How many times can one start a blog? I’m sure that I’m not the only one who’s gone through multiple iterations of their own personal online journal, but hey, I’m not here to talk about other people. The first blog I started, “You can mix vodka with anything” crashed and burned after I left NYC and moved back to Florida. To that point, I’d never worked in a strict, corporate environment and didn’t think that anyone would care about what I was writing in my free time. Once I started getting questioned about what was happening in my personal life by my bosses, I figured it was time to put the kibosh on that.
My second blog was of the video variety. While I thought it was very good, it spoke specifically of my dating exploits which led to it being pretty sexual in nature. Again, a paycheck got in the way of that one. People have a funny way of reacting when they see you in a video on the web talking about your sexual escapades, so I decided not to risk it.
That brings us here, to the brand-new jonlevine.com. I first purchased jonlevine.com back in 1999 with the intent of learning web design. Through the years, I’ve coded the site by hand in Flash, HTML, and CSS. However, until recently, you needed to have your own site to showcase your being on the web. It was only a few years ago that the MySpaces, Facebooks, and Flickrs of the world arrived whereas you could put your life online for others to find and follow. It was then, I think, that the personal website died.
Jonlevine.com remained floating in this ether, stagnant, while I continued to pour my efforts into keeping my other outlets up-to-date. It was only recently, after attending a session on ‘personal branding’ at the most recent Affiliate Summit, that I decided to resurrect jonlevine.com and return it to it’s past glory. While its role has changed, my photos are now on Flickr, my quick thoughts on Twitter, etc., its mission is still the same: showcase who I am to the public at large under the thought that they actually care (which I doubt they do).
So, with that, let me welcome you to the new JonLevine.com. Third times a charm.
I just learned today that my very dear friend, Ari Zeiger, has begun writing a blog. If ever the medium was invented for a particular individual, Ari was it. His writing style is self-reverential, filled with tons of big SAT words that I find myself having to look up. There’s never a time when I read his writing that I don’t learn something. That something may be a new word, something described in a way I never thought possible, or just how long-winded he can be. Nevertheless, it’s something.