Well, here we go. Today We have launched. I’ve been working on this for a few months now and I feel that we’re ready. Which means that we have quite a bit of content to put up here, even though the site itself doesn’t look as good as we would like it to. Substance before style, I guess.
So what is this and why are we doing it ?
Why ?
I am an avid blog reader. It’s how I absorb my daily information. Be it world news, technology, sports, music, or movies, I read my news and get opinions through an ever changing collection of blogs (228 at last count).
However, when it comes to diving, I haven’t been able to find good blogs that I enjoy reading. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of blogs out there, but beyond a few good personal blogs that are mostly focused on their author’s dive reports and a defunct general diving blog, most of the information available can only be found through forums such as ScubaBoard (I know…), The Decostop and RebreatherWorld. And it takes a lot of time to browse those and separate the noise from the information.
So because of this and a few other reasons, Sam and I decided to launch ThinkingDiver.com. The idea has been evolving, and over the past few months, we’ve been doing a lot of writing. We don’t know yet exactly what the content will be, but we’ll definitely be covering everything from recreational diving to tech diving, open circuit to rebreather diving, and new gadgets and technologies. We’ll talk about our dives, both local and remote, as well as the equipment we use. A few manufacturers have expressed interest and we’ll be reviewing some of their new gear (and we’ll send them back, no keepsies).
The tone of the blog isn’t set in stone and you’ll find that Sam and I have very different attitudes and philosophies about diving and life in general. But as long as I keep bumping into him during our dives, it’s pretty safe to say we’ll keep writing together here.
But! This is not our personal dive web site. We’re writing it for all of the diving enthusiasts out there and everyone can (and should!) participate, by commenting on our blog posts (of course), but also as guest bloggers. This month, we’ll post a few items from people other than us, starting with John Cogan (who I dove with on a live-aboard in the Bahamas, together with SCRUB, the South Florida rebreather crew). I am sure you’ll enjoy reading their posts at least as much as you enjoy reading ours.
We’re not doing this for fame or money (okay, not for money). Right now it’s not our intent to sell sponsorship on our site. We’d love to review new products from diving gear manufacturers but for now, that’s it. We’ll be running basic ads only, so that we can cover our operating costs.
And most importantly, we’ll keep diving. We don’t want to be couch divers, telling you how it is. We’ll keep diving and reporting on our findings, our epiphanies, our mistakes. We’re not experts, and there are much better divers than us out there. Most of you are! We just like to hear ourselves talk…and we’re real geeks.
So it’s here, it’s live and it’s kinda good.
(Oh and Digg us ?)
Tags: about, about us, intro post, launch, thinkingdiver, why
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"However, when it comes to diving, I haven’t been able to find good blogs that I enjoy reading." What is that crap! I take offense to your statement that you can't find any good blogs that you enjoy reading. I am sure you read Quiet Diver and enjoy it! And my assessment is that it is a "good blog". You got to love it when the publisher of a blog goes on about how good his blog is, egomaniac! Welcome to the world of internet publishing. I am glad you reached out to me about your new venture.
The joy is really in the journey. The excitement and satisfaction of reaching the end of the line, earning a certification, publishing an article or reaching a new depth is fleeting, usually it fades within minutes or hours. However, the memories of everything that it took to make those accomplishments happen last a long time and pay huge dividends. I have found that the deeper I analyze my diving and the clearer I can present my analysis, the more I benefit, the more the community benefits and the more long term gratification I get out of the effort.
And for the record, I am not really offended just amused.
Hans
http://www.quietdiver.com
Hey Hans,
you're perfectly right, I didn't express myself well. I obviously like your blog, we link to it in our blogroll. I guess what I meant is that I felt that there was something missing, in between large forums and personal blogs. Personal blogs like yours focus on and describe diving experiences and a lot can be gained from reading them. What I am trying to do with TD is something that's more article oriented and less reverse chronological. I'll continue enjoying your blog and others. I apologize for mis-communicating my thoughts, thanks for the spanking 🙂
Erik
Hey Hans,
you're perfectly right, I didn't express myself well. I obviously like your blog, we link to it in our blogroll. I guess what I meant is that I felt that there was something missing, in between large forums and personal blogs. Personal blogs like yours focus on and describe diving experiences and a lot can be gained from reading them. What I am trying to do with TD is something that's more article oriented and less reverse chronological. I'll continue enjoying your blog and others. I apologize for mis-communicating my thoughts, thanks for the spanking 🙂
Erik
(P.S. Hans comment had gotten lost in a weird spam loop between the internal comment system and IntenseDebate, I hope it doesn't happen again)
Hmm…. I didn't realize Quiet Diver was so personal, I guess your right. Well, we would really like it to be educational and a real resource for diving knowledge. I am going to have to work on the voice to get there.
In any event, you should check out http://www.rebreatherpro.com. That is Jill Heinerth's blog/webzine. It is packed with information and I think she does a pretty good job with it. She might be a good model to chase. Hell, it looks like she is monetizing the crap out of it. She is a real marketing machine.
Hans
http://www.quietdiver.com
If Jill is really monetizing her site she must have learned from the best, PADI !!!
This design is wicked! You most certainly know how to keep a reader entertained.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved
to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Wonderful job.
I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how
you presented it. Too cool!