A Look Back at 9 Years of Blogging - Corporate eLearning Strategies and Development

Tomorrow, August 23rd 2005, 9 years ago, I embarked on a most excellent adventure. It started with an unassuming welcome message, on a very plain, boring blogger template. I know, I know, I should be on wordpress, bla, bla, bla...

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Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Welcome

Thanks for stopping by Corporate eLearning Development. I chose the title because it can mean so many different things, and I hope to cover many topics that are so real to me at this moment in my career.

I've been wanting to start this for quite some time and the time has come. After presenting 2 topics at the eLearningDevCon2005 in Oregon, I have committed to making this blog and it's resources a reality.

I don't believe that many eLearning professionals, especially those under a corporate blanket, understand that the field as we now it is undergoing a drastic change we are not prepared for. I am constantly amazed at the number of seminars, conferences, and EdTech curriculums still preaching old school ISD and how to create all of the "elements of effective eLearning"...forget about it. I would urge you to consider updating your skills in graphics design, color theory, image manipulation, Interaction design, cartooning, comics, audio/video production, and story telling.

Please read the following books: Re-imagine! by Tom Peters, and A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink...

I will be following this post with updates to the blog as well as other materials

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placeit.net image - eLearnDev.blogspot.com

And that's how it all started. I did not start it to make money, or optimize my search ranking, or anything like that. I was simply fascinated by the idea of writing publicly for no other reason than to think out loud, share my thoughts, and well...yes... to vent...a little. And I wanted to participate. I wanted to fully engage in this thing called Web2.0. Not as a mere searcher and consumer of content but a PLAYER! Maybe not in the Gary Vaynerchuck Player style, but in my own personal way. An active player in my own personal game of Life...online.

Even today the internet blows my mind. I can publish any type of media and anyone around the world can view it.  Not only that, but they can respond and we can connect and have a conversation, and often build friendships.  Heck, one click and I'm in a video room chatting with colleagues via G+Hangouts. Again...it. blows. my. MIND! But everything moves so fast these days, and everything on the web is now part of mainstream news...and it's crazy, and funny, and dramatic, and horrifying.

But it's also AMAZING! Sit back and think about it. These are AMAZING days to be alive!

I've met people from all over the world and have had the most amazing conversations all because I started this blog. It's been the most powerful learning tool I could ever imagine. And better than that, I feel like I've helped others in their online journey.

At my first anniversary of blogging I felt like I had learned more than in my entire formalized education.  I read more, I wrote more, and I had deeper conversations leading to more reading and more writing. I was hooked! This was the future, and I was going to tell the world about it!

At my 5 year anniversary things had changed. I was contemplating just shutting it down. It was 2010 and there were new communication channels. Twitter, Facebook, and others had popped up seemingly out of nowhere. And the social media battle for attention was well underway. Also, by then I was busy programming the DevLearn Conference & Expo for The eLearning Guild. Blogging, RSS feeds, and feedreaders just weren't interesting any more.

I jump started a nice little career from being a below average blogger, and an even worse writer.
But hey, it's mine. And it's me. And I'm cool with that. As I head into my 10th year of blogging I just want o say thanks to everyone who's been a part of my career IRL, and/or followed my adventure online. I'm still lovin' this stuff!