Posted on October 25, 2019
I have long resisted the idea of being a blogger. I went to journalism school when there were still typewriters, and we had to provide a copy of each assignment in triplicate. When I did research at the Toronto Reference Library, I would use the card catalogues and look for copies of past newspapers on microfiche.
This was a time —in the early 90s — when of course nobody had a cell phone. My first computer was absolutely massive, but I was so excited to have it, and I couldn’t imagine at the time ever needing to upgrade to something better or faster. I bought a fax machine to fax my freelance pieces and receive assignments, which I did on that irritating thermal paper that curled as it fed from a roll. Eventually I also bought a fax modem so I could finally send my stories electronically, and a dot matrix printer to print them out.
It was around this same time when a friend told me that this thing called the World Wide Web was going to enable women’s organizations to seamlessly connect all across the country, and even globally. It didn’t seem possible.
Although I still write for many print magazines, I also write for online publications. But unfortunately, with these online stories, I never experience the same thrill that I get from holding the magazine, flipping to my story and seeing it laid out in colour with my byline and photos. And now here I am — blogging. I’m giving it a try.