Why blog?…Why bother?
I just read a really good ‘blog entry’ – ‘To Blog or Not to Blog’ by Skeltzer. Her words echo my thoughts …
And I write about all sorts of things. Some of my entries aren’t the best, but I’m not writing for anyone other than myself.
And I write about all sorts of things. Some of my entries aren’t the best, but I’m not writing for anyone other than myself. If people want to read and comment, that’s great.
So huge thanks to Skeltzer for her insights, and for helping the words surface for me about ‘Why blog?’.
I do love to write. I don’t often write to share with others. I have written some academic resources, and a children’s book about archaeology. But I really don’t write for other people to read, not unless I have a purpose. Perhaps by writing something that is public means that I get to practice the skills needed, and perhaps there may be some people out there who stumble across this little place and enjoy the words here, leave comments about my words, constructive comments especially, then that’s great.
It’s really interesting as I read through the comments left to the above blog-entry how many people seem to wonder ‘why’ or seek a kind of justification for their random, rambling blog. Modern life seems to insist that we have a ‘purpose’ to everything we do, and that just because we enjoy doing something isn’t justification enough. And isn’t that sad? In a life of hustle and bustle, it is becoming increasingly necessary to take time out to do something that gives us pleasure, just for us. And many of the replies to the blog echo that is the reason why they keep a blog – because they enjoy it. A totally valid reason in my opinion, especially if it gives motivation to express oneself, to be creative, something they may not do entirely for themselves in a personal journal.
I found the comment made by Ursula to be interesting.
People who write personal blogs should ask themselves why they have to “share” themselves with the rest of the web wide population. The purpose of blogging is to fulfill a basic human need: To be heard, to get feedback. Which is good. How else would I have had a chance to “meet” you?
Yes, it is nice to share, especially when there may not be other people around you who are willing to allow you to share, or who, for a myriad of other reasons, you are not comfortable to share with them. The world weird web allows for people to make connections, irrespective of physical distance, people who are willing to mutually share, and there is nothing wrong with that either.
Krysten commented the following concerning The Pioneer Woman:
She has a passion for life. She just wanted to share it with others and it has made her into something bigger than she expected.
And perhaps sharing that passion for life, to enthuse others, to inspire others to live life in a way that brings them great joy is another very good reason to blog.
I also like thorsaurus’ comment
Humans love telling stories. Every blog is a story…
And perhaps that is the comment that rings most true with me. In my ‘day job’ I find myself teaching in stories, communicating in stories. I do the same in the things I do outside of my ‘day job’ – I storytell during talks I give, I read stories at a preserved railway I’m a member of.
We all have a unique story to tell. Even though our lives may be incredibly similar, we experience it differently. And sharing that story to inspire others, to bond with strangers, to help others in similar circumstances, to make others laugh, to empathise, to sympathise.
This was contributed by Andrea:
I don’t have a lot of face-to-face conversation time in my life. I’m horrible at small talk, and just feel awkward (even with people I know sometimes!) Blogging is like a safer version of a face-to-face conversation for someone like me. But, it’s also way more available. Everyone’s too busy to hang out anymore, it seems. Through social media, I get that social connection with other human beings that I miss so much…
…Maybe we should stop analyzing this social media stuff and use it for whatever makes us happy (as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone).
That is also true … as is this from bagelonatree
Unless the blogger is selling something, it’s all about the connection and the joy of writing.
Lots of quotes from others there, and I hope that’s OK in blog-etiquette –
Thank You All
Thank you for writing the words that expressed my multiple feelings about starting a blog and for working my way through the conflicting feelings I have about it that can be summarised as ‘Why bother?’ The answers to this question are all given above.
Synchronicity
Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated occuring together in a meaningful manner.
The musings about ‘Why blog?, above resulted from a synchronistic event. I’ve been musing about ‘Why blog? Why bother?’, and I randomly click on some title in a drop down menu to do with this WordPress interface and find a posting there exactly about that topic.
Synchronous occurrences are interesting, and many have happened recently, though they are all logged in my Luddite-journal!
WordPress
I love finding out how things work. I do, really. But finding my way around the WordPress Dashboard, settings, this visual or html place to type into … it’s all confusing at times…just so much to play with, to work out what it’s all about, and to use what needs to be used, and to keep consistency too. I’m sure it will all work out.
Angela Porter 