A blog for me (and maybe you)…

I finally took the plunge.

I’ve been doing this “Internet thing” since I was in college in the mid-90s and on into every job I’ve held since. I’ve worked on dozens of websites for numerous companies and explored any number of online and offline technologies, but I never did the most basic things for myself – registering my own domain name or starting a blog. Well, on the (repeated) advice of my friends and colleagues, both of those things changed today.

With the humble goal of posting just twice a month – more when I have something meaningful to write about – I set up my long-gestating “What If” blog today on chrisspanier.com.

Why “What If”?  Well, it goes back to my childhood. I have always loved the question and where it leads me. As a kid, I’d devour comics that explored familiar tales that had a twist and went someplace new. When I got older, I discovered alternate histories where authors would posit a change in events that would have major repercussions for history as we knew it. In this way, what had always been basically facts & stories suddenly came to life because I started to see other possibilities. I appreciated more about what had happened because I started to see the other paths events could led down. And that’s how I got hooked on the question of “What If”.

In today’s oh-so-hectic world, I find myself rushing from place to place, project to project trying to get everything done. I miss out on the time to reflect and feel the lesser for it.  So this site is my intentional effort to force myself to stop and think; to reflect on things that matter to me, both personally and professionally. If you, the reader, happen to come across it and find it to be of use, then that’s awesome. And if you’re willing to share some of your own thoughts in the comments below, then that’s doubly-awesome.

I look forward to the journey.

Chris

No matter what anyone tells you, words and ideas can change the world.  – John Keating {Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society}

 (thanks to Kristopher Roller for the cool picture)

#whatif #journeybegins