DFT Digest Turns 200 Today…
In the bigger blogging world, it’s not so great – for 34 months of blogging - almost three years and 200 posts, that’s about a post and a half per week. In a blogosphere where multiple posts per day is the norm (well, at least the most popular blogs), a post per week is not stellar. But I do have a day job. And, for the EDA blogging world, well, it’s not so bad.
I thought I might revisit my lofty goals for this blog… from my 1st post back on New Years Eve 2005:
“What can you expect to see discussed here? A variety of musings inspired by my own DFT-related trials and tribulations, invitations to discuss new DFT techniques (or different applications of old techniques), a sprinkling of DFT-related news items that pop up as time goes on...”
As I look back through my blogging between then and now, it seems like I’ve done less musing on my own stuff, and more on new methodology/technology coming out and industry news (not a “sprinkling”). I’ve sort of followed my nose, and blogged what interested me. The whole exercise has been incredibly beneficial to me: this is how I’ve kept abreast of the changes in the DFT arena, and through it I’ve met many people that share my interests.
From later on in that same post…
“…what is my motivation? Well, initially just to start an on-going, easily accessible discussion. Get people involved. Provide a vendor-agnostic environment that concentrates on methods and industry best practices.“
OK – there ya go. That’s still my goal. That is why DFT Digest is still on the internets… Discussion: much easier said than done. Blogging takes dedication and perseverance. I’ve kept it up and increased traffic at a steady rate, but blogging a niche inside of a niche wrapped in a niche doesn’t peg the AdSense meter, for sure. Plus, I’m not always real sure I’m reaching the right audience. I just got back from ITC 2008, and it feels to me like DFT Digest is read more by EDA vendors than DFT practitioners (that’s not completely true; I do know a little about who hits the blog. But sometimes it just seems that way).
A common sentiment among DFT/test practitioners seems to be that the only place worth sharing one’s knowledge is at a conference, in the form of a research paper. I gave a paper once, and it was definitely worth the trip to the French Riviera. I worked for a big company then. They send many people, every year, to conferences to share and benefit from everyone’s research.
Since that one paper, I’ve worked chiefly for small companies. I like them. The teams are small and close-knit. But small companies have limited resources to spend on research to further the various design specialties that make up their teams, unless it promotes their business goals.
So I spend my spare time sharing my limited (but expanding!) perspective on the world of DFT. I wish I had more time to do it, but I enjoy it. I enjoy writing, and sharing what design-for-test knowledge I do have is orthogonal to any business goal my employer may have. That’s one of the great things about DFT – in general, it’s about making electronics products profitably – it doesn’t matter what that product is.
And if I may – this forum is just as valid as any conference.
So where do I go from here? 200 more posts? 400? Why not? You might also soon see some contributed content here as well. Some of you may soon receive an e-mail newsletter – I’ll be trying to bump up readership another notch, and bring more points-of-view to the blog, and the DFT forum.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading DFT Digest a fraction as much as I’ve enjoyed building it. Please, always weigh in with your opinion on the topics discussed, or to suggest something new!
JMF
Stumble It!
A common sentiment among DFT/test practitioners seems to be that the only place worth sharing one’s knowledge is at a conference, in the form of a research paper. I gave a paper once, and it was definitely worth the trip to the French Riviera. I worked for a big company then. They send many people, every year, to conferences to share and benefit from everyone’s research.
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I have mixed feelings about conferences. They are fun. There are cutting edge presentations on subjects that I care about. The vendors usually have some labbies backing up the sale guys and the BOF sessions really are useful. You get to meet alot of people who are doing the same thing that you are.
On the other hand my first choice (ITC) always comes near the end of my companies fiscal year when they usually cut out nonessential travel.There is sometimes to much packed into a finite amount of time. You have to chose one thing over another and the meetings end on schedule even if you are still working on something.
There are a lot of expenses involved in putting on a conference. I would rather see a lower level continuous discussion taking place on the internet rather than one big shindig once a year.
John Eaton
Thanks for reading/commenting, John – I really appreciate it!
Your comments are right on target – but rather than preferring one over the other, I would say that there is room for both, because both have their place – why wait a whole year to discuss these things? “continuous discussion”, as you say, can only benefit the community.
JMF