Apologia pro Ephemeride Aranea (Why the Blog?)

So, I've been a little reluctant to do this, but it's starting to look like the potential benefits might outweigh the costs. First, I'll be teaching a couple of sections of rhetoric this year, and though I've been fairly steeped in theory for the past few summers, I haven't been engaging in a whole lot of finished practice. That ancient proverb keeps haunting me: Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. I figure that establishing a quasi-public venue, where at least the possibility exists that someone would be reading, might provide me with the encouragement I need to write more regularly and to write a more refined product.

Second, I wouldn't at all mind getting a little feedback, now and then, on my argumentative writing. Nor would I be disappointed if my posts provoked an occasional substantive discussion. There are few things I enjoy more than a good argument, and there are fewer things harder to come by. Finally, there are more than a couple bloggists out in the 'sphere who are probably tired of me using their comment sections as if they were my own personal blog. Hopefully, having my own space will allow me to use less of theirs.

Concerns? A few. Will I be contributing to the depersonalization of human communication so pervasive our technological society? I don't really think so. Will I be merely adding my voice to the narcissitic din of those who appear to love little more than the sound of their own keyboards? Perhaps. God let it be otherwise.