My college English students are all experimenting with blogging, and many of them want to know why. Here is guidance from previous posts on this blog:
What is a blog and WHY should I do one?
What should your first blog post be about?
Should you set up your own blog?
Use your blog to become the GO-TO source for information
To blog . . . or not to blog: that’s a good first question
For some briefer opinions, check out the responses contributed to the community of bloggers on LinkedIn’s group: THE BLOG ZONE.
Brittney Wilson posted this question to the group:
Why Did you Start Blogging?
I am interested to know what made each of you decide to get online and start blogging?
For me it was lateral violence, or bullying, which is a terrible phenomena in the nursing profession in which “nurses eat their young”. I needed to share my experiences with someone other than my husband, and blogging allowed me that outlet.
Here are some of the reasons offered by group members:
Ilias Chelidonis • For me was to put my thoughts and experiences in order, you need to express yourself about all the things you’ve been through, your mistakes and successes,blogging is probably the only mean to do that.
Hao Nguyen • I’m a PR student and I started up a blog quite recently (February this year) and for me, I guess it was a way to keep in touch with the industry by connecting with fellow PR students / professionals. So far I’m very pleased with the direction my blog’s headed and I’ve learnt so much more about PR just through reading and blogging.
Rebecca Barth • After Extreme Couponing aired, I was suddenly the most popular gal around. You see, I had been couponing for years, and suddenly, when friends saw the money that they could save, they wanted to know how to do it, especially since they know I don’t spend more than about 15 minutes a week (unlike the folks on the show, though I am sure they are super passionate about what they do!). I was starting to sound like a broken record (if you are old enough to know what one of those is!), so I put it all together on a blog. I am loving it! — The Undercover Couponer
Nicole Nixen • I recently started a blog (seriously – it’s not even a month old) to keep me motivated in writing both fiction and non-fiction pieces. It is my way of applying pressure on myself to carve out time each day to this endeavor. I use the blogs to bounce off ideas I have for current projects and in the coming weeks, to post pieces of current drafts in progress.
Robyn Davis • My blog may be a bit different from others listed here, as it is a “business” blog instead of a personal blog. I started my blog to highlight my work experiences (for potential clients, etc) but, this year, I’ve expanded my blogging to include weekly article-style posts about sales, marketing, and exhibiting as a whole. It has been a great experience that, I hope, has been helpful to other professionals and I am currently in the process of moving my blog from Blogger to a self-hosted Word Press blog. This has been a challenge, but I’m looking forward to coming through on the other side even better off 🙂
Jayna Locke • Thanks for launching this topic, Brittney. It’s so interesting to see all the different reasons people start a blog.
I have had several blogs, but I started my main business blog to share what I have learned about content marketing, and also to give current and potential clients confidence in my expertise. It has been very worthwhile. I have several new clients for whom I write keyword enhanced press releases and blogs, which are my among my favorite projects.
One of the unsung benefits of blogging, in my opinion, is the self-discovery. It’s what you learn along the way. If I had the time, I would write a blog about each of my areas of interest.
Sandy McDonald • My passion for blogging started with a conviction that the world could be changed after we started an online grassroots charity aimed at warming and comforting children made vulnerable and orphaned by HIV/AIDS and poverty in South Africa. This was more a site than a blog (http://www.knit-a-square.com). Just a simple idea, ask the world’s knitters to send 8″ squares to SA to made into blankets. The response was truly amazing and took over our lives. My husband and I had to learn about the orphan crisis and this lead to http://allfororphans.com
Then reality slapped a caveat on our full time unpaid work and we had to get back to earning a living. So I started http://whyyoumustblog.com wanting to pass on what I had learned in creating community online. That morphed into working with small business or owner businesses to build their businesses online. I do have a great interest in helping people move quickly through the learnings it took me ages to understand and to save them time, money and effort.
So do any of these reasons resonate with you? Or are yours completely different? If so, please give my students more to consider.
Wow! Your question is really great! Actually I haven’t think about this before…For me, I think I just love the feeling of sharing something and getting feedback from others. Yes, I just enjoy blogging and it makes my life more meaningful and fun. And I love to really others’ blog too…Sometimes they really make me think (like yours).
The awesome thing is that you can choose to blog about whatever you want. My story is very long as I have been blogging more than a decade and have been very involved in communities previous to blogging. However, my big thing was to help others. I gave a lot of free graphics, and wrote tutorials. Sometimes I would offer hands on help. However, this did not come immediately as I spent a lot of time learning. In fact, in blogging, you are always learning, and I knew when I started that it was something that appealed to my love of gaining more knowledge in my interests.
Hi Shari, I started blogging in October 2011 to share health information and recipes to help empower people to take charge of their health and improve it. I also blog to compliment my online business. Blogging takes alot of dedication and hard work but the rewards are worth the effort. I am enjoying the process and learning alot along the way. Thanks for sharing the links to help us all become better bloggers.
Probably the main reason I like blogging is that it gives a versatile platform for self expression(design, writing, SEO strategies etc.) Another reason for me is that it makes improving English skills fun.
people blog to share their ideas and storys with friends and other people in the web with similar intrests and hobbies
Nothing is better than blogging when it comes to expressing views in any field.
I blog for the connections. Blogging’s immediacy and candor provides a great environment for writers to relate honestly with ouraudiences and to have the courage to be vulnerable.
blogging is a way to show your feelings to other , this is the main reason of my blogging …..
good question why we bother to blog ? sending so many hours writing… does it improve someone else life ?
Well informative post. It’s very nice to hear the words of many bloggers int his single post. This inspires me a lot. Keep on sharing:)
oh yes very interesting article! I nearly have 20,000 page views in 5 months; it’s getting better!
I wanted an online record of how I felt to pass on to my child so she could understand what I was going through. From there I was told to write and keep on writing and writing and writing about everything imaginable. | 😛
There is nothing like writing regularly to increase one’s ability AND one’s thinking.
I write my blog cause it is interesting. I can share my favorite subjects and ideas. Thanks for your article
Same with me ….
i am also writing to share my feeling with other ….,and also few technology tricks ….
Almost everyone is blogging these days and all blog with a reason. Its passion for something which makes you guys share your brilliant thoughts through your blogs. Its really amazing to look back at how blogs were more like personal diaries at first.
What a great article. It’s obvious that all people starts blogging for their own reasons. I my case, I started for fun and eager to know more about it. It’s like honer having your name enter in such a vast and busy world. Then I realize it is good way of earning money and still I’m blogging….
Hi Shari,
It has been fun reading over comments to your post. It appears the people blog for all different reasons. I started blogging because it is a lonely road to entrepreneurship. I started out with a lot of success stories. Today I share a mix of ideas for entrepreneurs to share their experiences and get to know one another. So blogging is a great way to network with like-minded people.
All the best, Linda
Hi Shari,
Nice post.I started my blog to avail my extra time at home also it is a good way to generate cash.
And, Pete, exactly HOW are you generating cash with your blog. So many of us would like to know :-))))
To be honest, I’m still waiting to find out why I’ve started blogging. Of course, it’s a nice way to get some extra income, but it’s now how it started.
I just felt the need to do it, and it’s been going on for some time now. Perhaps, some day, I’ll figure it out. Perhaps, it will simply continue to be like this. 🙂
Interesting, and interactive, Shari.
I began blogging as a way to share with people what I do and how I can help them along the same way.
It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve met some really great people out here. I often joke with my wife that most of my best friends… I’ve never even met!
David, I’m working on an entirely NEW blog idea, but it is diverting my focus from my “baby,” i.e. my first love
I started my blog, because a mentor told me I should. I had no idea what I was going to write about. Now, I just write about what is important to me.
I write about personal development and internet marketing. I am always learning, so i want to share it. Blogs are a great source of information.
Jaden
. . . and the best way to establish your internet presence as the Go-To source for info in your area of expertise . . .
I nearly have 20,000 page views in 5 months; it’s getting better! 😛
I started blogging in 2003 because my best friend (who lived 500 miles away) felt guilty hogging to herself everything I was writing! LOL My first blog was mostly for friends and family, and it lasted for 6 years, till I accidentally deleted the whole thing.
Even now that my writing has taken a different slant and purpose, my primary reason for blogging is that I love to write. If I can help some people in the process, that’s a great bonus!
Willena Flewelling
Willena, you remind me of the sage wisdom that writing is compulsory thought, and that we bloggers do more thinking than the average person out there.
I started blogging several years ago, and as far as I remember it was just because I like to write and share thoughts and ideas. Later, I discovered that it’s possible to build a following through blogging, and I made some good contacts with interesting bloggers. Then along came TSAMastery.
The rest, as they say, is history 😉
Thanks for the question, Shari – sometimes it does us good to think back on where we are coming from.
Alan
Just curious, Alan . . . do you have an objective or goal related to building your community of followers, e.g., something to sell? I don’t at the moment, but I’ve heard that that is one way to earn some income from blogging [more profitable than Adsense]
While I could probably give some long drawn out explanation of why I blog, the truth, as it usually is, is simple. I blog because it extends me in a way that affirms who I am. The affirmation comes from knowing I can be myself and not be alone in my thoughts, dreams, and fears. Plus blogging’s got a great beat and you can dance to it (together with your readers).
Jans
Yes, this is the “melody” and beat I love, too.
That was enjoyable to read. I like hearing what spurs people into something. I know a person who started blogging her son’s success in swimming–he was born with some issues and it resulted him being an amputee and it was one location for their myriad of family and friends to see how he was doing. I also like blogging to help people understand my business a little more and the options that are available to them in our local area.
Interestingly enough, Jason, I am coaching a blogger who wants to tell the world about her knee surgery to help others understand the process. She hopes to put her “adventures” in a book, and the blog can serve as her rough draft.
I am a businessman, I do blogging to promote my business and to tell something about my daily life. Until I found out that I can also make money in blogging.So, it turns out to be a money making hobby.
George, you should tell us more about how you make money blogging.
Well, for me blogging is like a non-private journal, where I write down my impressions and thoughts I get during the day. It’s a way of introspection. So I blog about myself, what happens to me and my opinions about things.
Of course, John, there are definitely a huge number of “non-private journal” blogs out there. Have you thought about why you want to share your opinions with the world?
I began blogging because I wanted to promote a better life for dogs and their human families. Surprise! I enjoy the challenge of providing useful, witty content. Each week, I feature a rescue dog looking for a home on my Mutt Monday.
Deborah, it sounds like you are one of the “fortunate” who have a passion and know how to tell stories about it to help others.
I blog because I like to write. For business purposes I blog in order to keep my site up-to-date, to show my knowledge in my field and to share things that I’ve learned with the community. Through both of my blogs I’ve generated some really thought-provoking discussions and I’ve met interesting people.
If your students want to do this successfully, they should definitely continue to blog after the class is over. A blog must be updated continuously and regularly. A few weeks of posts generally won’t be enough to get traffic and attention.
My blogs are at http://www.ilenerosenblum.com/blog and http://sitzfleisch.wordpress.com.
I agree with everything you’ve said above and want to add that blogging is like teaching in that you learn everything so much deeper and clear when you teach it [or in the case of blogging, share it with] to others.
Interesting responses – so unusual compared to what I’m used to seeing on blogs when comments are mostly about business made by people who blog for business. I blog because I’m a writer and a storyteller and to build a online business.
Marquita, don’t you find that the most interesting blog posts usually do have stories.
I started to blog for two reasons. I wanted to go back to work and all the jobs involved writing for web pubs. Although I was an experienced print journalist, I didn’t have clips online, and no one would hire me, even for freelance gigs. Blogging gave me a way to point to material that had been published online and made me seem current. For anyone trying to stay up-to-date, I would like to tell you that this strategy worked. As soon as I had online credits, I began to get freelance jobs writing for online publications.
I chose the topic Tech and the Baby Boomer to blog about because I was making a transition to using gadgets like the iPhone, Kindle etc; I also joined Facebook. Suddenly there were devices and social networks in my life that I didn’t know how to use. I thought I’d learn how to use them and teach others peer-to-peer what I learned. I find blogging very satisfying. It’s the first form of opinion writing I’ve ever done and it forces me to keep current with technology. I’m moving on to other projects, but I still enjoy creating the blog and I think your students will too.
from LinkedIn Group: Linked Journalists
Discussion: Why do YOU blog?
The real question is ”why don’t you blog?” As true as many music lovers put it, the silence that follows a Mozart’s piece is still Mozart’s.
When you blog you keep on working: Working on yourself, working on your own thoughts, working on issues raised by your contacts/friends/colleagues/professional relations…
The only thing that really bothers me is that the more one devotes time to blogging, the less one has time to direct communication. In that sense, human relations could well be endangered in this peculiar situation called Human-Machine-Interface
This is a great topic and one that I plan on posting as an article to my blog soon. I started blogging back in 2007 when life hit rock bottom – pregnant, laid off, hubby cheating, foreclosure, going through a divorce.
I wanted an online record of how I felt to pass on to my child so she could understand what I was going through. From there I was told to write and keep on writing and writing and writing about everything imaginable. Then one day in 2011, I went to a psychic show with my mother – she told me – start a website and a blog – The rest is history.
I started my page: http://dallassinglemom.com this month and have grown my readershp by 143%. My biggest sense of accomplishment was hearing my friends say that they love my writing. My goal: to help other women not make the same mistakes as I did. To lift and motivate. I’m planning on writing a book soon too! Plus I have legal bills to pay.
Heather, writing a blog is the BEST way to write your blog. It keeps you motivated and moving forward. Then all you have to do is edit. Lots and lots of luck. Of course, you know there are tons of women in your circumstances and that should translate into tons of readers!
🙂
Definitely, I get a lot of emails and questions now from so many different women.
how do you just sit down and blog with everything in your head running around and trying to find the right words to say and make it make scene? its hard to write about something when you don’t know how to put it or when your mad or sad and you have so much in your mind
Randi, that’s EXACTLY why I have a “process” that I suggest people keep in mind: CONFUSION is natural; SILENCE that confusion and fear; FOCUS in on one thing to write about; EFFORT = actually doing it.
i understand but at times i try to silence my thoughts but they all still come at once
Very good! Those are some really good reason for why people should start blogging.
I never really blogged before and I only made one because I need it for class. I did not know that many people who blog have different passions about it. I hope later on in life I would be passionate about something that I can blog about.
this shows you that people have their own motives for blogging. its a new way to stay in contact with you friends and the world without having to make physical contact.
It’s amazing on the many different uses blogs can have. I love personal opinion blogs because they give a lot of insight. Also, it’s spoken in the voice of its author–I find that the most important and insightful!
I use to work for the YMCA-PG&E Teen Center and did a lot of blog work. The main purpose for the blog was to appeal to potential donors. My co-workers and I blogged about our experiences as employed teenagers that worked for the Y.
oh yes very interesting article!
At first I didn’t really understand blogging and why people did it. but then once i began seeing that people put out topics that you can relate to or that u can write something and people can give there option on your topic.
I actually would probably blog about baseball and sports.I know a lot about but sports because that’s what i grow up around.i would be more comfortable talking about something I’m very passionate about
like baseball.
I loved it !! I didn’t understand what the point of bloggin was until i read this. I liked this because it was very informative and thanks for making this blogging thing more clear to me.
I started blogging a while back, and I find that a blog is an extremely good resource and way for people to pass on information to one another.
Almost the same as “pass it forward.” I am a true believer in passing it forward and thanks to blogging and bloggers we are more able to help each other out on a global level; it’s amazing the opportunities that have arisen from blogging…
reading all these stories, made ideas pop in my head like “ahhh hey i have so many things that happen to me daily, and i share with friends who either laugh their bottoms off or think what am saying is interesting, so WHY NOT start blogging” thanks!
GO FOR IT, Edil!
I don’t do too much blogging. I think it is because I have not yet found what I am passionate about. People blog because they want to share their opinion with others. I want to find something that I am really interested about and start to blog it.
Very interesting! I didn’t understand blogging when my prof. first made the class start, and I would have appreciated a post like this.
I actually blog about video games, because I want to keep my skills sharp for the PR business but I also wanted to talk about something I’m very passionate about!
Blogging can be tremendous fun and rewarding . . . if you approach it that way. When it takes over your life because everything else must take a second seat, then you may have some frustrations that don’t need to be there.
I started blogging because I had something to say. I think it was 2005 or 2006… I just found one of my old blogs from 2006 and it had 12 comments; 11 of them by the same person and all in Chinese… Not many bloggers can say that! My blog is now a showcase of my writing, photography and art. Even my family are becoming interested in what I’m doing; so I must be doing something interesting.
I have been to the hospital this week though and I always come back inspired. I may have ‘No Entry’ tattooed on my bum (butt) after this week’s visit. I have to go back today to pathology (you don’t want to know).
The hospital is on the site of a Victorian workhouse. Some of the traditions are still carried on today. You can still hear those immortal words on the wards at mealtimes; “Can I have some more, please?” The workhouse was converted into the hospital but I think most of it has been demolished now. I might take a careful look today and if there is any of it left I could take a photograph. That would give my blog a new Twist! There is a building that looks Dickensian and so I’ll walk down and take a look later. I took some really good pictures of the hospital on Monday and one featured in my blog. That was about the anxiety of going to hospital and the post-hospital trauma.
I visited my clone of course, he lives in the basement. He has the good life, he gets taken in the shower twice a day by a hot young nurse! He was 8 years old in April and they had a party for him. he ages at twice the normal rate and it can be disconcerting for the nurses trying to cope with an 8 year old 16 year old body with hormones raging.
I must get on, I have my Frugal Friday blog to write; I know it’s Wednesday – I’m on form… I time the things now, I have my Thrifty Thursday blog on the timer all set to publish at 9 am in the morning. I’ll do my Frugal blog and then I’m all set to ramble my way through the weekend…
😛