I’d not heard of Wordle, but intrigued, I trundled over and … well, just cool. So I wordled this blog post.

Created at www.wordle.net

I must say, I just love this. So many applications … some serious, some just for fun.

Go visit! Make your own … I’d love to see what your Wordle art looks like!

The article, Semantic Aware Apps Rising, introduced me to the term “semantic awareness” and started me thinking about what this “smart” technology might mean as developers start implementing it … when it becomes ubiquitous.

One of the reasons that I find this interesting is that I’ve had a fair amount of experience with personality tests and their uses. My interest goes all the way back to college, when I first took the Myers-Briggs. After seeing my results, my prof asked me how I lived with myself. Odd, yes! But the comment made me think and got me hooked.

So, I must tell you that I got a little sucked in when Ms. Davis introduced me to The Typalizer … an app that will tell you the personality type of your blog or any blog, for that matter! 

So, I took a deep breath and entered  my URL. In short order the return was back. ESTP (The Doers).

Here’s the cool thing about that . [OK ... I think it's cool.] I’m an ENTP/ENFP according to Myers-Briggs. So, it looks like my writing here pretty well matches my type. Looks like I’m going all “WYSIWYG” on you all! [If you want to read more about the MBTI ... head here!]

About 30 minutes  later I learned that the blogs I read most often have the same “bloginality” … ESFP (The Performers).  I found that very interesting because I don’t necessarily perceive their styles to be the same!

I’ve experienced the push-back when it comes to using personality profiling in hires and staffing. We can already Google folks to find information on those we work with/for. What if these analyzers begin to work on our Twitter and Facebook accounts?

The implications of all of this are far beyond the fun I’m having with it. Semantic awareness has the potential to change quite a few things.

What’s the “bloginality” of your blog?
Is it similar to your personality style or completely different?
How do you feel about the possibilities of all of this semantic awareness?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

A cool 8 million women a month later, BlogHer seems to have reached it’s goal.

I’m still learning about this group and I’m not sure what I think. My initial reaction is WOW! I love the idea of a community of bloggers – not just because they share a software or web provider, but because they share a common interest (blogging).

My follow-up reaction is … ack … ads, ads, everywhere! I mean it’s nuts! Too much. Overwhelming.

Having said that, I’m impressed at the number of highly intelligent folks out there who are writing – many of them daily – on topics across the spectrum. I’m intrigued at the power of their words and their sheer number. I’m curious about what I might add to the dialog as I feel my way around the blogosphere.

If you visit, and I recommend at least a peek, be prepared for the gammut. BlogHer is, after all, a community and the bloggers there write about the real world - with all of its joys and imperfections. Bottom line? It takes all kinds to make life interesting … and BlogHer is nothing if not interesting!

Happy Reading!

Important Husband Note: Husband sometimes states things in a way that, at first glance, warrants a smack in the head. 99.99% if the time it’s just delivery – he doesn’t really mean it. I’ve been with him a long time. I didn’t take it personally.

But alas, that’s a rabbit trail for another time! Back to the question. Why do people blog?

What I found interesting is that I didn’t really have a good answer for him! How do you explain the blogosphere to someone who uses the Internet rather than lives on it?

So, right. There are

• marketing blogs – “let me tell you a pithy story and tie it back to my product or service”
• advocacy blogs – “let me tell you why you should see things my/our way”
• information blogs – “let me tell you what I know about…”
• personal blogs – “let me tell you random things about myself”
  • personal blogs for income – “I have lots of readers and have put ads on my site to support my blogging habit”
• family blogs – “let me keep you in touch with what’s going on in my family”
• picture blogs – “let me show you some pictures I just took”

Ahhh … yes, great. So, why is this blog worthy? I have no idea. It’s probably not. It’s Monday, I’m tired.

So, I guess that probably the biggest question he had (politely unspoken, thank you) is why do I blog.

It’s pretty simple really. I need to have a place to write simply to write and play with writing. Anne Lamott (one of my favorites, btw), says that if you want to be a writer, you need to write every day. She also says that most of what you write will be … well, let’s just paraphrase and say, “not good.”

It doesn’t matter if folks read what I write or not (although it’s always great to have feedback) … it just matters that I write … everyday! Who knows? Maybe a fabulous nugget will suddenly appear and I’ll expand on it and make millions.

It could happen … as long as I keep blogging!

We went to see Phantom of the Opera tonight. It was pretty good. Christine was beautiful … I want her hair. I did find it a bit disturbing that the Phantom looked a little like one of the Baldwin brothers! It was a bit distracting.

Now on to more important matters. Who is responsible for the parking spaces at the AMC on Ray?

No kidding, somebody better have gotten fired over those. You simply WILL get a ding in your car if you park there. It’s inevitable.

OK my thumbs are cramping up now … but this is still cool!

I’m off…

Last night, Dad and I played Madden 2005. You should never play video football with an ex-football coach. Even my advantage of understanding the whole video game thing didn’t work for more than a quarter. If we play again, he’ll annihilate me!

Little Man is having the best time with his Grammy and Grandpa. He’s getting loads of attention and just full of new things. Seriously, he does new things every single day. Husband and I look at each other often and say, “Has he done that before?”

Ocean’s 12 made me laugh. I know that it’s gotten some pretty bad reviews … my parents thought it was awful! … but, really, I thought it was pretty good. The fact that Eddie Izzard showed up in the middle and played a “Marshall” character … well, that was just a treat … a bit like finding a $5 bill in your pocket.

I found the blog of a lady with an 18 month old.I really like her writing style and wit … AND her son “Squidlet” sounds a lot like our Little Man. She also had a very cool link in one of her posts … http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/

The two books on my desk for the next month? The Bible and Bird by Bird.

It’s just that … well, I’ve become very protective in the last few years. Nervous. Untrusting. Maybe it’s the “big city” or maybe I’m just realizing that information in the wrong hands can do horrible damage. Maybe I’m too afraid to lose control.

It’s an oxymoron really … my reaction to this fear. See, I’ve almost maxed out this site with photos AND captions. Our name is attached to it. It wouldn’t take the brain trust to figure out who we are and who and what we value. But I’m still nervous.

I don’t want to be. So, I did it anyway.