Publishing

I was in the middle of the dotcom era once upon a time, and there were a gillion competing ways to use the 'net for information. Anyone remember Pushcast? Anyway, the prediction was then that the web would make it possible for anyone to compete with the major media for the distribution of ideas. I would say that dream has come true. It is not a level playing field in the traditional sense, where CBS and I have the same access to resources for the promulgation of ideas, but it is true that on any given day what I write can have exactly the same impact - perhaps a greater impact - than anything being churned out by the major media outlets.

Trouble with that is, you better be good. The only currency in the blogosphere is credibility. What you say you are, you better be. You don't have to be right all the time unless your shtick is that you're right all the time. You don't have to be entertaining unless your thing is that you're an entertainer. But once you lose credibility as whatever you are, you're not going to get it back. There are too many genuine people out there putting out some amazing stuff (try Not All Who Wander Are Lost, if you don't believe me) for the audience to stay with you once you prove to them that you're not always what you say you are.

Here's what I am: I'm nobody really, just a fellow that does a necessary job of finding good people money to get a home of their own. I hope to do it better than anyone else. I also am a guy that has thoughs on how the macroeconomic picture hits Joe Homeowner in the wallet, and I share some of those thoughts backed by as much of my experience as is relevant. I alos like movies and books and sports and gardening and practically everything else, so if the column is less like a roast chicken and more like jambalaya, that's just how it goes.

And this is now the third different way I've posted to this blog. Technology is living up to its hype.