Why do we blog?
A friend on twitter this morning posed the question, "Do bloggers blog for the blog comments or just for self-satisfaction? Or for some other reason?"
It's funny because my views on blogging have changes drastically over the past ten years. I believe there are different levels and types of blogs as well.
I've been here on LJ since 2001 and it is the most unique blogging platform out there, as far as I'm concerned. Some will say no one uses it anymore, but we all know that's not true. Lj has evolved far and wide since we all started posting song lyrics and high contrast photos of ourselves on there so long ago.
The most unique thing about LJ, is that we are a true community of friends. Not a mass of individuals with followers. Here, we are all created equal. We all share our lives with each other and, over time, have grown to truly know each other. Two of my real life best friends were made on LJ and others on here, I know that given the chance, we would most certainly spend time together in the real world.
We know each other better than most people we know in flesh and blood, because here, we tell all. And we've been doing it for so long. THAT is the magic of livejournal.
Most of us were blogging here before it was even called blogging... Or we didn't know that yet anyway. I remember the first time I heard the word "blog", I sneered at the thought. WTF kind of word is that? That will never catch on! Then again I also thought there was NO WAY apple would really call their tablet the iPad... So yeah.
In any case, These days I proudly refer to myself as a blogger. And in some sense, think of myself as a successful one. There are so many reasons to blog and so many levels of success. Here on LJ, I have 290 friends. Not everyone posts or comments all the time, but I honestly feel that the majority of that list is active at least most of the time. I did a major trim down in 2009 and I feel like my list has been about the same since that time, give or take a few new folks and a few who've stopped.
The major question Chaz raised this morning was "why?" why blog? For yourself? For others? For feedback? For numbers? For followers? For amplification?
I feel like there's no right or wrong answer here. Here on LJ, I blog for myself, as this is my personal blog. I also blog with my community of friends in mind, mentioning them and sometimes putting together certain things for them specifically. Which is nice because you know your audience, you're comfortable with them and you know that not everything you post has to be open to the public. Your posts can be friends only, public or even just viewable to special groups you compile of friends within your friends!
Then, I have my cake blog. That blog is almost exclusively written for others. I actually haven't been keeping up with it as much because I don't get as much satisfaction from that blog. It is so time consuming to write those entries and prepare tutorials. Which brings me to another of Chaz's questions, "Do you ever worry that one is paying attention?"
Let's face it, there's nothing worse than taking a ton of time to write, what you think, is some of your best work. You thought out the story line, you added photos, you spent two hours putting it together. Then you post it.
Then... Nothing? No comments? What does if mean? Should I have posted it at a different time of day? Should I have not written so much/so little? Too many photos?
Was it boring? Was I wrong about something?
For sure, as bloggers, we've all dealt with this. I have more fear that I'm playing to an empty room on my cake blog on Wordpress. Here, I will always have my built in audience. The regulars at my bar, if you will. Where, on Wordpress, I'm like the out of town band who isn't sure anyone saw the flyers I spent all that time on and hey, I could have a great show or I could be playing to one person who wandered in. BUT- that one person could say WOW, you were awesome and become a fan for life.
I think that's a fair analogy.
I think we can all agree that the point of blogging is to be heard. Wether by a small audience or a large one, we're here to share something. To a lot of us, writing is in our blood. We have to write. Stopping means dying. We feel the need to document. I am pleased as punch that I have a ten year documentation of my life here on LJ.
In the end, I guess I feel like my purpose has always been just to write my blogs and if people give me feedback, that's great. If not, I can't be upset about it. I'm a wordy person. I always have been. This has been my outlet for so long. My place to put all those extra words. My place to tell my stories.
Some times I get wrapped up in the idea of Internet fame when I put extra work into my cake blog. I'm such a flake that I can never find the time to keep up. I've always been the person who does too many things at once and can never focus on just one thing for an extended period of time. I don't think I can change that about myself lol.
So what about you guys? Why do you blog? Do you ever feel like no one is paying attention? Do you feel like you blog for yourself or others? Do you consider yourself a blogger?
I'll say it again, some times I feel like the luckiest girl to have the amazing group of LJ friends I have. We're a total community and we always keep each other engaged and supported. I love you guys :)
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