Everyone who does this has their own reasons, some that are shared with other people doing the same thing and some reasons that are just their own. Here’s a list of reasons I’ve come up with, and there could be more that I’m forgetting.
ㅁ It’s a way of communicating with specific people. Family for instance. I’d say about half of what I do here attempts to show the folks back home. through words and pictures, what my daily life is like. In the process of describing and explaining (and walking around with my camera) I probably notice things a bit more, and think about them, at least a little. More about that, in a minute.
ㅁ It’s a way of communicating with rather more specific people. That is, creating a larger circle of friends than what is right in front of you. A lot of this means other bloggers, but not entirely and exclusively that. I once joked that about the only people who read blogs are people who themselves write them, which makes the whole about as relevant as poetry. (Because, you see, very few people pay attention to poetry aside from other poets.) It’s hyperbole, of course, and there are some people who search out and follow certain blogs for amusement and information.
ㅁ It’s a way of communicating with the world. It IS a Worldwide Web, after all. Who knows who might pop in here? Blogs are a small corner of a quickly-expanding planetary culture that is being formed – that we are creating – and however grandiose that sounds, the fact remains that a conversation is taking place by which people express their emotions, create and maintain social bonds, describe and confirm their own personal versions of reality and even engage in debate to try to persuade others to change their perspectives and join one faction or another. (I have no illusions about my own ability to influence such a large project – but I do find that I want to be part of the conversation, at least to some extent.)
ㅁ It’s a way of communicating with one’s self. That’s the primary goal of writing a diary: map out the internal landscape from this spot on the forking path, then take a look later on to suss out what has changed, and why. Throughout history, it’s been a private thing, at least until the author dies and someone discovers it lying around and decides to publish it.
ㅁIt’s a way of finding a community, or building one, and drawing people around – sharing for its own sake or for the sake of self-education and to assert the validity of a particular perspective. In this new century, it appears that some people see the act of keeping a diary as a public and collaborative process where people talk about what they feel is true and others comment, either in the section at the bottom or in the pages of their own blog. It’s a remarkable thing, especially when people discuss very private matters online, and I’m not going to say that it’s wrong, or weird. It might work, to do it that way.
ㅁ For some, it’s a route to fame and glory, perhaps even a career niche. There are bloggers who seek to become public figures, and there are some who actually succeed. Some people acquire fame from some other means and use a blog to keep interest going, or to “keep a finger on the pulse,” so to speak. There have been a few cases of book deals that have been awarded on the strength of work shown online.
ㅁ Finally, for some of us it’s just a hobby, a way to pass the time. Like many such, it has elements of creativity that are attractive, challenges and interesting problems to solve, and provides something of a warm feeling after the fact. If other people like it, that’s gravy, because payment was already received by means of the satisfaction that was felt when the thing was done.
My favorite blogs, the ones I like to read, tend to be word-heavy and contain reflection as well as description, and perhaps an effort on the part of the author to impose a narrative on their corner of existence (i.e., tell a story). I like to read things that are written well rather than dashed out in a hurry – that’s what Twitter and Facebook are for, fine for them as likes that kind of thing – and I think there is a place for wish to try to write well merely for the sake of it.
And I don’t know if I succeed in such an effort myself, but I’m willing to give it a shot. Although, yeah, every once in a while I’ll just show some pictures or throw out some links to interesting places on the web …
