For my first conceit...

Pardon me while I publicly figure this blogging thing out.

I'm a Luddite Lite. It's not that I believe technology has no place in our lives; it's just that I try to limit its place in mine. I was TV-free for five years, until a frustrated friend gave me the 1999 model he was replacing with a flat-screened modern marvel -- along with the little card that would allow me to purchase a hi-def converter box. When he asked me how I liked my new TV, I responded, "TV? Oh...you mean the DVD-viewer. I like it just fine." Netflix, yes. Network TV, not so much.

Until I drowned it in a kayaking mishap a couple of weeks ago, my phone was a flip-model with a little, bitty camera, and a plan that allowed me to phone ET if I wanted to, but limited me to text messages. I now have a new shiny, red phone, with one of those screens you need to pet and tap and nudge with your finger -- along with the requisite data plan for that model. "Cool!" you exclaim. "What kind of phone is it?" Didn't I just tell you?: The shiny, red kind with the pettable screen and a data plan.

I went kicking and screaming into the Valley of the Shadow of FaceBook, and -- yea! -- though I walk there, I walk there infrequently, often tripping over rules of conduct/engagement I never knew existed because I live in the physical realm. I was a Twitter tweeter for a while but have yet to find a good personal use for it. I'm LinkedIn, Plaxo-ed, and even had a little bit of "karma" going on Plurk. Dogster and I had a brief flirtation. I'm digging Digg, but Tweetdeck and I just couldn't get it together. Really, do I need that much information at my fingertips?

My industry tells me, "Perhaps."

And it's my job that brings me here. I'm not kicking. Or screaming. Or making much of a fuss at all. But it seems I'll be blogging corporately now, and the company website just isn't a good place to experiment. This space, I'm hoping, will be.

I'm going to make mistakes. I'm going to misstep. I might even misspell occasionally. (Say it isn't so!) But I'm not sure how better to learn about this space than to occupy it. So here I am. Please accept my apologies in advance.