Blogging so far has been really fun.

I was recently invited to join the Brazen Careerist network, which is very flattering. I’m a big fan of Brazen Careerist — it’s incredible how many smart, young people out there, and who are also cogent and interesting writers. They are an inspiring bunch!

I feel that before I consider adding my blog to the network, I need to think about what this blog is for and what direction it’s going to take. Believe it or not, this blog kind of exists without really having a conscious purpose. Is an unexamined blog worth keeping?

Part of me feels like I have no right to be talking about design and offering advice with relatively little experience, but on the other hand, I’ve thought all along that this blog could be a very effective learning tool — one that I can learn from, in working out my thoughts, and one readers can learn from, as well.

I’m currently learning a lot about mobile design at Future Platforms, a small mobile-focused software company in Brighton. Mobile is really interesting to me on lots of different levels, and I’m really loving what I’m doing. So I am going to write about that. I will be contributing to the company’s new blog (Future Platforms Labs) which is currently being set up, so I’ll be cross-posting here and there.

I would like to put more conscious thought into making this blog useful to those also in my shoes, by keeping my posts relevant to a specific readership. On one level, I’m dealing with day-to-day design issue, and on another, there’s the larger realm of the industry of design itself, with its tendency to change. (I’ve discovered that I’m interested in the big picture — that is, the really, really big picture. I’m often comparing the state of things now to how things were hundreds of years ago. Fortunately, I’m also interested in the minute detail of the present day — designing for small screens sort of calls for a focus on small detail — but I think it’s important not to get lost in it.)

My intention at the beginning was simply to push myself out of my comfort zone. This blog’s done that, and it’s given me a voice. People have told me they like my blog, which is encouraging — and the pressure is somewhat on with around 60 subscribers (thanks!). I’m not really in a hurry.

After all this, I’m still not sure how I feel about the act of exposure which blogging requires. When people I meet in “real life” tell me they’ve read my blog, my natural response is to feel really shy (actually, I said: “Oh no, I hate it when people read my blog!”). In any case, I’ve put it up here for anyone to read. So here it is. I’ll continue to push myself out of my comfort zone. If there’s anything blogging has taught me, it’s that my voice is just a small one amongst many other strong, defined, intelligent voices — but I’m glad it’s there, and being amongst these other voices is helpful in defining my own.