Happy New Year – Welcome to 2009!

Well, so 2008 is gone. One of the toughest years of my life, that’s for sure. Although, in a way, I feel a bit cheated out of time. By August of 2008 I was asking myself “hey where did my 2008 go?” And the answer I have is “no clue”

2008 was a great year in terms of novelty and a steady incoming stream of friendships and knowledge. This was, in no small part, thanks to social media. As I was telling my friend NM, would I have ever known that I was going to do this (blogging/social media) with such passion? No. I didn’t even think about it. Before I started blogging, I had read one blog here, one blog there…

I was aware of some academics who blogged (like Instapundit) but, at the time, I thought of myself as purely an academic. Now, I see myself as an academic who blogs. I am very lucky, because my position is in some ways, unique. I don’t make money off of social media. It’s a hobby and I write because I love communicating. But the good thing is, I have learned enough about technology and social media that I can have conversations with the pros about the stuff they eat, breathe and work on, and not make a fool of myself.

Being able to be immersed in Vancouver’s tech/social media scene has also given me a new perspective on my own academic work, and has inspired me to branch out and do some academic research on Internet and society topics (despite the fact that I am basically an environmental specialist).

As I had mentioned before, I am not sure the shape that 2009 will take for me, but I can assure you that it will be awesome. More importantly, regardless of how long I blog for or what the shape of my involvement in social media will be in 2009, I will never forget about my friends. As I tweeted a long while ago “blogging brought us together… it is now up to us to maintain the relationship”

Happy New Year everyone