learning cool new things every day -- but very little on the output side. And if you can't articulate and explain your thoughts, then you probably don't fully understand the matter at hand.

The best way for me to wrap my head around something is to write about it. And I just don't do that very much anymore. Partly it's with good reason -- two kids don't leave a ton of free time -- but mainly it's that there are no deadlines to focus the mind. (There are two freelance articles I agreed to do months ago, but neither is due for months to come. And so I haven't done much actual writing yet on either of them...) Hopefully, the self-imposed pressure to keep this site from getting embarrassingly outdated will get me back into the quick-and-concise routine.

Provide a Home for Random Info I've Been Meaning to Share
I really do plan to avoid the "my-kids-are-SO-cute" line of posts, but this is sure to be an eclectic place. I'm fascinated by alternative-fuel cars and converting old diesels to run on vegetable oil. I'm convinced that Drupal is the best web publishing platform out there, and a fascinating example of open-source community. I finally learned, after 12 years and at least that many dead batteries, how to hack together a headlight-warning-buzzer for late model Honda Civics. There are books worth touting, video clips you should see, and friends' blogs and sites that deserve the online love. Not to mention Danelectro basses, Dodge M-37s, Guatemalan history, and next year's Indiana basketball team, among other things.

So in other words, there's plenty to talk about -- some of it, hopefully, interesting to an audience beyond yours truly. Now I just need to get started.