Why I Blog
Blogging February 11th, 2008Basically because it’s cheaper than therapy.
I started out writing in high school, well technically elementary school (ha-ha), to a few of my schoolmates. We wrote letters to each other about the things female girls wrote about, stuff. After graduating, I continued writing, not letters, but poetry, at least that’s what I called it. Outlet.
I continued writing about any and everything, including short stories. I never wanted to see my name in lights, I wanted to see my name in the newspaper (not the obituaries). I used to read stacks of newspapers everyday and secretly I wanted that little column to the left or the one down at the bottom of the page for my own. Vent.
There’s also a comedian lurking around inside of me that refuses to do stand-up, she’s lazy too. I’m not afraid of public speaking, I’m afraid of the public speaking to me. I love to make people laugh. Humor, amongst other things, just naturally flows out of me, so I use it in my writing. Extemporaneous.
So there you have it, the “verbose” version of why I blog and because it’s cheaper than therapy. Blogging is my poetry, my column, my stage. I blog, therefore, I am.
Now that I shared a glimpse of who I am and why I blog, what about you? Why do you blog?

February 11th, 2008 at 2:23 am
I like to blog to vent too! I have found my site johnnymestizo.com to be about all of my interests. It helps me think out loud, restructure my goals and learn about a topic of interest. Writing is an awesome hobby and will always reap rewards. Happy blogging
Johnny Mestizo’s last blog post..Adventure into the Volcano
February 11th, 2008 at 2:23 am
Hm… pretty much the same reason you do… it’s an outlet. But I don’t need to see my name in the papers
fragileheart’s last blog post..Winter wonderland?
February 11th, 2008 at 6:56 am
I think you covered a few of the reasons I blog. But I find I also do it for the people aspect. I like meeting new people and it’s fun learning about someone else’s life. If it’s well written, I’ll keep coming back. I like that Blogging gives you a chance to tell your story, it gives you the chance to express yourself and hopefully entertain and enlighten some along the way. Blogging can also be informative, it can be a way for you to share your skills with the world. It’s awesome.
So a few words that describe why I blog: Expression, Friendship, Laughter, and Knowledge.
Keep up the good work! I’ll be back, if that’s alright with you of course!
-Jillian
Jillian’s last blog post..Jillian GO! Smells the Flowers… and an award!
February 11th, 2008 at 7:06 am
Hi Johnny, I will check out your blog for sure. Thanks for sharing…you are “write”….writing has many benefits and is therapeutic.
Good morning fragileheart! Blogging is a wonderful thing..also very forgiving too. We get to scream at our blog, say mean things to it, express love and take it all back with the stroke of the backspace key. Yeah I used to love the newspaper…not anymore.
Jillian, I really don’t blog to “meet” people, but I will say it has been great getting to “know” different ones which is why I highlighted a few blogs a few posts back. It was a pleasant surprise in how many people you become familiar with. So yes, added benefit…thanks for putting that out there. You are always welcomed here…I’m going to go snoop around on your blogs now.
February 11th, 2008 at 7:49 am
I’ve always wanted to be a scribe, but I lost the interest when I stopped reading novels. Now, I’m blogging to rescue that interest and perhaps learn from other bloggers, too.
February 11th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I also blog to vent… just to get it off my chest. I figure it’s a lot better than me throwing a tantrum like a 5 year old. I don’t think that would go over too well.
I also wanted to have my own newspaper column. My first year of college, I was a journalism major. I was doing fine until I began my internship and had to go “interview” a woman who was grieving the murder of her son. The first thing the reporter wanted me to ask her was “How do you feel?” and well… I turned and looked at him and said “how the [bleeeeeeeeeeeeep] do you think she feels?” I dropped out a few weeks later.
Monique’s last blog post..Procrastinationitus
February 11th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Young lady we have similar traits I blog for much the same reasons..some humour ,poetry and I to have this little secret about seeing my name in that column right next to yours…:)))
Robert Bourne’s last blog post..The Hand
February 11th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
I blog for pretty much the same reason you do: Outlet. All the stuff that gets in will surely blow up my head if I don’t get some out. HA! Also to hopefully amuse people while I’m at it.
Good post!
Corrina’s last blog post..Random Lessons Learned
February 11th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Monique, Isn’t blogging wonderful? That’s the best question the reporter could come up with, huh?
Robert, I’ll have my people call your people and we’ll start our own paper: Natural Bourne Bloggers. Bourne Again Bloggers? We’ll talk about it over tea.
Corrina, I know how you feel about stuff in your head. I think I suffer from information overload sometimes. It’s great to let it out!
February 12th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I blog to share. Share what I have learned through the many years of my life, share books or products I love and read/use, and also share what I have learned in the process of setting up two blogs.
In that process, I have met many wonderful people who have become cyberspace friends who inspire and motivate me to go on.
Blogging is the greatest.
Barbara’s last blog post..How Keywords Attract A Larger Audience
February 12th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Hi Barbara, that’s also a great reason to blog and I have found your blog helpful to me. I set up a blog just for passing things alone called The Web’s Finest..just my way to share. I like when people find great sites and pass them along. Less stuff on the web for me to dig through.

February 12th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Hi Valerie - I had to put my glasses on there. All I could see was “I wanted to see my name in the newspaper” and the word “obituaries” and started getting a little worried.
Why do I blog? To help people learn about business, because I like writing, and I enjoy the social aspect of blogging.
CatherineL’s last blog post..Are You Part of This Bungling Band of Bloggers?
February 12th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Maybe I need to get a life, but I too ponder why I and others blog.
I’m still in diapers when it comes to blogging (not literally, don’t want to build the wrong mental picture of me at the keyboard).
But so far, I suspect an incredible number of people blog because they have a financial motivation in mind. Too many I believe pursue blogging as a short-cut to fabulous, easy wealth. And a whole industry has spawned to satisfy that greed.
It has similarities to multi-level marketing in a way - there’s no substance or foundation behind an awful lot of blogs.
The blogs I like are blogs like this. They are written by real people. I have no idea if you have a financial motivation, but I suspect many bloggers talk to blog-widowed relatives that “they make a buck or two” from blogging.
But the bloggers that have real value are those that puruse for a passion.
My current blog post (and no, apart from a strip of Adsense I have nothing to sell!) asks that with a survey form.
I don’t know why, but I’m equally fascinated by blogs and why people do it.
The options I’ve put on my post with the Question “Why have a blog? Choose your primary motivation” are:
1) Money/Business
2) To feel listened to
3) Personal (diary, family scrapbook etc.)
4) To make friends
5) Other
You may come under other like Cath Lawson did.
She said she likes to write.
But is there an underlying motivation? For example, why do you write? Is it to feel listened to? Or because of the nature of the blogging medium, is it sub-consciously to make friends?
Who know!
One thing is for sure, it is addictive. Most days I feel drawn to blogging, and I chose “To feel listened to”.
That could also mean to make friends. But that’s a bit more difficult to admit to because it infers that you don’t have friends.
But I chose “To feel listened to” because too large a percentage of our lives are spent NOT being heard. We go to work, and spend an awful lot of our time doing something that may not be something we are absolutely passionate about.
Even if we were listened to, we may not get that fulfilment because it’s a topic that isn’t our primary passion.
Anyway, I’m waffling - loved the post. I get very little traffic to my site, and I’m not baiting - but I would love a vote if you can spare about 6.7 seconds to visit and click your choice (it’s at the top right but please accept 6.7 seconds as an estimate!).
Ian Denny’s last blog post..Blog Survey: Why Bother? Survey To Reveal Your Motivations
February 12th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
great post.
popped in via blog rush! hello from canada!!
February 12th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Hi Catherine, glad you got your glasses on.
Great reason to blog: to help people. I’m off to check out your blog.
Hi Ian, I think we all want to be heard and feel we have something to say or share. I know there are a lot of people who blog for money and if that’s what they like so be it. I don’t put affiliate links on my personal blog but I do have a blog that has links..nothing that will make me quit my day job, but more like throwing some spare change in a bucket. I’ll stop by your blog for sure..the last blog post has been very helpful in sending me to other blogs.
Thanks iamthediva! I HAVE to check out your blog just on the name title alone.
February 12th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
If I told you the truth you’d be shocked, maybe one day I’ll tell you the main reason. But for now you’ll have to settle with this answer. It started of as a way to vent. Now it’s a way to communicate with everyone, my hubby, my friends, because no one seems to know what I’m thinking. They think I’m always happy - “what do I look like?” So now when I don’t blog they don’t know what’s going on with me. Most of all, I like to read another people’s blogs, e.g. yours (the real blogs). It’s so easy to talk to someone you don’t know - you feel, FREE!
Tondy’s last blog post..Insecurity got the best of me!
February 12th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Alright Tondy, we need to have some coffee and talk over the webcam about this, I want to know. I understand the answer you gave, at least your family reads your blog. Yes, it’s fun reading other people’s blog to..I enjoy blogs that make me smile or laugh and ones that teach.
February 13th, 2008 at 12:50 am
I blog partly as an outlet for my personal expression & partly so that distant friends & relatives can keep track of what’s up with me. Keep up the good work.
Lana’s last blog post..LND; Kids, Clocks & Swaying Buildings
February 13th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Hi Lana..it’s interesting that we have similar reasons for blogging and different ways in expressing it. Very nice…I’m enjoying your pics too.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Back atcha. Keep up the good work!
Lana’s last blog post..Etc. Stuff & LND; Canada & Church
February 14th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
Monique’s last blog post..If There Is A God…
February 16th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Call it venting, ranting, therapy, insomnia, boredom or what have you…those are the reasons I blog. I also seem to have this delusion that some day I will be a “real”writer.
Great blog, keep it up.
February 20th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I blog because i like to share my interests with other people. I love writing but i never knew where to start. I have spent many year reading and saving files about how to be a writer.
Blogging makes things easier. I am also addicted to blogs. i have several french blogs. I wanted this one in english to practice…
February 20th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
this is the right blog adress
February 20th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I correct my blog address
February 20th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
What a great question. I never really thought much about it until now. It was something I have wanted to do for a long time, but why? Maybe because many roll their eyes when I get on a topic. If nothing else, I can express myself more succinctly in writing, whereas verbally I think I suffer from diarrhea (LOL, otherwise known as the “gift of gab”), which always ends up in a string of new topics. I started this as a hobby, and I enjoy it. I guess that is what really matters.
Great post!
Laurie’s last blog post..Over Night Resuscitation efforts need Resuscitation
February 20th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
ROFL Laurie, I love your response! “I can express myself more succinctly in writing, whereas verbally I think I suffer from diarrhea.” - that’s gold, thanks for the laugh!
Thanks Jessmahule, will check out your blog. I was thinking of learning French again, at least conversational French, maybe I can read your blog for practice. Rosetta Stone is not cheap.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Hey, I blog because of that too. I secretly wish that one day I could be a journalist and instead of reading people’s articles, people would read mine!!!
I am not a very good writer to begin with as I read very little when I was small. Right now, at the age of 19 turning 20, I began to read more and hopefully I will make up to those years of not reading. =P I love to write poems too but it somehow doesn’t turn out to be a quality one. I will work hard though. =) It’s nice to have someone who loves writing for the same reason as I do.
Ping Ping’s last blog post..How to get super discounts?
February 25th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
@ Ian Denny. Ian - that is a good question? Why do I like to write?
It’s not because I like being listened to, because I was writing for years with nobody to listen to.
I honestly don’t know the answer. It’s sort of like chocolate - I’ve liked it for as long as I can remember, but I don’t know why.
Being able to create something from nothing is probably the closest reason I can think of.
CatherineL’s last blog post..11 Star Quality Customer Service Tips
February 25th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Yeah good point by Ian. I took always ask WHY, wanting a reason…not just because I like it. Cool Catherine, I will check out your creations!
I know how you feel ping ping about wanting to be a journalist, I’m over that now, (I think). Blogging is great because my “articles” always get published.