First person prosthetic blog

BoingBoing points to a blog set up by a friend of theirs, Steve, who is in the process of getting a new prosthetic leg. Interesting stuff.

A quick shout out

I am surprised by the amount of attention this blog is getting already. Nothing too crazy, but I haven't really begun to promote it and already I'm getting emails and mentions on other sites. Don't be insulted if I'm a little slow to the draw, as I'm getting up to speed on lots of blog-ish issues. I really appreciate the feedback and mentions. Hell, Google "neural interface" and this is the 6th link. That's pretty wicked.

Over the next few months I'll be deciding on issues like adding writers, polishing content, and planning to promote the site a little. This isn't intended to be a big money making thing for me, but I thought I would get the word out about the site and possibly provide a place for others in the field to share their thoughts. Of course this comes with certain risks and logistics that need to be worked out, and I don't have the time to fully consider them now (after my prelim, please).

There is another possibility. This could get rolled up into a real BCI site, not just a little blog (thought the blog would still be around, I'm sure). That may be a major undertaking, or, it may not. I have enough web design/programming friends that it should be feasible. I'll gauge this option on how things go here as time rolls on. The whole community is so small that cooperation would probably work much better than competition, at least IMHO.

Just throwing that out there. In the meantime, be sure to check out the blog Neurophilosophy. One of my favorites.

Site notes (again)

It has come to my attention that some of my posts may be misinterpreted as insensitive, so I thought I would nip this in the bud, as I expected the topic to come up at some point. This blog is intended to cover advances in neurotechnology in a somewhat whimsical, but informative manner (see my previous post on tone). The people in need of this technology are in desperate situations, and their emotional concerns should be noted. However, I refuse to let every post be guided by political correctness. I used the term cyborg. That's bad, I suppose. But what about the journal Biological Cybernetics? And Steven Colbert's use of the words 'rocket shins' to describe the athletes with prosthetic legs? I know I'm no Colbert, but there has to be some informal terminology when discussing the topic. I would never be overtly distasteful or insulting, though I suppose the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Second, as I mention in the first post here, this is a personal blog. Of a grad student. In a lab. Who works with people. Each of those elements will probably work its way into posts, but in the end, this is all my opinion. I will probably add some sort of disclaimer to the bottom of the site, just in case. I most likely won't get into topics like gun control (cited by The Retrospectacle), homosexual blood donation boycotts (cited by Medgadget), or 'teledildonics' (NOT SAFE FOR WORK/LAB (you have been warned!) cited by Gizmodo). Actually, no, I'm sure I won't be getting into any of those topics, but that doesn't mean that everything I post will be controversy-free. Consider it selective pressure - no controversy equals no evolution.

Alright, no more posts about posting for a while. I promise!

The playing field

I'm just noticing that there are several other similar blogs (similar but not the same), but that they tend to update 1-2x's per week. I'm still trying to sort out how to keep this going once the novelty wears off (time commitment, momentum, tone, etc), so yet another thing to consider. The biggest problem of blogs nowadays, as I see it (and I know me some web tech market stuff) is distinguishing yourself.

I predicted this when I got into podcasting for Digital Trends. When I started, the big craze was just little "about me" snippets. I said to myself, "Me, once people realize that they have their own life to live, and, really, other people's lives get as boring to you as your own, they will be looking for content." Sure enough, that's where it all went - topical conversations.

No matter how topic driven, and this goes for any media, part of the lure of a particular show is the personality. So, I'm still struggling with the tone of this blog. Do I go for a Gizmodoian light hearted, brief summary tone, or a Neurophilosopherian in depth exploration or topics? Personally, I like The Retrospectacle's tone, which is what I'm hoping to build myself up to. The perfect blend of personal and technical, IMO. Though, I tend to be more goofy, so that will hopefully shine through.

Welcome to my internal dialogue, I guess. I haven't actually tried to promote The Blog much, as I feel like I'm still working out the bugs. Why not just start throwing it out there and adjusting based on feedback? Easy. I'm a little fish in a big sea. There are many, many, many options, and people tend to go with first impressions when presented with that many options. So, I want things to be more finely polished and a decent archive going. I don't want to be that site where people say, "Hrm, that's interesting, but I'll wait until it has more substance before I actually start watching it."

My goal right now is to have this place ready for promotion before the first semester of the next academic year (so I won't be embarrassed when my undergrads refer people to it). I don't want them saying, "Go visit my TA's site. We feel sorry for him. i think he had some sort of major head trauma when he was a child."