If you haven't figured it out already, a lot of my blogging concerns things that I know nothing, or hardly anything, about. As I learn a little bit about the stuff, I write about it and share it with you. For example, I have written about the mechanics of podcasting, content filtering software, Better Business Bureau accreditation, and Rajeev Motwani, all within the last few days. But I learned through the act of writing, and hopefully some of my readers did also.
It's good to know that I'm not the only person using a blog as an exploratory vehicle. Dave Winer recently announced that he was co-founding a blog entitled In Berkeley. When Winer described the new venture in a post in his blog, he said something that I found interesting:
To me, having lived here only three years, most of what I know about Berkeley is how much I don't know about Berkeley. But having a blank page to fill in is one of my favorite things.
When someone approaches the situation with a fresh set of eyes, the reader gets to share in the joy (or sorrow) that the writer is experiencing. As long as the writer doesn't try to claim expertise that he/she doesn't have, everyone can benefit from the writing/reading experience.
So don't wait until you're an expert before you write something. Trust me, if people waited to acquire expertise, our libraries would mostly be empty.
