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| Pictured: One of the reasons why blogs fail |
Blogger Neuroskeptic recently wrote a post about why blogs fail, observing what divides successful from unsuccessful blogs, and why the less successful ones ultimately stop generating new content or disappear altogether. Reading this made me reflect on why I started this in the first place; initially it was to write down, in blog-form, what I saw and heard at an AFNI workshop earlier this spring. Since then, I tried to give it a more coherent theme, by touching upon some fMRI methodology topics that don't get as much attention as they deserve, and creating a few walkthroughs to help new students in the field get off the ground, as there isn't much out there in the way of interactive videos showing you how to analyze stuff.
Analyzing stuff, in my experience, can be one of the most intimidating and paralyzing experiences of a graduate student's career; not because of laziness or incompetence, but because it is difficult to know where to start. Some of the obstacles that hinder the analysis of stuff (e.g., common mistakes involving experiment timing, artifacts that can propagate through an entire data set, not having a method for solving and debugging scripting errors) do not need to be repeated by each generation, and my main objective is to point out where these things can happen, and what to do about them. Of course, this blog contains other topics related to my hobbies, but overall, the theme of how to analyze stuff predominates.
In light of all of this, here is my pact with my readers: This blog will be updated at least once a week (barring any extreme circumstances, such as family emergencies, religious observations, or hospitalization from Nutella overdose); new materials, such as walkthroughs, programs, and instructional videos, will be generated on a regular basis; and I will respond to any (serious) questions posted in the comments section. After all, the reason I take any time out of my busy, Nutella-filled day to write any of this content is because I find it interesting and useful, and hope that somebody else will, too.