Today is the last day of a 365-day commitment I made to myself (without consulting my wife, which in hindsight might not have been a good idea) to post a blog every single day.
I did it for a number of reasons: to be more disciplined about practicing the urgent work of noticing, to become a better writer, to hone my “thinking-on-my-feet” skills, to make insights about humanity more accessible to people who aren’t research professionals or social scientists, to compile anthropological observations and data on consumer culture (not quite knowing what I would get out of it or what I would do with it) and to prove that I can commit to an idea and actually make something happen (that isn’t directly related to my job) if I put my mind to it.
I would say I accomplished all these goals and then some.
I started really believing that I could anonymously catalogue my meandering observations about and analysis of human culture and dreaming that somehow it would “catch on” and people would take and interest and feel better off for having spent some time reading it. I suppose this experience is a “dream come true” in that respect.
But beyond that, I discovered that when I took the time to explore other WordPress blogs (either in search of a suitably meaningful “pass” from my daily blog responsibility or as a way to seek some inspiration) I found a wealth of insight, creativity and affirmation. Humans really do have something to say and platforms like this provide a profoundly impact full connection tool for those of us who refuse to keep our humanity to ourselves. So, thank you to the blogging community for teaching me a lesson about the self-defeating nature of narcissism and the value of other human beings’ stream of consciousness.
I would like to give a special thanks and “shout out” to an acquaintance, fellow Narcissistic Anthropologist and accomplished author, Grant McCracken, for inspiring this “experiment” with his book , Culturematic .
It really did inspire me to take on this challenge and I think I have conquered it.
That being said, I don’t plan on calling it quits just yet. I might not blog every
day but I will definitely continue to seek and share human insight from my everyday experience. Why? Because our human experience means something, and somebody has to notice.
Who better than a Narcissistic Anthropologist?
The Narcissistic (American) Anthropologist 
Congratulations! 365 days straight is impressive, especially given the depth and polished level of your pieces. I wish I’d stumbled upon you earlier in the journey, but I’m greatly enjoying wandering through the many pieces I missed. Well done.
Thank you for your insight and dedication. Love the slogan “someone has to notice” because it feels like so often people don’t take the time to “notice.” And there’s so much to take in! Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations and happy anniversary! What a commitment you made, I am so impressed that you could keep up this quality level and post every day. Great work!