Random...

I don't know how I feel about the blogsphere. Two weeks in, I'm underwhelmed and frustrated.

As I said off the bat, I'm like six years too late. Despite stalking people on stat-counter, you never really know if people are reading your work and frankly, if your work is even worth reading.

I know this blog has not yet found its voice. I know I'm a better writer than I've shown so far. I've had multiple people whose opinions I respect say, it's not very good.

It's hard, because in the world of blogs and sports-talk, people want expertise. You want someone who REALLY knows what he or she is talking about.

And since most people aren't experts, to make up for a lack of knowledge, people shout loudly, take strong absurd stances, and substitute thought and reason with volume level.

I'm not the first person to say the level of discourse in this country has gone down.

But what I'm told is, you have to find a unique position to write a blog. Or, as author Seth Godin calls it a "Purple Cow." That unique selling proposition.

The problem, as my brother beautifully articulated it is, we're living in a world where everyone is a purple cow. Go on to facebook. Everyone's got something to plug (believe me, I'm as guilty as anyone). We don't talk, we cross-promote.

So in a world where everyone thinks they're an expert, and everyone thinks they're important, how do you stand out? Do you want to?

To be honest, I'm not really an expert in anything. I have a variety of interests. But being interested, having curiosity, liking--- doesn't make it in a world where people want the loudest, instant reaction. Not only are you supposed to be an expert, RIGHT AWAY, you're supposed to speak with absolute certainty and bravado. That's just not how I'm wired. I'm more of a seeker, a questioner. I like to take in information. I question absolutely everything.

There's a great quote by Dr. Timothy Leary that I think about often (I'll paraphrase): My favorite three words in the English language are 'i don't know.' Every time you say them, you learn something new. Don't know if that philosophy flies in blog-land.

Believe me, I have passions. There are things I care deeply about. Sports, movies, some pop culture, certain music, comedy, ethical and moral issues, politics...

There's nothing more annoying than when I tell someone that I'm involved in sports media, and they immediately think this is a game of stump the schwab. Just because I try to watch as many sporting events as possible, doesn't mean I have immediate cognitive access to every piece of sports trivia since the Revolutionary War.

I know I don't want my blog to be sports-talk. Not in the sense of talking about sports, but I mean in the sense of sports-talk.

For the past TEN years, I've been FULLY engulfed in that world. I've taken two weeks off from it so far (aside from one fill in hosting gig, and another this upcoming Sunday), and I feel better. There are less idiots shouting at me as I drive to work.

To talk about sports, you don't have to yell at people. You don't have to one-up them. You don't have to know everything.

You can just be interested in the players and the storylines, the circus and the absurdity.

That's what interests me.

That's what I try to capture in this blog.

My 'purple cow' in this blog, has got to be me.

There's no question that I have a different world-view than most.

If I can make you put on some Dukie Lang-colored glasses to process certain events in the world, that may be enough.

If not, I may have to start a porn site.