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Why do you blog?

Head Rambles Posted on by

There has been a lot of talk on the web lately about bloggers and their standing within the world of publishing.

This has led to some excellent articles about the value of blogging versus the printed media.

One thing the debate did was to make me examine my place in all this.

Am I an anarchist scribbling on a toilet wall for all to see?  Am I shouting my talents at the world in the hope that some paper will spot me and hire me?  Am I taking a massive ego trip?

The answer is no.

Hundreds of years ago, when I was at school, my strong subjects were Mechanical Drawing, Geography and Geometry.  I was also quite good at physics.  [You may add that to the 8 things you didn’t know about me.]  You notice that English doesn’t feature. I was always bad at languages, and had to give up on Latin and French, before they gave up on me.  So I never ever entertained the possibility of entering journalism or writing a book.

So why did I start blogging?

I didn’t have radical political views that I hoped would shake the world.  I do have very strong opinions on the Nanny State and over regulation, but I never aspired to changing public opinion.  So that wasn’t the reason.  I’m not a frustrated writer, so I wasn’t touting my talent for all to see, as I didn’t think I had any.  My ego was fine.  As long as the people who matter to me don’t think I’m a twat then I’m happy.

I honestly don’t know why I started.  My first posts were rants, and very few people read them.  I didn’t mind.  I didn’t expect any reaction, because I was only writing to myself.

And that is what I continue to do.  I am sitting here in my armchair.  The house is quiet.  Sandy is asleep on the window ledge opposite me.  I am quietly tapping on my keyboard for my own amusement.  It keeps the grey cells exercised.  It’s like doing a crossword, only not as frustrating.  I am of the generation where the concept of thousands, or even millions of people being able to read what I’m writing is alien.  Even as I type this, I find the concept strange – that hundreds of people I have never heard of are going to read it.  It is bemusing to say the least, so I put it out of my mind, and carry on writing just for myself.

I am utterly baffled as to how I have gotten myself into the situation I’m in.  I cannot understand how I am being listed amongst the Greats.  And I am not writing this because I want people to reply and tell me I’m a literary genius or the greatest wit since Oscar Wilde because I’m not.  Even now, I cannot understand how I have a book deal.

Maybe I found a niche that no one else was in?  I don’t think so.  There are others like me who write on similar topics.  Somehow, I was picked at random and stuck on the crest of a wave and at times, I feel quite uncomfortable here.

I can now hear K8 coming at me in that jeering tone – “Ahhh, you love it.  You’re always checking your stats.  You love the adulation“.  It’s true.  I do check my stats, and secretly I do feel good when a lot of people visit.  But I still don’t understand it.

I really write because I enjoy it.  I enjoy the challenge of coming up with something fresh to say.  I enjoy the mental exercise.

So, to the point of this post.  I am acknowledging that people will read this, and I’m asking you a simple question.

Why do you blog?

 

Comments

Why do you blog? — 60 Comments

  2. Shut up, Mulley. If people discover the fact that blogging gets you lots of hot babes then every fucker will start doing it.

  5. Why do I blog?

    1. Elly walked me into it.

    2. The novelty.

    3. Now to keep in contact with all the virtual friends I have made.

  8. Damien – Chicks? What chicks? What am I missing? [Apart from my one Groupie and Glenda?]

    Twenty – Please tell me where I find these Hot Babes. Are they in my Admin area somewhere? Or are you referring to the spam?

    Sean – Hold on now!! Now you are saying there is money and power as well?? WHERE AM I GOING WRONG?

    Sixty – An honest reply at last!

    Grannymar – Why do you blame Elly for everything?

    Robert – I like that. An a la carte response 😉

    Red – You are lying. Your flag says you are in Ireland. Is there a Rome in Ireland? If there is, I’ll call over and save you having to blog.

  11. why do i blog?

    ego…

    chicks too, i suppose (Red’s mix tapes, Annie’s cocktails)

    man-chicks? cocks? (i’m confused as to the appropriate non-PC term but anyway, the affair is as a result of the blog)

    all the other cool kids do it

    but mainly ego.

  12. I originally started a blog many years ago as a way of posting stories and pictures of the kid for my family that lives a good distance away. I also used it as a place to vent about everyday things that bug me. Unfortunately my family falls into that category as well and so I closed down the site they all knew, and became someone they didn’t. I send them stuff in email now and then I write about them in the quiet secure thought that they will probably never find it.

  13. Rosie – Man-chicks = Hunks? I would hardly class myself as a ‘cool kid’? [But my glasses are famous.] Ego? Hmmmm??

    S Mum – So you are much the same as myself. I started off anonymously, but the family and neighbours soon caught on. Now if they don’t like what I write, they needn’t read it. 😉

  14. Why do I blog?

    Because I get a reaction from people (unlike the pulpit).

    (Also because I get more readers in a week on my blog than I get people in church – which shows how small the congregations are!)

  15. I blog because it’s fun.
    I enjoy the comments and sometimes the reactions I get.
    Most of all I blog because I find it enjoyable.
    It has helped me go from being a terrible writer to just a plain bad writer so that’s a good thing.
    The chicks, wealth, power and fame are really just secondary to having all this fun.

  16. Why do I blog?

    …’cos it’s the best fun ever
    …and it’s free!!!

    And I love the fact that every time I turn on my computer, there’s more fun waiting!

    p.s. I just love having this facility to edit comments 😀

  17. Ian – So you don’t do it for the hot chicks and the money? You can count me into your virtual congregation….

    Brianf – I must say, that is my reasoning too [near enough] but I still can’t find the chicks and the money 🙁

    Steph – Yup. I’ll go along with that. You’ll find all the Plugins I use on the page called ‘Plugins I use’!

  18. yeah Grandad, ego. i’m more articulate on my blog than i am in person and it helps me to convince myself that i’m funnier and cleverer than i really am. it’s cathartic too, and occasionally writing about the not-so-nice things in my life makes it easier for me to live with them and sometimes even celebrate them.

    mostly it’s about making myself look good though.

  19. It is the question I ask myself constantly. I did write a post on it a while ago actually, only not as eloquently as you and with no conclusion that really satisfied me. I suppose I fall into the frustrated writer category (although that’s as much about developing your skills as demonstrating perceived talent, I think).

    “I really write because I enjoy it. I enjoy the challenge of coming up with something fresh to say. I enjoy the mental exercise.”

    I think this just about sums it up. Perhaps the audience (or potential audience in my case) gives us the excuse to do something we enjoy, a justification for spending our time this way.

  20. I write probably because I’m bad at talking on the phone.

    The problem is my blog has no direction. I’m constantly looking for purpose, and when I think I’ve found it (politic, teaching, or introspection), I get distracted.

    For example:
    “In solidarity! Power to the peop… Oooh. Butterflies!”

    But blogging is cathartic somehow.

  21. Thanks for the guidance, Grandad.

    The only thing I know how to plug-in is a good old-fashioned 3-pin!

    And anyway, haven’t you forgotten something?

    I’m a woman and I don’t ‘do’ instructions. To me, there’s only two options:

    … to plough ahead with something new and only look at the instructions when I absolutely HAVE TO – and usually, only then because of the disaster unfolding

    or … to stick with the way things always were, ‘cos it still works! 😉

  22. Rosie – I must say the catharsis element is strong. There is nothing like a good rant! It does help to get things off my chest!

    Jenny – Feck it! You’re right! It’s just plain fun 🙂

    Ginger – Do you seriously suggest that this blog has direction? If it has, I can’t find it. Strange though – I hate the phone too.

    Steph – I though it was men who were supposed to do things without reading the instructions?

  23. Hmmm. A good one. I started when I moved to Ireland because it was easier than sending twenty emails to various friends and family to let them know all our news (and let them see pics of our new life). Then (and I’m with you on the ego massaging thing) slowly people got interested and started to comment, and we developed our own little family of bloggers (you’re the patriarch Grandad, natch). Nats wrote a great piece on that on her Eire Rules blog:

    http://eirerules.blogspot.com/2008/01/more-to-it-than-that.html

    And lastly, I can be sitting in my office on a rainy Cavan Monday morning but still feel connected with the outside world.

    PS: Still no dog!!

  24. I blog for so many different reasons it’s hard to sum them up. To pick a few: to make me think about things properly; to think a bit more when people come back with points I’ve missed; to have a bit of a laugh; to make me look like a wonderful, kind, loving sort of guy; because it’s fun to have visitors from San Francisco or Toronto or Rome or New York; because I can socialise without all the messy bits like buying rounds and going out in the cold. Er, is that enough?

    Oh, btw, Red really does live in Rome. She posted a photo of the street where she lives. But she’s Irish so that probably explains the Irish server.

  26. E Mum – Good point. It is a good way to keep in touch with family and friends, as long as you don’t mind the whole world reading your correspondence! How did I miss EireRules’ post? It’s a bit late to comment on it now!

    Patriarch? Now you are making me feel weird again.

    I do know the feeling of sitting in an office with no one to talk to except Herself, the dog and a few cacti.

    P.S. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the dog!

    Nick – That’s a bit heavy? Thinking about things properly? I agree about having friends across the world though. That is one of the things about blogging that I can’t get my head around. And it’s very true about not having to go out in the cold and dark to meet your friends!!

    I never doubted that Red lived in Rome. She must work for an Irish company though, or else she makes a trunk-call to Ireland every time she connects?

  27. Shane – Welcome 😉 You started this train of thought, so you’re to blame. You and your erstwhile highly respected colleague?

    As a professional writer, I would be worried if you did know when to shut up. Then you may find yourself out of a job!

  28. I blog because it keeps me connected to the world. Besides, I don’t talk much, so I have to express myself somehow. Blogging is a great hobby for an old lady, and I grew up loving to write.

  29. I’m with Mulley on this one! It is all about the chicks!!! 🙂 But, if I can meet some new people and make a few bucks along the way, then I shall.

    Seriously, I’m running for President in 2012. President of what, you enquire? Hmmm….The world, of course. 🙂

  31. “What first attracted you to millionaire Paul Daniels”.

    Forgot to mention the chicks are rich.

  32. Will yiz please tell me where I’m to find these chicks?? [Not that I’m particularly interested in Anthea, Damien]. I’m getting despurt.

    SID – Do let me know how you get on. *sigh*

  33. I blog to wind down after a night carrying drunks home to their mammies, it helps me unwind, what I don’t understand is why I then spend all the following day looking at the stats!

  34. I started blogging mainly because I enjoy writing…….but I also like throwing a few wobbles & enjoy being able to let off steam without getting a mouthful of smart answers. As of yet, I haven’t even thought about making any money from it & most blokes that read my blog describe themselves as old, bald, with beer bellies & a tendency to fart alot.

  35. I don’t blog.. lately. I don’t know why, except that my laptop blew up, so that probably as a lot to do with it. I’m using a corporate computer at work to leave this comment, and just the very thought of Headrambles rambling around in the company intranet gives me visions of homelessness.

    I’m going now.. goodbye.

  36. I have just recently started a blog, and I would like to use it to refine my writing skills, or just simply display my lack of writing skills as the case may be. I have found that the exposure to the other blogs has brought great enjoyment. Thanks Grandad.

    And now I find out I can use it for chicks too. Wow! That is fantastic………….as long as the Misses don’t find out.

  38. Partly similar reasons to yourself, partly it’s a medium to blow off steam and not be told “sit down you git” by anyone particularly authoritative, and mostly to see how it works, how do I set up a blog and then get people reading it. Not that I have anything particularly interesting to say, just “Now, what happens if I do this?”

  39. Okay then, here’s one for you: how do you feel when you get a snotty comment, or one when someone vehemently disagrees with you? I got one when I first started blogging telling me I was patronising to Irish people/culture/etc (I’d commented on not being able to pronounce Baroimhe) and it really bloody upset me. I dealt with it by explaining myself:

    http://englishmuminireland.blogs.ie/2006/10/27/downer/

    but now think I’d be a bit more confrontational.

  40. E Mum – You were unlucky in getting one so early. So far this place has been relatively peaceful.

    If someone is snotty to me, I tend to either be snotty back or take the piss. Which is the wrong thing to do!!

    If someone disagrees with me I will either debate the issue, or [on the rare occasion] will be swayed by them and will tell them so. I have had some really good debates here on things, for example the American ‘right to bear arms’!

    The only occasion things got out of hand, I just deleted the comments. Two contributors started fighting between themselves. It got really nasty and involved personal abuse, so I deleted all the offensive comments and wrote privately to the pair of them.

    Don’t ever be put off by a bad comment. It’s only one person’s opinion. Invariably the vast majority of your readers will back you rather than that person. Unless of course you say that Mary Harney is the best health Minister we ever had?

  42. for me it’s a conservation thing ..for 30 years I wrote stuff on notepads,scaps of paper and ciggy packages while traveling the roads of North America..blogging has probably saved about One and Half trees so far…:)

  44. Once I thought I could hold a conversation with the whole world but later I realized that the whole really didn’t wish to hold up their side of said conversation. Since then it’s just blogging out of sheer tenacity and blatant thick-headedness. And anyone whose seen the chicks we have around here will easily realize that isn’t the reason either (pronounced eye-ther).

    As far as you’re concerned, I know you love it. You’ve a natural talent for writing so deal with it. I promise I won’t give you any credit for what comes natural cos’ I have to work at it just to be half-assed. You piss me off (don’t you believe it).

    By the way, have you seen my site’s new makeover? It’s horrible. Hope you like it. 😀

  45. Ok. I’m just back from the pub but I can’t believe no one came up this one yet:

    I blog, therefore I am!

  47. I think it takes a bit of Guinness to get the creativeness (or lack thereof) going over here Kirk 😉

  48. My flag does look deceptively like the Irish flag, but it’s red at the end Grandad, that makes it Italy. So I’m not lying ;-°

  49. Getting in a bit late on this one…but EM saved me by referring to my post (thanks)! So there you have it, and grandad as my blog has far less traffic then yours…it is NEVER to late comment, it is impossible for me to miss them!!! Your post was fun and it was great to read all the comments.

  50. Red – My humblest and deepest apologies. My fault for being colourblind!

    Natalie – It’s never too late. You are right about the comments [another reason I blog?]. There are far too many for me to answer, but there is an interesting mix.

    So far, a lot of the comments reflect my own reasons, which is interesting. I’ll have to do a summary of the reasons at some stage – a sort of ‘top ten reasons why people blog’!

  51. I blog for the exact same reasons as Red.

    Plus I liked reading other people’s blogs and didn’t want to be the only commenter without a URL.

  52. “I liked reading other people’s blogs and didn’t want to be the only commenter without a URL”

    I love it! That is what I call an original reason 🙂

  53. Finally…a hello to you, Grandad. I’ve lurked for ages, but your throngs of followers and obvious popularity intimated me a bit so I’ve been lax in leaving a comment. Shame on me. I started blogging because I love reading other blogs so much. I have learned more about the world around me through blogs then any other media. I hear what real people world-wide think (even when it’s unflattering-being American and all) and that’s exciting. I get to visit with new people and explore new places. (Without leaving my desk. I wouldn’t want to promote actual tourism in your neck of the woods.);)
    I guess blogging just fits who I am right now.

  54. Intimidated? Why? You are more than welcome, Sugar Britches [what a sweet name].

    That is a very good point. It’s not the reason I started to blog, but it’s a damn good reason to continue. How else could I debate American gun control [or the Christianity of Phelps!]? I have learned so much in the past year, it is quite humbling.

    P.S. How come Sneezy is an Imported Britches but I don’t make the grade? 😉

    *runs off to add a new name for memes!!*

  58. “P.S. How come Sneezy is an Imported Britches but I don’t make the grade?”

    Remedied, Grandad. Stop by again iffin’ you want.

  59. Much like English Mum, I started blogging because I knew I was moving over to Ireland and wanted to stay in touch with family/friends without a million tedious emails flying around. And it’s been lovely to feel connected to a new community of people here as I try and find my feet.

    It’s also a good way to flex the little grey cells ‘cos I’m not working at the mo’. I can drivel on and claim I’m exercising my brain. People can read it or not as they choose (something John Waters seems to have a lot of trouble grasping).

    The stats thing is interesting. I’m happy in who I am and don’t think I need that kind of validation but, truthfully, it’s still a bit of an ego stroke if that little line on the graph goes up. Step away from the stats…

    No chicks yet. How does Twenty do it? Actually, I don’t think I want to know…

  60. I suppose stats do have their place though. In the past I have tried out different formats or whatever, and if I get a sharp drop-off then I know I’m doing something wrong!

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