This Gen-Xer thanks you, Gen-Y.

I wish I would have started sooner, as to have a better record for posterity. I'm talking about blogging. Being that I'm a decade removed from the Net Generation, I was destined to join the ranks in a generation that subjected itself to something I've seen as blogging's primitive predecessor, a thing called Scrapbooking.

Although, I think the intention behind it was a valid one, many may disagree when I say that the scrapbooking movement of the mid-nineties placed me in circumstances similar to those I experienced in another cult (please know that I use the term affectionately) I once fell into. A rather harsh perspective to take, I know. And granted, my obsessive personality type did not help my cause. But these “Cropfests” as they were called, were venue to multitudes of mothers, mostly. We were constantly barraged by 'manifesto' from the organizers of these conventions: "Your role in your family unit is one of immeasurable importance--- you are your family's historian!" "It's up to you to preserve and record your family's memories for posterity!" *echo, echo, echo...* So we all strived to do.

The 'manifesto' turned out for me to be a spendy, waste of time. (Cue violins...) Not only was I geographically limited to the company of whoever decided to show up at those things, the other “croppers” as they were called, were an infectiously enthusiastic bunch whose influence caused me to amass piles full of stickers, doodads, and expensive photo albums that sat hopelessly empty for all the contemplating it took to arrange the massive amounts of paraphernalia. Stacks and stacks of photos began piling up. "I must preserve my family's history!" Falling further and further behind in my commission, the pressure would mount, I would pay a nominal fee and register to attend the next 'conference' with high hopes of living up to my responsibility. More often than not, I would meet again people who were once fellow croppers, moved up in the hierarchy to become convention organizers themselves. Time and time again, I would come home from an entire day of archival effort with nothing more to show for... Except maybe three new pairs of scissors, a new set of pens, and a new piece of luggage on wheels to put all my stacks and stacks of photos in.

I do understand the inarguable necessity for actual physical documentation with regard to preserving historical record. Still, I think of how much more liberated the 'defectors of scrapbooking' have become with the intervention of the blog. It starts with something as simple as: no more sitting next to the lady who takes offense to the fact that your newborn is wailing his head off in his baby carrier because he needs to be nursed. Just filter that out--- literally. Filter out whatever negativity makes it's way toward you by simply 'clicking.' Awesome! Share ideas, join conversations, admire and comment on each others pixels. Keep your own pixels in your hard drive and back them up on disk every once in a while. Most importantly, be liberated to the fact that you're not entirely limited for the sake of time or budget, to commemorating special occasions only. If you choose to, you may reflect on the urbane, the mundane, the unextraordinary, the day-to-day experiences that are just as meaningful. Oh, the exultation!

So thank you Gen-Y, for forging ahead of me. I appreciate and admire your innovation and fearlessness in the way you interact with technology, each other, the world.