A Simple Solution

I find it interesting how much I enjoy writing considering how rarely I actually write anything. Blogging has always appealed to me as an easy and accessible outlet for my writing desires, yet every blog I've started eventually ends up silent. Funny that I'm making yet another (probably doomed) attempt to enter the blogosphere. However, this time feels somehow different than all those other times. I realized that I'm in fact approaching this blog very differently than I have in the past.

Each iteration of my blog was usually linked with a new iteration of my website. This one is no different, as it comes along with my new (and improved) website: marsers.com. The key difference is that I'm working on this site with a specific purpose. I've actually come up with requirements that need to be met... everything involved has a stated purpose of some sort. In essence, I've actually designed a solution for my web presence.

The problem was I focused on tools rather than solutions. Making a website was all about having cool things, gadgets, whatever. Hell, I remember when having a website at all was cool enough by itself. I was obsessing over the feature-rich blogging system and never bothered to come up with a purpose for all those features. I used to spend so much time pouring over templates and layouts that I never had time for writing. This time I've dropped the fancy software whose features far exceed my needs, and I'm sticking with tools that actual create a solution... not more problems.

As a software engineer, I'm amazed that I never realized this sooner. Tools by themselves do not create solutions. The human element messes with that whole equation. An excessive tool is almost as bad as a inadequate tool because neither manages to solve the end-user's problem. I've seen plenty of examples and still managed to fall victim myself. Perhaps all that CS education taught me a thing or two, so I can now see the error of my ways. Regardless, the complex content management system is out and the lightweight blogging platform is the new black. Hopefully, this will let me spend my time on writing... the part I actually enjoy.