The inside loop

I'm facing my first viva (oral exam...sort of) for my PhD. And this may just be procrastination. Yet I have spent some time thinking about the positives and negatives to having a blog. I've done some reading on it and talked to a few others about it and their motivation behind having a blog. So I thought I'd share my thoughts on why I've decided to let you into my world.

1) It is good practice for writing. My whole career is going to be built on my ability to communicate effectively. I need to be able to express my thoughts and ideas to a wide audience. The only way to get better at communication whether verbal or written is to practice. So this is a space for me to practice written communication.

2) I have found other's PhD blog's helpful. A PhD is a lonely road, no matter how great a network you build as a PhD and a future researcher there will be times where you are alone. This can be both good and bad. So to share the loneliness and my experiences I choosing to share my journey with all of you.

3) I believe that a blog when twinned with an active twitter account can become a conduit to promote my career and research while simultaneously increasing my impact.

This has been a careful decision and I hope that you will enjoy what I share with you. Please be patient with me as this is new to me.