End of Semester Thoughts on the Blog

I have had a long and sordid history with blogs. My first one was back in '01, which was updated rarely and was written in Dreamweaver and updated to my personal site. I've kept one (or 6) on and off for years. The blogging has outlived Dreamweaver in usefulness. (Yes, I write the code for my sites by hand. Yes, I am a snob about it.)

However, even my collaboratively written blogs did not have this consistent level of activity (and, I am pained to admit, quality), which is very important and very exciting.

Additionally, though others have said it, an advantage of this forum is that those of us who have a hard time talking can come out of their proverbial shell. I can see the advantage of this virtual space for classrooms, even if they are not specifically "endorsed" or a requirement of the professor, just as a place for questions and answers.

Lastly, I've been in kind of a creative weird place lately, and so, when that is the case, I read some poetry or related prose. In this case, I'm re-reading Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet," and I've come across this bit, and his words on copyright are better than mine.

"Finally, as to my own books, I wish I could send you any of them that might give you pleasure. But I am very poor, and my books, as soon as they are published, no longer belong to me. I can't even afford them myself--and, as I would so often like to, give them to those who would be kind to them."
--Rainer Maria Rilke, April 23,1903