One of my duties over this past academic year was to schedule speakers for a weekly academic conference for the department. In addition to recruiting speakers, I have also had to advertise the conference to (1) inform people of the conference topic and (2) increase the likelihood that people will attend the conference.

I never thought advertising would be part of my job.

Admittedly, I have pursued the task of advertising with gusto. The e-mail distribution list is large and, to my pleasant surprise, people I do not know have approached me (or otherwise hit the “reply” button) and complimented my announcements. Many people apparently find them colorful, witty, and entertaining.

That’s nice.

In fact, some people have actually told me that they have saved my e-mails to bring them cheer on dreary days.

That’s really nice.

Today, someone approached me and said, “When you graduate, I’ll miss your e-mails. They’re the highlight of my week.”

“Oh,” I said, a bit embarrassed. “Well, I can ask the person who is taking over my job to continue the silly tradition.”

“It won’t be the same, though,” he said. A woman standing next to him nodded. Suddenly, her face brightened and she blurted out, “You can start a blog!”

Heh.