Blogging
Sometimes I wonder why I blog. Not because I don’t enjoy it or because I want to give it up, but because 95% of my entries are complete bollocks, 3% are only relevant to those with ‘specialist’ interests (and I’m sure half of you are only feigning interest anyway) and the other 2% make no sense three months down the line. (ETA: this wasn’t self pity btw, I’m not trying to make you feel sorry for me. I don’t mind that I talk absolute crud most of the time.. ;))
I mean, I visit Dooce once a month or so to read her monthly entry for Leta. As anti-children as I am that really makes me smile, and it reminds me of my own adventures with my niece and nephew. I read web design and developing blogs (too many to mention individually) to expand my knowledge or inspire me. These blogs have a purpose, they stick to a regular topic.
So what’s my purpose (or my blog’s purpose, rather)? Why do I blog? Why do you blog? (And am I the only person that can’t stand the word “blog” said aloud?)
Hillarie said:
On 29 Nov at 8:49 pm
I haven’t bothered to actually open a personal/blog site yet…I ramble way too much. It is interesting to read your blogs, though…I think I’m addicted to the drama that your site attracts…
Sam said:
On 29 Nov at 8:49 pm
yes, i too hate the word “blog” out loud. it’s ridiculous. i blog because i like to share pictures and such, since i’m a crafter. i love comments.. what can i say, i like the attention.
Mike Haddad said:
On 29 Nov at 9:06 pm
I don’t. I got suspended for being too pretty, and then I called them unprofessional so they’ve been waiting as long as possible to send me the invoice that will allow me to reactivate my account.
Claire said:
On 29 Nov at 9:14 pm
I think in asking your question, you inadvertently answered it: If you enjoy it, who gives an Aylesbury duck if only those with a ‘specialist interest’ truly get the point you’re making? You’re serving both those people (and yourself) in a satisfactory way, so is that not a job well done? My favourite part of blogging is the dialogue it provokes. I like being able to communicate with people I wouldn’t otherwise be in a position to, if it wasn’t for my blog. As someone who is unemployed and spends a good 9-10 hours of every day with no-one but myself for company, the afore-mentioned dialogue is a welcome break from my internal voice/thoughts.
Katy said:
On 29 Nov at 9:22 pm
I find that “because otherwise I’ll go insane” is a fairly good answer. Although by blog I do generally now mean ‘rant at LJ’…
Natalie said:
On 29 Nov at 9:22 pm
This blog is actually one of the most interesting blogs online in my opinion. I’m sure you are the only person who thinks your posts are ‘bollocks’, and of course your pants award winners. I’ve tried blogging millions of times but I usually get bored after my third post. Never really have anything interesting to blog about. As for the word ‘blog’ aloud I’ve always thought that strange and ‘weblog’ too.
Jordan said:
On 29 Nov at 9:50 pm
I don’t hate the world blog said aloud as much as I hate the word myspace said aloud. I hate it even more when it’s turned into a verb: “We went myspacing last night!” My blog is essentially just an online journal. I post more about my personal/social life, though I keep it mixed up with some various web elements, though rarely. I don’t know why I blog. I’ve been doing it for so long that it’s just natural for me now.
Dave said:
On 29 Nov at 10:06 pm
Why do I blog? So that the world can see my greatness. I honestly don’t know why. A alot of the time I think about stopping it. Do you not find though, that because you’ve written the software yourself it’s continually evolving? The thing I love about blogging is that it means I get to keep working on the site and learn new things. It’s certainly not because I have anything worthwhile to say!
Jem said:
On 29 Nov at 10:27 pm
Yes! Or it would, if I had the time to help it evolve. Now I’m working all the time I’ve barely got time to fart, let alone fix up bugs and things in my blog.
Vera said:
On 29 Nov at 10:37 pm
Well, I generally read all your entries, even if I don’t comment on all of them. I generally refrain from commenting on coding issues as I’m still to lazy to learn php (shifty eyes). Why do I blog? I like writing and I like comedy. One day I hope to make people laugh and feel better whenever they’ll read a post of mine… yes, I know utopia, but we all need a goal in life =P.
Amelie said:
On 29 Nov at 10:40 pm
I don’t like the word blog either, but weblog sounds even stupider… Why do I blog? Because everyone else does -_- …and to fill up my site a bit. :x
Chans said:
On 29 Nov at 10:41 pm
I blog because that way I can express myself about topics that usually don’t come up in general conversation, and also to ramble on about certain things once in a while. I read your entries because they are well written and in some cases useful. Even if I don’t comment it doesn’t mean I don’t read them.
Carina said:
On 29 Nov at 11:22 pm
When I have a blog I never feel like blogging but when I don’t I feel lost.
Mandie said:
On 30 Nov at 12:57 am
I don’t comment on your site very often, but I’m an avid reader of each of your blog entries. You mentioned that most of your entries are “complete bullocks”; however, I think that’s why I enjoy reading them so much! It’s a welcome relief to read for a few minutes about other peoples’ problems or interesting things that have happened to them instead of always thinking about my own life and issues. And for that, I thank you and hope you don’t plan to stop blogging any time soon! On another note, I too find it annoying when someone says “blog” aloud; particularly when my mother, who is completely Internet-illiterate and knows nothing about what I do online, uses the term!
Manda said:
On 30 Nov at 1:08 am
I’m exactly the same. :)
Jordie said:
On 30 Nov at 1:22 am
I blog because I enjoy it. If other people like what I write and leave me nice comments, that’s a bonus.
Shannon said:
On 30 Nov at 2:57 am
I don’t have a reason for blogging. I can’t blog. I have no purpose. But I can’t live without it. D: I too cannot stand the world ‘blog’ said aloud.
Anne said:
On 30 Nov at 3:12 am
I don’t like “blog” said out loud, either! I like blogging because 1. it’s a way to keep in touch with my Gramma and aunts; 2. I love writing; 3. I like writing clever little things, 4. I like making friends on LJ, and 5. I love leaving comments! (Of course I wouldn’t need a blog to leave comments, but whatever.)
King Echo said:
On 30 Nov at 3:54 am
I dunno why I do it or why you do it or why anyone does it. I get bored with weblogs pretty quickly, I’m always changing my mind about what it’s ‘o.k.’ to write about in a public forum, deleting things, rewriting things. I even have had a friend who I allowed to log into my WP go through my drafts that I clicked ‘save’ instead of ‘publish’ on at the last minute and decide what -they- thought should be published of those. If I could focus then I would just have a design-related blog, but I don’t design enough things anymore to do that really. When I was working with kids I wrote about that a lot and people enjoyed reading it… . They’re stupid. Everyone should quit.
Retti said:
On 30 Nov at 5:31 am
I blog because I want to keep track of my daily life, and to inform my fellow schoolfriends of, well, stuff. And I dunno. It’s fun when you have nothing better to do. I LOVE saying “blog” out loud. It sounds so weird, and I love it. I say it all the time :p
Mumblies said:
On 30 Nov at 7:13 am
Why? Because you are damned good at it! Who cares why you write what you write Jem, I enjoy it and i am sure that many others do too. Some of your comments have had me rolling around in fits of laughter so don’t you dare think about stopping!
Malin said:
On 30 Nov at 10:16 am
Oh my gosh! Thank you! Now Im not the only one that can’t stand hearing the word blog! :P I don’t know why I blog either to tell the truth…
Hannapai said:
On 30 Nov at 3:08 pm
I have blogs, other one for letting my friends know what I’m doing (so it’s more just a diary) and it’s in Finnish. My “blog” in my main site is still looking for itself. I guess it’ll be about music mostly. But your blog has been great pleasure to read since I found it.
Tiddley said:
On 30 Nov at 4:25 pm
Because bollocks and crap make the sun come up and the Earth spin and the seasons change. ^__^ What would we do without you, Jemmie?
Alys said:
On 30 Nov at 5:00 pm
I blog, (and if something big happens, write a non internet journal) because I get a real kick out of reading old entries – it’s always the little things which I would have forgotten otherwise that make me laugh. I really like reading through my old journals, Its great to read all those funny insights, if not a little embarrassing! How true.
Jenny said:
On 30 Nov at 5:05 pm
I totally agree. Sometimes I think “ok, wtf is moosh, is it some place where I just type out what’s on my mind right now or the latest thing I got into trouble for?” … Team Pointless Blogs!
Lew said:
On 30 Nov at 9:42 pm
I blog because I like people to respond. I find blogs with comments turned off rather self-centered. Oh and I hate the word blog in all forms and mediums. Weblog is so much better.
Jennii said:
On 30 Nov at 10:20 pm
I blog so I can guffaw at the idiotic things I wrote ;D. Well okay, to be more serious/honest, I blog so I can go back and read that on this day I did this, and this day I was forever changed/moved, etc … and I’ve met great (online) friends along the way so … :)
Montoya said:
On 01 Dec at 1:13 am
I blog to be popular… I know it’s a superficial motive but it’s a good goal :)
Franky said:
On 01 Dec at 1:36 am
If you have ever kept a journal or diary as a kid before, a blog basically does the exact same thing, except it’s more “advanced” in the sense that it later becomes a web designing project rather than merely splashing ideas onto paper (or web pages, persay), and majority of them are public. I personally blog to keep a memorium of what I have learned, or what I want to remember. I used to keep a journal when I was younger, but I have never really found anything to write about. Because web designing reconsiliates with a journal so well, I find myself continually learning new things in both the web designing field, and somewhat in real life. It’s also where I want to practice my literacy. I’m not the most perfect writer in the world, but writing over a constant period of time allows me to expand my writing style. My blog is really just a huge literacy experiment.
Aravis said:
On 01 Dec at 2:57 am
I can’t stand saying blog out loud either. Sounds too weird and awkward. I jumped the blogging bandwagon when it was still primarily used as an online diary. Naturally, I followed suit and I’ve stuck to it ever since. Although these days, I use it as an excuse to show off my photos. Hehe. Hey, if you enjoy blogging, keep doing it — no matter how purposeless it seems. I know I end up blowing off a number of visitors because of what I do in my blog (I like to kill dial-uppers most of the time), but I enjoy what I’m doing. I know that sounds selfish and totally contradictory to the purpose of a public site. But BAH, I say.
Jem said:
On 01 Dec at 8:15 am
At least you can admit to it :) I know plenty who don’t.
Anne said:
On 01 Dec at 9:34 am
Blog definitely sounds awkward when spoken aloud. I blog because I honestly have nothing better to do. :D
Brenda said:
On 01 Dec at 5:21 pm
I blog because I enjoy it. Really. I enjoy sharing about the various interesting happenings with people on the world wide web, although traffic seems to be pretty silent lately. (Mainly due to the fact that I was MIA for my final exams for too long.) Alternatively, I blog to de-stress. I open up a new entry and RANT – and suddenly I feel better.
Corinne said:
On 01 Dec at 8:04 pm
I’m not sure if you can call my site a blog. How do you define blog? According to Dictionary.com, a blog is: I guess you can say that my site is a blog then… I don’t know, why do I do it? Because I can.
Xeronia said:
On 01 Dec at 9:00 pm
“Blog” isn’t a word that is said out loud very much, therefore, it just sounds strange when it does. I blog mostly, just for the heck of it, and to hear about people from other parts of the world. Blogging is probably more fun without a set purpose.
Elea said:
On 02 Dec at 4:44 pm
Since I live in the Silicon Valley in the US, “blog” is a word that is often said aloud around here, so I’ve gotten used to it. As for why I blog…I was trying to figure it out myself earlier this year after I attended the Blogher Conference: http://in-essence.org/2006/07/29/why-i-blog/
Melanie said:
On 06 Dec at 12:57 am
Haha. I’ve got used to “blog”, tho I usually pronounce it “blerrg” because it amuses me. I ~write~ … it just happens to be in a weblog format. I do it because it’s gotta come out somehow, and I can type faster and more legibly than I can handwrite. It’s online on the off chance that someone else will find it useful or amusing. It needs more of my time, tho.
Gen said:
On 13 Apr at 6:57 am
Hm…I blog so I can talk about things that I couldn’t normally just say outloud to my friends (sometimes it’s things about them that I blog about). It’s like having a journal to rant in, but having the comfort of knowing someone can look at that journal and say “I feel the same way”. I hardly ever blog just about what I did that day, but usually about things that bother me. And I hate the word blog, too. Saying that I “love to blog” sometimes makes me feel like some 50-year-old fat guy sitting behind his computer untill four in the morning blogging about World Of Warcraft.