Yes, today is the anniversary of the world debut of the first computer mouse, invented by Douglas C. Engelbart (and I’m sure a whole host of other computer savvy people ahead of their time). Hard to believe it is 41 years old, isn’t it? After all, were you even using a computer 41 years ago???

Chances are that most of the people reading this article were not using computers, and at least some of you weren’t even born then, or were very very young. (I, myself, was in kindergarten where I remember wearing black and white saddle shoes – my favorite.)

Who knew what a profound difference that day that invention would make?

It was the first time people outside the technology world saw personal and interactive computing. Engelbart’s vision was that people (meaning “regular” people) would be able to use computers to enhance society’s collective intellect and to find solutions to the worrisome and complex issues of our time. Pretty much hit the nail on the head with that one, didn’t he?
If you want to see how he continues to contribute to this vision, and the concept of Collective IQ, visit his website.

While this is definitely a juicy piece of trivia, and one I’m sure you’ll find a way to work in to numerous conversations , I’m also sharing it because of the connection to blogging.

Yes, having a mouse makes blogging easier. But that’s not my point.

Engelbart had a vision. He wanted to make it easy for people to communicate and collaborate. And he saw the invention of the computer mouse as one way to do this.

He worked on his project without knowing how it would turn out for sure. He worked on it for a long time, diligently, and probably made many non-mice (failures) along the way. I suspect he had many frustrating days, but his vision and curiosity kept him in action mode.

Blogging is a lot like that. It makes it easier for people to communicate and collaborate. Think how much easier it is for you to make changes and add content to your website than ever before. That’s you – communicating and collaborating.

The question is…what happens on your frustrating days? On the days when you can’t think of a thing to write about? On the days when you think (know?) no one is reading your post?

What if you had an idea for a blog post, but then didn’t write it for whatever reasons, but it turns out there was someone who needed to hear that exact message on that exact day? Would that have changed the world? Maybe, maybe not. But it surely would have changed that person, who then communicated and collaborated with a handful of other people who communicated and collaborated with…. You get my point.

I certainly have those days – you only have to check my own pet project to see the gaps in time! – but thinking about the invention of the mouse has given me a different perspective.

What about you? How can the invention of the computer mouse make a difference in how you approach your blogging?

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