“Most of them aren’t actually blogs,” my friend said, rolling his eyes. By this he meant they weren’t literally “web-based logs” of people’s lives. And while this is technically correct, so what? Edison thought the phonograph should be used for dictation. Which would’ve be too bad for you, Toscanini.

These primarily free publishing platforms represent a revolution in the way people interact with media and information, letting anybody with a computer and the urge to share share whatever they want. And do they ever share. The results range from phenomenal to abysmal and all points in between. Like it or not, there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle.

Here are a few of my own experiments in blogging.

The Odd Sandwich
My most active venture at the moment. Snappy captions for mostly public domain images culled from The Commons on Flickr. Probably not the use they intended, but fun all the same.
Platform: Tumblr

The New Low Down
I served for a time as the jazz correspondent for a public radio station in Kansas City, interviewing musicians about their work and making monthly music recommendations. I started this blog to keep track of all that. Some time later came an occasional podcast.
Platform: Blogger

Daytripper
In the early 90s, I wrote a weekly local history/travel column for the now-defunct Kansas City View. We called it “Daytripper.” A decade later, I found myself back in Kansas City and revived the Daytripper concept - and some of the old columns - in a blog.  
Platform: Word Press (migrated from Blogger)

An Oddment of Sandwiches
The Odd Sandwich’s serious older sibling, which collects my occasional production of micro fiction, on average one story every two weeks.
Platform: Blogger