Alan G. at has just written a post, A Blogging Retrospect…, on why he blogs. That raises a good question — what brought you to blogging? Why do you continue to do it?
For me it’s because off and on over the years I spent a lot of time and ink free-association journal writing, and I finally got to the point I wanted to write less and say more. So I stopped the journal writing for several years, waiting until there was something I really wanted to say. I also wanted to make something with pictures or illustrations to go along with the words. I didn’t have a clue how to do that, so in the meantime I started making videos and some DVDs several layers deep, which I really enjoyed.
Then in early 2007 I read an article about how easy it was to blog and that some bloggers had only one or two readers. That sounded perfect to me. I loved being able to find pictures on Flickr with Creative Commons licenses so I didn’t have to worry about violating copyrights, and I also loved the fact that I could keep whatever I wrote short and include links if someone wanted more information. It fit in with what I had been doing on the DVDs.
I ended up having two blogs, this one and Transforming Stress (now combined with this one) and decided (1) to write once a week in each blog, and (2) to find at least one picture that went along with the topic. I usually spent more time finding the picture than actually writing.
That lasted until last August, when I changed my theme and included the banner image above. Then I decided I wouldn’t have to include a picture in each post, and since I hadn’t been writing about transforming stress in a long time I would just write on this site. I also switched to posting almost every day. I don’t know how long I’ll keep up this new schedule, but right now it’s good practice reading about things that interest me and organizing my thoughts to try to write something coherent about the topic. I’m crazy enough to like homework as long as I’m learning something/developing a skill.
Anyway, that’s where I am right now. What about you?
PS I love the feeling of community with the commenters/friends here. Thank you! When I was writing this post I was considering the question, would I still write if no one read my posts or commented? It would be harder, but I think I would still do it. For me writing is worth doing for its own sake. It was a question worth pondering.
February 23, 2014
When I started my blog, it was not important for me to write so that others could read what I wrote. Once I started getting comments and comments on responses, I was hooked and it has been a pleasurable, shall we say occupation to blog. I have made a lot of online friends including you, got to know about their families and pets and so on and the medium has also helped the circle get wider. It has been fun so far.
Yes. it’s definitely addictive!
I’ve been blogging for seven years now, and what I like about it is (a) writing about something helps to clarify my thoughts (b) getting comments helps to clarify them some more and (c) as you say, the sense of community and a meeting of like-minds. And of course I love reading other people’s blogs with all their different passions and interests and quirky takes on life.
I LOVE!
a little pink genius there.
Yes, my favorite blogs are the ones where people tell about their lives, what they do and what they’re interested in. And the community aspects of blogging blows me away. Wow!
Blogging was a natural transition for me as I had been been building personal web pages for fun and (not very much) profit for a few years before I started blogging in 2004.
I do want to find more time to add commentary to my posts. Over the last couple of years, I’ve used my Exit78 blog more as a venue to share my photos and other images of interest that I’ve discovered online. Visiting and commenting on other blogs is, of course, part of the blogging experience. 😉
You’ve been doing it for a lot longer than the rest of us. When you were building personal web pages, what did you use? Have things changed much since then?
That’s V-e-r-y- I-n-t-e-r-e-s-t-i-n-g in a German accent, like the guy peeking through the bushes, in Laugh-In TV program.
I rarely write on my blog http://bikehikebabe.wordpress.com/ but I write anyway to friends like y’all.
My mother, 1600 miles away, wanted to know what we were doing. One year I didn’t write (type) & we (me & my siblings) didn’t get money. :/ I’d type pages & with typing mistakes, I’d start the page over. :/ (I LOVE you computer.)
I make lists. At the bottom of one list my husband wrote. “Don’t think. Make new lists.”
Jean, I don’t care if you are Cheerful Monk, why don’t you add a :/ icon?
Cheerful people should be able to show a frown once in awhile.
Writing emails is very similar to blogging, and a lot easier. I agree with you about computers making it easier to correct mistakes. Bless them!
😀 🙂 😉 🙁 :/ It’s incomplete.
Anger isn’t fun but it IS an expression. It exists.
Oh well, guess I’ll have to be cheerful all the time. To be angry is being Judgmental.
As usual, whatever works for you. I think it’s more fun to be cheerful, and I don’t have that much time left. Not to mention I’ve spent most of my life exploring the subject.
I’m just asking that there be an icon for :/. We won’t use it. 😀 🙂 😉 🙁 :/ is incomplete, imperfect & there are enneagram ONEs like me, out there.
I have no control over the icons. They appear magically in WordPress when people use the right combinations. Here are some from Wikipedia, let’s see if any of them work here. >: >:/ :-/ :-. :/
Nope. I’m afraid you’re out of luck. For a list of the ones it uses (or used to use, who knows) see http://codex.wordpress.org/Using_Smilies
That’s V-e-r-y- I-n-t-e-r-e-s-t-i-n-g in a German accent, like the guy peeking through the bushes, in Laugh-In TV program–long ago.
oh my goodness.
since 2006? and 2004? and 2007? and rummy . . . since . . . forever!
bhb and i are definitely the new kids on the block.
i started keeping a journal full time when i was 15. not a diary. a journal. very different of course. and i love to write. always have.
and i’m just a natural born talker to my ever loving dismay. i wish i were the quiet introspective type. instead i’m the mouthy introspective type. LOLOL. who also laughs too much. (many would say no doubt.) LOL. (also means live out loud)
i blog because i commented on the captain’s blog so constantly that he finally set one up for me as a surprise . . . the peanut . . . and now . . . the cozy minimalist . . .
though… i understand there’re two of us. i bought my domain name to make it official. but i’m thinking people are probably visiting the other one thinking it’s me!
but i’m blabbing on it now. it’s fun. it keeps me off the streets. and it’s addictive.
and i have more ‘friends’ now than i’ve ever had in my entire life! even if they are virtual! BUT . . . i’m not sure i can see myself doing it as long as all of you.
According to Rummuser’s comment on Alan’s post,
Presumably you’ll continue blogging as long as it’s fun. I hope it’s a good long time!
For me blogging was a chance to make a good income doing what I loved.
Those were the days when google ads were going to make us all wealthy by just running their ads on our blogs. Didn’t quite work out.
Apparently some people made it work, but it was an enormous effort from what I hear. I’m just thrilled that so many people aren’t interested in making money but just want to reach out and share experiences. When I first started I got some advice from someone in the business . He couldn’t understand why anyone would want a social blog like mine. It turns out I wasn’t alone, and I’m grateful.
Because I can!
And because it’s fun!
I’m still at the free-association journal writing stage, but as I check into cheerfulmonk more often, I’m beginning to feel the allure of a writing community. And speaking of that, have you looked into Lieberman’s new book, Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect. Good stuff, as compelling as the book about how discovering cooked foods made human evolution to our present lofty level possible.
Thanks for the recommendation. I bought a kindle copy.
My favourite brand of psychotherapy is gestalt because it doesn’t so much analyse the individual as deal with the person and how they relate to their situation (which they called ‘the organism-environment field’ – which is a pretty dull name for it I think).
Audra,
“lofty level”? I’m afraid my opinion of homo sapiens isn’t quite as high as yours. 😀
I just looked up some reviews about Social. The one that made me smile:
Why smile? Because it reminds me of an article I read about dogs’ feeling of fairness. They care as much as we do.
It would be interesting if someone could compare how our brains are wired compared to other social animals, for instance, dolphins, dogs, elephants, whales. tammy wrote a heart-breaking story about an orca: i heard a scream.
Social apps are making big bucks — $19 billion for WhatsApp — because of the ways our brains are hard-wired. Here’s an interesting article about how it’s getting easier to connect on plane flights: Socialising in the Sky.
I have to admit, I’m too much of an introvert to be attracted to the idea.
Paul Krugman has an interesting column about financial bubbles in today’s New York Times:
Herd behavior, a downside of the way our brains are hard-wired.