I'm excited to say that I'm blurring the line between 'blogger' and 'columnist' by publishing over at InsideHigherEd.com. (Click on the “Blog U” logo to go to their in-house bloggers, including yours truly, or go directly there via this link.) If all goes well, I anticipate eventually migrating over there entirely at some point. Among other things, they have tech support, so the version of the blog over there comes with a real RSS feed, Digg It, del.icio.us, etc. Bells and whistles I've never really mastered.
Among other things, I need a logo. Any ideas?
It's an interesting step in the evolution of the blog. Since it started way back when under a different title (“Confessions of a Suburban Dad,” which explains the url), it has gone in some unforeseen directions. The early scattershot approach gave way to a narrower focus on higher ed, leading to a name change. (That, and the realization that the title “Confessions of a Suburban Dad” sounds like it would be a collection of stories of seducing babysitters.) It has become less autobiographical over time, for better or worse, and has become more about life in higher ed generally. To my gratified amazement, it has also become a part-time advice column – those “Ask the Administrator” pieces are my favorites to write. (Send your questions to ccdean (at) myway (dot) com!) I'm hoping that combining the Best Readers Ever (hi everyone!) with IHE's readership will make for a more wide-ranging and therefore more interesting conversation. The feedback is always the best part.
That's not to say that I plan to go all wonky. The Wife, The Boy, and The Girl will still make regular appearances, and I'll still do the occasional lark and/or rant. If I have a contribution to make, I like to think, it's in trying to recognize the three-dimensional reality of working in higher ed administration, and that includes having personal lives. And I'm not doing this to be boring.
I don't know if this will work – part of me anticipates that, six months from now, I'll be staring at my bloated, coked-out reflection in the mirror, muttering to the editors that “it used to be about the music, man” -- but it's time to try something new.
Check it out!
