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Monday, November 05, 2007 |
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Blogworld |
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I`ll be traveling to Las Vegas this week for the Blogworld Expo (click ad lower right side of page to visit the blogworld site) where I`ll be speaking on a panel entitled "From the Front". I`ll be up there with fellow milbloggers and also Michael Yon live from somewhere overseas. I am looking forward to finally meeting some of the other blowhards from the milblogosphere and partying, eh hem, enjoying social gatherings as a group.
For those of you who won`t be able to make it this year I`ll be sure to let everyone know how things go. A buddy of mine put the whole show together so it will be fun having an all access pass for the entire event. Unfortunately I have to take off work to go to Vegas but I`ll sacrifice for the good of everyone else. Wish me luck. |
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Friday, November 09, 2007 |
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Blogworld Wrap-up |
So the show isn`t officially over but I suppose I have seen enough by now. Blogworld turned out great and exceeded my expectations. All kinds of blogging geeks came out for the show including several milbloggers. I finally got to meet milblogger celebrities such as Bill Roggio, Matt and Uncle J from Blackfive, TD from Acute Politics, Ward Carrol from Military.com, Chuck from From My Position...On the way!, the ladies from Spousebuzz, and Tom from Jack Army among others. We had a good time participating in panels and hanging out at the Thursday night party at the Hard Rock Hotel drinking free beer.
I would be remiss if I didn`t tell you that after several beers Uncle J admitted to me that he made up the whole story about me wearing an earring in my profile photo because I am his favorite milblogger and he was really just jealous. Go to his site and you`ll probably see the same admission in the days to come.
So what I came away with is somewhat of a renewed desire to keep blogging. After talking with some of the bigger names i.e. Weekly Standard, Townhall, and Daily Kos (okay just kidding with that last one), I came to realize that there is a lack of soldiers sharing quality writing about their experiences overseas. The fact that professional writers are traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan to cover the sorts of things that I as a soldier take for granted is a shame. So over the next few months (or whatever arbitrary amount of time I feel like typing next) I am going to make a concerted effort to write more and do so with some sort of refinement.
Stay tuned for the potentially fascinating updates. Well those and more dirt (and hopefully pics if I can get them off my phone) on your favorite bloggers.
You can find a pic of me, MKH from Townhall, and Uncle Jimbo from Blackfive over at Gateway Pundit.
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Sunday, November 11, 2007 |
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Mark Cuban is an... |
At the Blogworld Expo last week Mark Cuban, self-made billionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, gave the closing speech Friday evening. I attended the speech not because I much wanted to hear what he had to say, but rather because I was somewhat bored and needed to kill some time before dinner. He talked about blogging and doing so responsibly. I was actually pretty impressed by his speaking abilities and some of the words of wisdom he had.
Near the end of his talk he discussed how bloggers shouldn’t be quick to insult others or use harsh language on their blog because the internet will always keep a record of what they say. He mentioned how he researches everyone who applies for a job and hires based upon what he finds. He joked that if someone had a blog post where they insulted him, for example calling him an idiot, then he wouldn’t hire them. Good advice for sure.
Before he opened up the floor for questions he made a shameless plug for his new film “Redacted.” If you haven’t already heard about the film let me inform you. It is directed by Brian De Palma and is about the rape and murder of an Iraqi family by a few American soldiers. According to De Palma:
“The pictures are what will stop the war. One only hopes that these images will get the public incensed enough to motivate their Congressmen to vote against this war," he said.”
The movie was financed by a company of Cuban’s and is thus directly supported by Cuban. Cuban described the movie in his speech at Blogworld by saying “Soldiers are bored 99% of the time, this film is about what they do with the other 1%.”
That statement taken to its logical conclusion means that the only time soldiers aren’t bored is when they are raping and murdering. What a guy that Mark Cuban is, a real winner. Now I am not going to call him an idiot because it takes a lot of smarts to become a billionaire, although I will say that I think he is slightly ill informed.
As an Iraq vet who found other things to do in my free time besides rape and murder I take offense to Cuban’s remarks. What is so bad about them is a seemingly smart guy like him should be able to figure out when someone has pulled the wool over his eyes like De Palma has with this film. Something tells me that Cuban could care less as long as there is a buck to be made. Too bad he has to make money at the expense of the soldiers. As if one terrible incident, that not one American soldier would condone, describes the whole Iraq war.
Needless to say I wasn’t too impressed with the closing speech at Blogworld. So Mark if you’re reading this I’m not exactly calling you an idiot, but you sure talked like one the other night.
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Wednesday, November 14, 2007 |
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Nature of Blogging |
In order to finish my Blogworld post trifecta I give you this post about the nature of blogging. I realize I have only been blogging for two years, and really don’t do it that often, but I figured something out in Vegas last week that has given me hope for the future of my site.
Last week I heard several big-name bloggers give the same advice to aspiring bloggers: “Find your niche, stick to it, and eventually people will find you and continue to come back for your expertise.” “Ahh,” I thought, “but what is my expertise?” As I pondered that question for a couple of days I met several civilian journalists and bloggers who write about military matters. Those people helped me figure out just what it is that I am an expert at.
Okay, okay, I’m not an expert at anything but I do know about some things better than others. What I know about is what army life is like in Iraq. I know what it is like to come home from Iraq. I know what it is like to go to college as a recently returned veteran. And I know a bit about the reasons why we are fighting in the Middle East. Because I know about these things, and have the desire for others to know as well, I blog.
What the civilians who write about military matters made me realize is that I have some sort of duty to report what I know as long as people want to hear what I have to say. For me to sit idly by as civilians travel overseas to find out what I experience on a daily basis is some sort of shame. Of course those people who write for a living will most undoubtedly bring you the same stories will better grammar, more clarity, and with superior prose, I’ll continue nonetheless.
The thing about blogging is that it is pretty simple. The more you do it the easier it becomes. All blogging essentially is is taking a few minutes of your time to share a thought or two with others. Of course there are people who treat it like a real job but here at Vox Veterana we try not to take ourselves too seriously. We’ll just continue to share our thoughts and stories with the occasional well researched blog in between. Well that and we’ll point you towards people who do it better than us.
I won’t make any money on this site, and if for some odd reason that I do I’ll donate it to military causes, but I still want to help others understand why I as an Iraq war veteran support our mission in the Middle East. If I can do that for someone outside the already established choir than I have met my goal for this site.
So over the weeks and months to come if you like what you read on this site by both Sig and I then tell spread the word. Get the word out about Vox Veterana and we’ll try not to disappoint.
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