It was just a few years ago that having an online property (website, blog, blogger, livejournal, etc) was for an elite group of people. But now with tools like Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon, Digg, etc it is much easier to create a place for yourself. There is nothing original, revealing or pointed in that observation. What is important is the notion that once we establish ourselves in a place there is unnecessary pressure to constantly occupy it.

This I believe is at the core of a recent writing by Matt Davis, a Portland journalist and blogger, who struggled with the point of a blog and blogging, and concluded, “But for people like me—who long to be at the center of things just because that’s where the center is, I think blogs are just a stake in the ground, these days.” Matt explains further, “…if you want to know what Matt Davis is thinking, check Twitter, check Facebook, check Blogtown. But if you want to know what Matt Davis [wants you to think he] IS, then come back here from time to time.”

I do not disagree with Matt that blogs are just a stake in the online ground, but I do disagree with him that for many of us our stakes are much larger. Thanks to awesome advances in extensibility, my blog here, can be easily broadcast anywhere and get plugged into in a variety of ways (see my share this button at the bottom).  One’s stake gets larger if they are an authoritative voice. As a journalist, Matt is subject to much more notarity and criticism than most of us.

This blog, is only the most recent version of realidealist.net. When I started this site in 2000 and *blogged* on it there was no WordPress or Typepad, so I wrote everything out in HTML by hand. Since that time, this site has had several different focuses, purposes and functions. It will change as the web does.

If you want a voice online you have to simply find it, and have it.  Think off the friends or people you follow who are exceptionally good at their place in the online dialog, whether FB, twitter or any of the scores of sites/third party programs/means that are out there.

Since most of us are not trying to sell ads on our blogs, who cares about daily traffic? Since most of us are not trying to be the site for this or that, then who cares about regular updates. This is then about what is your voice online and how do you use it? You have to find what works for you. Do you know how many social sites are out there?

Find your place and enjoy it.