My headline is long, and the explanation for the question it raises could be much longer. I’ll try to keep it short, and explain how I plan to change the focus of this blog…sort of.

When I first started blogging, I was focused on communications issues, primarily filtering my comments through the more than 25 years of experience I have gained as a journalist, trade magazine senior editor, public relations specialist, and corporate communications coordinator–among other positions.

In some of my posts, I was able to take the position of a knowledgeable outsider–someone who understood the communications situation or issue, and whose perspective wasn’t colored by any emotion or agenda that might exist if I were an active participant in the situation or issue.

But over time, I’ve grown frustrated over my lack of freedom to share any thoughts or opinions about communications situations and issues that involve me directly. I’ve said it before: The main reason that you don’t see more blogging by internal communications professionals outside of their internal networks is that it is career hindering.

“Loose cannons” don’t get promoted in most organizations, and it is difficult to effect real change when you are not placed highly in an organization. I don’t want to be perceived as a loose cannon to my employer, and I want to build bridges between the subsidiary for which I work and the parent company.

The many conversations and situations gathered over my career that I don’t feel free to share here would be poignant in a novel. And that has been my novel idea for a while!

In the meantime, I’ll write here about matters that are important to me, but the topics will be as broad as my interests–which cover a much larger space than internal communications. Whatever I write, I’ll pick topics that I can speak about unencumbered by any real or imagined restraints–other than good taste.

During a much-needed and unplanned sabbatical from podcasting and blogging, I thought about my plans for this site. CommaKazi Speek began as an extension of my desire to delve into the world of social media. First, I blogged. Then I created podcasts.

Both ventures provided me with practical experience and a better perspective of this portion of the social media space. They helped me to connect with other bloggers and podcasters. They let me stretch my professional skill set while having fun.

Like a lot of people, I have plans for my life–both professionally and personally. Those plans change at times, due to circumstances or opportunities. I wondered whether my blog and podcast could help me launch into a different phase of my career. They didn’t. They remain a hobby without reward, other than personal satisfaction.

That only goes so far, when I have to balance other commitments and responsibilities. So I’m planning to shut down my CommaKazi Speek podcast site as soon as I ready this blog to handle podcasts. Why pay Libsyn to store my old shows, when I can’t be sure when I will have new content ready to post? I’ll be downloading PodPress and then using it to distribute any podcasts that I choose to create in the future.

At the same time, I’ll be changing the focus of this blog…sort of. In June 2005 I launched the predecessor of this blog on Blogger.com. My purpose for launching the site was to prepare me to blog as a volunteer at the 2005 IABC International Conference. I believed that blogging at the IABC conference would:

• help me to focus during the conference
• broaden my networking efforts
• force me to dive into this blogging thing

My final reason given at the time was that Warren Bickford, 2005 IABC Chair, had asked for volunteers, and “it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Those initial posts on the IABC Cafe opened the door for me to continue posting there for a couple of years, while I moved this blog to its current home.

Because I started blogging at an international conference for communicators on its blog, the focus of my blog posts up to now primarily has been on communications issues. About what else was I going to write?

As time passed, although I was careful to keep a self-imposed wall between my work as a corporate communicator and my opinions expressed on the two blogs (mine and the IABC Cafe), that wall negatively impacted my ability to write meaningful posts regarding communication trends and experiences. The bottom-line point for this post is that I plan to move away from communication issues…sort of.

I’ll write more about this tomorrow.

Hi, it’s been a while–more than two months–since I stopped posting here. Although I didn’t pre-plan the start of my “sabbatical,” or know at the beginning that I was taking one at all, it was a necessary and helpful thing for me to do.

During the past two months, my time and energy have been spent on family, other matters of no global import, and both physical and spiritual renewal. Many times, I had thoughts to express on this blog, but never did.

And did the world suffer? Hah! What clearer message could I have received than almost no contact from readers asking what was up. I’ve been able to reset my perspective and priorities since receiving confirmation that neither I nor this blog are crucial to the survival of the blogosphere (lol).

So what happens next here, if anything? I’ll continue to write, with a different focus. I have a plan for this blog and my soon-to-disappear podcast site.