My wife of 24 years recently asked me “Why blog?  Are you looking for a new job?”

At first I didn’t have a good answer for her other than “If I were looking for a new job it would be too late for blogging”.  After all, nobody blogs their way into a job overnight.  If you told me I had to write 500 decent blog postings to get a new job I think I’d pass.  It’s a heck of a lot easier to stay right where I’m at.

After a few days of reflection on this innocent question here’s my answer, my final answer, for now, to myself…

For my own consumption.  Anyone who blogs because they think they’re doing something special, or because they know something 95 percent of the rest of the population in their field is in for a rude awakening.  Let’s face it.  It’s rare when a new idea is borne on the Internet.

Ask any fitness professional “What are the two most important ingredients for success?”  Number one is to have someone or something hold you accountable.  Accountability can come in the form of a trainer, coach, teammates, friend waiting for you at the local gym, or the dog waiting for his nightly walk when you come in tired from the day at the office.

The second most important ingredient for fitness success is to journal what you eat and what you do.  Without the journaling you will lose focus of your goals and quickly go back to your old habits.

Fortunately for database professionals we have it a little easier than the chronically overweight desk jockey.  Our blog, or journal, is often a chronology of things we did with a database.  Often times these are things that are worth remembering that we can go back to any time or any place.

Sure, there are probably at least a dozen places on the internet you can go to get the query to count rows in a table using sysindexes.  But when you read your own blog, in your own words, it’s more like watching the Wizard of Oz for the umpteenth time.  It’s more of a recollection process than a re-learning process.

Those who can do; those who can’t teach.  The first time I heard that expression years ago my initial reaction was that it was funny and true.  After all, how hard can teaching be?  You already know the answers?

Therein lies the rub.  First of all teachers don’t always know the answers.  Even after years of teaching the same subject new waves of students will have new ways of challenging the established way of thinking.  In order to be a good teacher you not only need to be the subject matter expert, but you have to be able to break down complex topics into simple building blocks that can be easily digested by your student audience.  And when that approach doesn’t work, the good teacher must be prepared to instruct the lesson in a different manner.  When you are able to do that, you have mastered the subject.

Some of the best educators I had in college, and fortunately for me I’ve had many, are still revered in my mind.  These professionals made it possible for me to graduate, one project at a time, by making the learning process a series of incremental gains in knowledge and subject matter skill.  So here’s where I can name names: Professor Jay Gorham (Calculus, Hudson Valley Community College) who made the language of calculus palatable; Professor Jeff Schoonmaker, (Physics, Hudson Valley CC) who made physics cool;  Professors David Bozak and Doug Lea (computer science, SUNY Oswego) who made computer science fun and inspired us with their wit and ease;  Professor David Hemmingdinger (algorithm analysis, Union College) who just blew away his first class at Union with his amazing intelligence; Professor Ralph Jones, Boston College (switching theory) who showed me how hard simple math can really be.  The young professor at Union college that taught artificial intelligence… Sorry I can’t remember your name…  But on our first day of class he asked everyone to tell them their name and from that point forward he remembered everyone’s name without EVER referencing a piece of paper, even if we switched seats.

This is beginning to sound like the Emmys…  These are just the ones I can remember… there were more and I regret not being able to recognize them all here.

Back to topic… Blogging is like teaching a mini-lesson.  Like my teaching masters from my past, the preparation and organization of thoughts that go into a blog reinforces what I already know.  By the end of the blog I know the topic that much better because I’ve just articulated the nuances of the topic as accurately and succinctly as possible (that’s the goal anyway).

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything learned in school…”, Paul Chek, How to Eat Move and Be Healthy.  Without a doubt that is one of my all time favorite quotes.  Even though it comes from a health lifestyle and fitness book the meaning is profound and far reaching.  I would be hard pressed to be able to solve even the simplest calculus or physics problem today, but the growth from the process of learning remains in tact.

Blogging is an attempt to keep a little more of what was learned on the job.  In the end, the more that’s left over, the better the value we will all offer to our employers.

I wanna be like Mike.  Who doesn’t?  Who doesn’t want to be easily recognized as tops in their field?  Why bother being in it otherwise?  Unless you’re just coasting to retirement… 

Sure, if I had my choice I’d rather not go to work everyday.  Unfortunately in order to maintain the lifestyle that I’ve grown accustomed to (home with heat and running water, insurance of all ilk’s, two cars in the garage, food way beyond the basics, going out, etc.) I have to go to work to make $$$.

So if you’re going to go to work, why not be the best you can be?  Michael Jordan made a lot of money playing basketball.  And money is a good incentive.  But the real reward was the awareness that he was the best.  The best in the business and the best he was genetically capable of.

If you’re lucky, all you need to do is develop your skills to your genetic ability, and the best in the business will follow.  If not, at least you did your best.  And you’ll feel good for it.

If you’re a doorman for a luxury apartment house, be the best.

If you sell envelopes, be the best at (Harvey McKay did pretty good for himself)…

If you’re a day care teacher, be the best you can be…

I just happen to be a database weenie.  So I’m always trying to make myself a better database weenie.

To be the best, do what the best do.  In the SQL Server world the best of the best, at least we are so lead to believe, are the MVPs.  These guys and gals are always journaling their journey.  If I want that kind of job security, personal satisfaction and monetary rewards that ultimately follow, I must follow the examples and advice of the leaders.

Steve Jones, from SQL Server Central, advised with a great graphic at a Charlotte SQL Server User’s group to become the red umbrella in a sea of blue (it was a field of blue umbrellas with one red one).  That red umbrella belongs to the person who has made it to the top of their chosen field.  To be that red umbrella holder, you must write, write, write.

A great source of inspiration on how to be the best at what you do is Brad McGehee’s ebook: How to Become an Exceptional DBA.  As soon as you finish reading this post go download Brad’s book.  It’s free and it just may be the kick in the pants you need to really step it up.  Blogging is one of the easiest forms of writing and is a good starting place.  It’s not the end game; but it is participation.

A blog a day keeps the remissions away.  I’m still working on this one… but by blogging regularly it will become easier.  Sometimes that means writing something short and sweet.  They all don’t have to be projects (this one was supposed to be a Sunday afternoon quickie).

Blogging is like exercise.  A 15 minute jog once a day is much better than a 2 hour run on Sunday.  They both need to be high enough on the priority list that they get done daily, or pretty close to that.  They need to be woven into the fabric of the day and not thought of as appendages to be done when everything else is finished.

OK, before this gets too carried away…  Let me wrap up by stating what blogging is not:

It’s not…  Letting the world know how smart I am.  I’m not a brain surgeon and I know that and don’t pretend otherwise.

It’s not…  A research paper every time.  Taking everything on as a big project spells doom over the long haul.  Don’t make it harder than need be.  Follow the KISS principal.

It’s not…  Journaling something that no one else in the world knows.  There’s nothing I and only I know that the rest of the caring world doesn’t know.  The internet makes information ubiquitous.  Don’t think you’ve got anything on the rest of the world.  Ain’t gonna happen.

It’s OK…  To be me and write what I think even if it doesn’t make the front page of the Wall Street Journal.  It is what it is….

Now for the $50,000 question…  If anyone stumbles on this…  Why do you blog?

Happy SQL-ing!