Why Do We Blog?

I suppose everyone has a different reason or set of reasons, but I know what my reasons are. The more I think about it, the more I realize I have quite a few reasons.

I sometimes have a poor memory, and these times with the wee ones are ones that I want to capture – and not just the good but the bad and the ugly, too, so that I can empathize when they have children of their own. I had started writing them letters that recapped the previous year each year for their birthdays, but I know there was so much that I was forgetting and so much of it was the little fun cute things that I want to remember.

I also find that my blog is a great outlet for me when I am frustrated or irritated or confused by something. I can pick and choose the gory, unrefined and sometimes pitiful bits that may provide a colored view of my world, but they allow me to vent here. Once it’s out of my system, I then regain the zen (ha!) that I normally do and don’t take it out on anyone around me. Or less so, anyway.

I also generally like to write. Anyone who’s ever received an email from me knows that I’m pretty good and spinning something out of nothing. I’m not claiming by any stretch to be a great writer, but it’s something I enjoy. Disciplining myself to keep my blog updated ensures that I write just a little bit more frequently than I would otherwise, and I think that’s good for me.

For a long time I put it off, thinking that I wasn’t good enough or didn’t know how to do it or it would be too hard or too humbling. Now I wish I’d started far earlier as there are stories that I’d thought I would remember but only the vaguest of details remain with me today. If you don’t have a blog or aren’t keeping yours up to date, go for it! It is yours to make of it what you will, and that’s part of what makes it so great.

Plus, there’s a great community of bloggers and blogger readers out there. While I have no ambition to ever make money off my blog (and kudos to those who do!), it is nice to know that what I write doesn’t just go into a black hole but that someone else gets it – or doesn’t – or enjoys or appreciates something that I wrote. It’s something of a selfish ego boost, granted, but I won’t deny that it’s nice to see my reader counter slowly rising and see comments pop in on most posts.

Towards that end, I have added a couple of buttons to the left of my screen. Both are new blogger communities that have pretty lofty aims that I applaud. They aren’t soliciting the best of the best – whoever determines that – but recognizing the everyday blogger and helping them find an audience and a voice.

AllMediocre is a play off AllTop, which shockingly I hadn’t heard of. Apparently AllTop features the crème de la crème of the blogosphere, while AllMediocre takes that and runs with it. As members sign up, they are encouraged to go visit new blogs that are part of the community. It’s a great idea, and I have to say that there are some entertaining blogs part of the community. Go check them out!

The other new community button is SITS – The Secret Is In The Sauce. Every day, they feature a new blogger, again not the high profile blogs but average blogs by average people who submit theirs to be featured. Obviously submitting isn’t a guarantee that a blog will be featured, but what a great way to find new blogs that you like while at the same time increasing readership for the featured blogs. I love the idea – and of course, I’ll give them a plug on their contest. In their effort to get this cool idea off the ground, if you comment on SITS by Friday, you’re entered to win a bloggers survival kit. And to keep the momentum and give incentive for readers to go visit the featured blogs, there will be a small weekly contest for those who go visit the featured blogs and comment.

I love the idea behind both these communities. And it’s given me a nice opportunity to reflect on why I blog. Or some of why I blog, as I’m sure there are more reasons that I have yet to identify. So why do you blog? Or if you don’t blog, why not?