Of all the things I do online, I’ve found this blog is the one that gets the least amount of attention. It’s too bad since it’s the one place where I can really think about my career and the many projects I work on. This summer was not boring. I helped a group of students blog from Beijing while they worked for the public relations arm of the Olympics. They blogged about their experiences for two months in China. From time to time they also shared news reports that I used on the air. It’s so cool to be able to share video from across the globe so easily.

I’ve thought a lot about why I don’t seem to blog enough in this space and I realized why — I spend a lot more time on Twitter and Facebook. It’s a way I share and communicate my thoughts and ideas. But I’ve pondered over whether that is productive or not. To me, Facebook is more personal and not as professional (although I try to keep things relatively professional on my page). Twitter is a great space to share and communicate with professionals AND people with similar interests outside of work. I am able to learn about so many things and share many thoughts in a quick manner. That simplicity allows me to stay in touch and see what is important to so many people compared to the time it would take to read each person’s blog posts. But that got me thinking about this blog. Twitter seems so fleeting. The information shared is brief and often not a full thought. Blogs allow those ideas to flesh out and breathe.

I asked around Twitter to see how many other people have noticed a decrease in their blogging - and many consistent Twitter members agreed their blogging has taken a hit. It makes me think that I should try harder to break free of the 140 character discussions and share my thoughts here. I’m sure someone else would shudder when I say this, but I think blogging is more permanent. It’s a distinct record of thoughts from a moment in time. I should try to commit to spending more time here!

I have some big changes as a new semester starts at the Missouri School of Journalism. For this school year, I have a chance to focus on some pet projects and less time in the newsroom. I’m not leaving it completely, but I will be able to spend more time on Smart Decision 2008. I have some big ideas and I hope to be able to share those big ideas here soon.

I work a lot. I work at work. I work at home. I work from campus. I work from coffee shops. Recently, I convinced my boss to buy a broadband card and I have been able to work in the car. Recently, I’ve been fed up with working at home. Our DSL line was purchased four years ago. When we moved away from dial-up, it was the fastest, greatest thing since the iPod. But recently the speed has just left me aggravated. Today I finally made a call, decided to pay $20 more a month and more from 1.5MB speed to 10MB. I hope and pray it will ease the waiting period of uploading and downloading work (and fun) items. By the end of the workday tomorrow, I should be able to work faster. I’m kind of excited. No, I’m super excited.

Also, I’m trying to get an election project moving forward. It’s this collaborative effort I keep discussing. The Smart Decision 2008 site is up, but not ready. I don’t really have anyone to help with the Internet Explorer 7 CSS problems. I don’t really have a CSS person at all. It’s scary when I have such limited funds to make this project work.

BUT, we’re going to do the best we can.

I did get tipped off on a fascinating study on the electronic devices owned by college students. Get this: 97 percent of college students have a cellphone and 79 percent own a laptop. Even more - 30 percent of that 79 percent also own a desktop computer. Wow. It is proof of how ubiquitous technology is with students. Technology is assumed. It isn’t new. It is just there and professors need to find ways to take advantage of its use. I’m online all the time and I feel like I have yet to use it to the fullest. If only winter breaks were longer.