Why I blog

People write blogs for different reasons and I am no different.  When I first started blogging it was more of a creative outlet and an opportunity for me to get my thoughts “written down”.  You see, I hate writing, and by writing I mean taking a pen and paper and putting words on it.  It is one activity I did not enjoy when I was in school.

With the advent of computers, hurray!  Nowadays there is very little need for me to actually write with ink and paper. 😀

I blog for fun.

• I write blogs to reviews, whether they are movie reviews, book reviews, gadget reviews, food reviews, etc.
• I write blogs to share information about stuff I find interesting.
• I write blogs to share my experiences of different events like vacations, trips, concerts, and the like.
• I write to share my thoughts on anything under the sun and moon. 😀

But, primarily (initially), I like to blog just so I could put down in words how I feel.  They aren’t always for public viewing but just the act of putting it all down in print makes me feel better.  My blog started as more of an online diary or journal if you will. In the beginning, whether or not someone read my posts was not so important.  If someone reads my blog and enjoys it or can sympathize with it or learns something from it, etc., I feel gratified.  But if no one reads what I wrote it does not affect me much.

I blog to relax.

Blogging, for me, is a therapeutic exercise.  It helps me calm down when I am stressed and it helps me in organizing my thoughts for all the other projects I am involved in.

A good friend once introduced me to the book Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff by Richard Carlson and since then I have embraced that phrase as my personal philosophy.

Of course, this does not mean that I don’t sometimes stress over the littlest things, but I try not to let them get me down by refocusing on what is more important right now.

I blog to promote.

On occasion, people ask for my help in promoting a product or service.  Sometimes they give me a press release to post as-is (but I still end up enhancing or even changing up a bit, if I think it needs some help … mostly for SEO purposes) and other times I get invited to events, given an overview, and am then left to my own devices on how I want to write it.  In which case the only thing I ask for is some guidance such as … is there any phrase they specifically want me to say, or maybe a hashtag, or a feature they want me to highlight.

I blog to teach.

Every now and then I post some of my lectures in the classes I teach here.  I’ve found that it is easier for me to maintain and, in addition, it also gives my students an insight into who and what kind of person I am.

Is blogging easy?

Some would say it is and to some extent, I would agree …

• if you like to write
• if you know your niche and can produce material for that niche
• if you can commit yourself to a schedule … ex. once a week at the very least.

Yes, I said that blogging, for me, is therapeutic, but that does not mean it isn’t hard work, especially if your goal is to have a GOOD blog site.

If you are a serious blogger then you want a GREAT site, not a good site.  It’s achievable, indeed, and when done right it morphs into a site is rich in content, awesome pictures, etc. we could all be proud of.