Have I told you that I really enjoy Elana Johnson's blog? She tells it like it is and that is a quality I very much admire in people. Her post about understanding why we blog really made me think. She urged us to understand what our goals are and what we'd like to achieve with a blog. So I thought it might be nice to state these goals here.
1. First and foremost, I blog because most of my work sits in a drawer unread. I like to write and have people read what I have written. I don't know if that's a very popular writerly belief. Maybe I'm supposed to pretend I do all of this purely for the love of the written word? But this is about being honest and I'm telling the truth.
2. I didn't know this would happen when I started but, now, I blog because I've 'met' interesting people in the writing community through this blog and I want to keep these invaluable connections. They have helped me grow as a blogger and writer. Hopefully, I've helped them too.
3. I write this blog because I do feel it's necessary to have an online presence as a writer and, if I blog with honesty and integrity, I can't imagine it would hurt my writing career to have one.
Those are the main reasons I blog. Maybe a lot of them are selfish, but I hope not. I suppose a lot of these goals will change as my life changes. But that's to be expected. Sometimes I whine...very loudly I might add...Tyler has heard it...about not getting a lot of comments, visitors, or feedback on my blog, but, when I step back and think about why I'm blogging and what my goals are, that's not a reason, so I need to calm down about that. Originally, I thought I might like to make money from a blog or get free stuff, but, it turns out that's not the reason I do it either.
So, I'd love for you share the truth: Why do you blog?
Good question. I started blogging to get over my fear of sharing my writing with people outside my crit. group. Now that I've been doing it for nearly a year, I'm taking some time off not just because life is busy, but because I'd like to rethink the blog a bit (goal, purpose, all that). But yes, like you, I so enjoy the people I've "met".
ReplyDeletei love the connections i end up having with people i'd never get a chance to meet otherwise- i am amazed by it, really!
ReplyDeleteand i love to keep it to look back on my days...
i don't think your reasons are selfish!
I blog as a way to give back. Of course, there's the other side of me that's also looking for a small side income, but making really good money on a blog takes a lot of work and a lot of time. Expecting to make a full time salary is very ambitious and requires a lot of business know-how and planning. Right now I blog because I’ve learned so much from other blogs and wanted to give back in my own way. I also find so much cool stuff around the internet and learn something new everyday, so I want a way to share that, beyond just social networking.
ReplyDelete