I can't tell you the number of times I've spoken with people who have such amazing ideas... that they keep to themselves. I try to encourage them to write a blog. "I'm not a good writer." "I don't like to write." "I'm not a technical person." "I wouldn't know where to start." Excuses abound.
From now on, I'm going to give them the link to Sacha Chua's great presentation. There are too many great ideas in the world that aren't being shared. The world needs your ideas. Maybe Sacha can help.
Socrates said, "The misuse of language induces evil in the soul." He wasn't talking about grammar. To misuse language is to use it the way politicians and advertisers do, for profit, without taking responsibility for what the words mean. Language used as a means to get power or make money goes wrong: it lies. Language used as an end in itself, to sing a poem or tell a story, goes right, goes towards the truth.
A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight. By using words well they strengthen their souls. Story-tellers and poets spend their lives learning that skill and art of using words well. And their words make the souls of their readers stronger, brighter, deeper.
This is an excellent presentation. Even if you already blog, it's worth the time to review. But emacs for blogging? To each their own. Perhaps I shouldn't knock it until I've tried it.
And the geeks shall inherit the Earth.