I remember a couple of years ago asking my daughter-in-law what a blog was. She said it was a shortened form of the word “weblog.” It could be a record or listing of anything that is deemed important to the writer or recorder of this log. I was familiar with logbooks from being on board ships in the Navy. I was also in the radio business for a million years and we were required by FCC regulations to keep a couple of logs – one for documenting commercials played and another for documenting measurements of our signal strength.

When you come right down to it, blogs are cyberspace’s version of the back fence. You get to exchange points of view with your neighbors. It’s like having your own op-ed column in the newspaper or having your own talk show on the radio or TV.

I asked my friend, Paul Perry of WROR Radio in Boston what he would do if he didn’t do a radio show. He said whatever he did; his desire for accenting the humorous side of life would surface at the water cooler somewhere else instead of coming out of the speakers of the radio.

So blogs are mostly a representation of your personality. If you don’t blog, you may go down to the corner bar and regale everyone with your opinion or commandeer the gazebo in the town square and just start orating. Both can be rather annoying. Many years ago, I did a radio talk show and was attending a family event out of town. My brother-in-law’s father came over to me and offered his opinion on talk show callers. He said, “You know that guy in the bar who talks to everyone? He goes from person to person and each one sloughs him off. After the last person tells him to ‘get lost,’ do you know what he does next? He goes home and calls you.”

The good news about blogs is they can only affect you if you read them. And if they don’t interest you, they’re much easier to ignore than drunks in a bar.

I’m delighted that my pal, Mark’s main squeeze, Kathy, who designed my website (http://GrasshopperNotes.com) mentioned that she could include a blog with it. It’s a way to reach people with a message or musing I think would be beneficial. I fall under the broad category of what I call “people helpers.” And blogging helps me reach people who may have never have come across these points of view otherwise.

I thank you for reading my blog and if you find something of value here, pass it along to a friend. I would encourage anyone who has a point of view they would like to express to begin blogging. My friend, Hali Chambers, Labyrinth Gal tells me anyone can start blogging for free with Blogspot.

All the best,

John