I began Word into Bytes in January 2002 with the idea of creating a group blog that would serve as an online writing group for several friends of mine. At the time, blogging was still new and no one else I knew blogged. I was not particularly successful at the time in converting anyone to this technology.

Now, six years later, while migrating all my blogs from Movable Type to WordPress, I decided to completely makeover Words into Bytes. Along with its new design, I’m approaching it with a new goal. Blogging software is so mainstream these days that I no longer need to provide a forum here for other writers. So, I’m reclaiming Words into Bytes as my sole province. This feels like a homecoming. I’ve missed having this place, this mental space, for my peregrinations.

I write primarily to understand my experiences. When I attempt to explain a passion to someone else, I gain new insights. Writing both clarifies and codifies my thoughts. I’m always better at remembering something or retelling a story if I’ve written it down first. These days I’m guilty of that blogger sin, referring people to a post rather than trying to explain something in person. But it is my nature to double-check everything in a reference book and Words into Bytes has become a personal reference of stories I like to share with friends and family. It’s my way of communicating my daily experiences with this far-flung group.

M Sinclair Stevens * Austin, Texas * January 2008

Update: October 26, 2016

After 2008, social media (primarily Twitter and Facebook) replaced my need for using a blog to catalog stories for friends and family. From 2011 until 2016, I was active on Google+, writing mostly about tech and user experience. However, I remain dissatisfied with the social networking experience, one in which I’m constantly manipulated by tools that want something from me rather than to serve my requirements.