tanvi's digital journal

Let me start by disclosing the reason behind starting this personal blog.

It was not to write.

It was to own a personal website with my name.

Unfortunately, the .com domain was taken, so I had to settle for another one. After doing some research on domains and the purposes for which each is used, I chose the ‘.me’ domain.

The .me domain is:

1. The top-level country domain for Montenegro (like how .in is the country domain for India)
2. The popularly used domain for blogs, portfolios, personal branding websites, etc. (because “me”)

I was initially doubtful because I do not want to be associated with Montenegro in any way or form, so I spent some time scurrying through .me websites. I was finally convinced of the .me domain’s popularity and global usage, and assured myself that the government of Montenegro cannot blacklist me or interfere with this blog.

So, one thing led to another, and I ended up creating this purple-themed digital journal.

While I did manage to get this whole thing up and running, this is just the beginning. And there’s a long way to go. Or may be there’s not. I don’t know. There are so many whats and whys and hows.

I’m going to write down the thoughts and questions that have been racing in my mind about starting this personal blog. Maybe someone who’s sailing on the same boat can relate. Or maybe someone who has already reached the shore can help me clear things out. Or maybe I’ll just revisit this post a few months later and smile because I’ll be none the wiser then.

1. What’s the whole point of this?

1. To write more consistently and freely. Online writing is not new to me. I write on LinkedIn and Medium sometimes, but I’m not consistent. Also, some of the things I want to write about might not be suitable for those platforms. Maybe owning a personal blog will inspire me to write more candidly?
2. To learn. Building and maintaining a personal website is a project of its own. There are so many things involved, like design, layout, analytics, categorizing posts, etc. I have sooooo much left to figure out and that’s (kind of) exciting.
3. To connect with people. More people are going to see my online profile than meet me in real life. Maybe this blog will help them get to know me better?

2. How personal is too personal?

This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Yes, I want to be authentic and honest. But I also have to be careful about two things – safety and reputation.

I don’t want to reveal too much about myself or the happenings of my life. The internet is both wonderful and scary. You don’t know who is lurking around.

I’ve also added this blog to my LinkedIn profile, so people in my professional circle can access it. I should be careful of not saying anything that can be used against me. Also, people will automatically form some kind of judgement about me (positive or negative) by reading this blog, especially if they don’t know me personally. If I’m too vague, blatant, or strongly opinionated about controversial topics, then there is a high chance of my posts being misinterpreted or misunderstood.

3. Why should people care?

Let’s be honest here – I want people to read my blog. Why else would I put so much effort into it?

But why would anyone want to read this blog? I’m not here to save lives or uncover groundbreaking insights. I’m not an academic prodigy, high-performing executive, or God forbid, an influencer… so why would people want to waste their time reading about my thoughts?

I know that most people won’t care to read this blog. Out of those kind-hearted souls who do, some will cringe, or judge, or be disappointed, because I did not deliver what they expected. A minor fraction of people might appreciate or enjoy reading the blog, and if I’m blessed enough, engage with it. (I don’t want to get too ahead of myself here because there is hardly anything that exists on this blog as I type this.)

I’m doing this for purely selfish reasons – to write for myself. The difference between a digital journal and a personal journal is that there will be at least one person (other than myself) who will read the former. If not now, at some point, some pair of eyes will fall on these words. This awareness changes your whole approach towards writing. You start to take it more seriously.

4. What will you even write about?

This. This is the question I fumble with the most.

The honest answer is that I don’t really know. I haven’t given this blog a theme. I do have a few ideas and topics in the roster, but I don’t know how far I’ll get with those. I also feel that my focus and energy are being encumbered by a hundred different things outside and within, and this has impacted my writing. I hope to change that with this blog. Based on my online writing experience so far, I’ve found that the more consistently you write and publish, the more ideas you get. (Publishing is as important as writing.)

I hope I can answer this better in future.

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The reason I’m sharing all of this is to be honest about the whole process. It’s not a big deal, I know. It’s just a personal blog. But it’s still something.

I usually conclude my posts with a quote. I will be concluding this one with a highly cliched one, but it’s one of my favorites:

The journey of a thousand miles beings with a single step.
– Lao Tzu