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Local bloggers can testify to the mental relief they receive from blogging their stresses away. Everybody does need a healthy mind, after all.
“As someone who has used the internet since its inception and being a pioneer telecommuter since 1994, blogging was a natural progression,” said Tacy Newell-Foutz, a popular local blogger who addresses public concerns about her hometown in her blog, www.thinkchristiansburg.com. As Newell-Foutz's blog has progressed and became a popular website, she realizes that its creation was a culmination of many years of required writing over the course of her 30-year career. “New technologies have emerged and one way to stay engaged after retiring from the corporate world is to pick up these tools and learn to use them – whether word processing, spreadsheets, databases or web based,” Newell-Foutz said. “Now these technologies are merging – with cell phones providing GPS locating, web and e-mail access, our own juke box of favorite tunes or talking to friends around the country or globe. Blogging is another easy means of staying abreast with news, friends and technology.” Newell-Foutz's blog addresses many issues in the town of Christiansburg. It now serves as a resource for citizens interested in town government happenings. Hitting the blogging train along with Foutz and co-author Terry Ellen Carter, is Carol Lindstrom. Lindstrom's blog, www.depotdazed.com, also focuses on the town of Christiansburg. “I started this blog shortly after I found out I have a terminal illness,” Lindstrom says in her 'About the Author' statement within her blog. “A review of my life thus far pointed out some areas where I had continued to put off doing something I thought was important until tomorrow. Well, guess what tomorrow is here! The most important thing I can think of to do is to try to leave behind something that might cause someone to think, to ask questions, to ponder how our actions today affect tomorrow, to clearly honor our responsibility to each other. What other legacy is truly worth leaving. Wealth will come and go, land will be passed on or sold. But, to have even one person begin to see some of the multitude of questions that can be asked, or to shed new light on old problems, that, for me, is the most rewarding of goals. Well, I write better than I talk so this is my way of working towards that goal. I hope it is a goal that I can achieve in this life.” Lindstrom also mans a Christiansburg Citizen Resources page where she displays everything from audio files of important town meetings to the Town Code and Town Charter. Valuable documents are stored on the page and available for viewing. Keeping with the tone of town concern is Lisa Gardner, author of www.cakewalkblog.com/speakoutchristiansburg. Recent articles on Gardner's blog include 'Street Beautification Projects' and ''Good Fences Make Good Neighbors,' but what about bad fences?' Gardner addresses citizen-wide issues along with announcing her own agenda. “I really enjoy passing on my thoughts about expressing myself and not living day to day with the stress being built up inside of me,” Gardner said. “I also go to a new chiropractic office in Christiansburg called Healthsource with Dr. Tom Dickerson. I have felt so much better since I began writing my blogs!” As attested by these three ladies, having an outlet for their stress to exit through has helped their overall health. Their proactive thinking, investigating and questioning has also helped enact local legislation and get the ball rolling on several major town projects. To start your own blog, visit some popular blogging start-up sites such as www.blogger.com, www.wordpress.com or www.problogger.net. Search YouTube.com for a 'How to Start a Blog' step-by-step video.
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