It’s funny to think that blogging is supposed to be something that’s used as a release, a place that you can go to get your thoughts out without having to deal with consequences; yet given how much the internet has evolved and how much things have changed, a lot of people have started to believe that’s hardly the case. Take for instance my good friend, Whitters who seems to have lost her mojo for blogging. Part of it I think falls a lot on people’s perception that a good blog is a blog that attracts visitors, has at least 2 or 3 comments on every blog entry, and is a name that’s been heard before. Truth of the matter is, for me, that’s not the definition of a good blog. The definition of a good blog is a blog that incites passion and connection. One that allows the writer to directly connect with her or his readers by the words that are written and the feelings they evoke. More often then not I end up leaving a blog because it’s become too commercial so to speak and the writer has gotten lost in what they feel they’re supposed to be.
I don’t have a large following and I will admit that at one point that bothered me, but now I realize that my blog isn’t here to entertain the masses; it’s meant for me, no one else. And while I enjoy feedback and comments or discussion amongst the few who read my blog, I think I would be perfectly content to continue writing even if I didn’t have that incentive. This is my home, a place where I go when it’s too much to speak and written word is my only means of releasing what I’m incapable of saying outloud. It’s my place of self reflection, discovery, and inspiration. I will look back on my entries a year from now and realize how much I’ve grown, how much I’ve changed and draw from that knowledge to continue with my life in a means that will benefit me best– I think a lot of people forget that and that’s why a lot of people in the blogging environment get lost or disinterested.
What I ask for the few of you who read this is to step back and evaluate the real reason you have a blog and why you blog. What motivates you to sit down, login to WordPress (or whichever platform you use) and start writing? Is it because you have a large reader base who will grow disappointed if you don’t blog? Is it because you need an escape, a place to call your own? What has blogging done to benefit you as a person? How has it changed your life or has it even changed your life? When you’re able to sit down and answer these questions honestly and without rationality; then perhaps you can discover the true reason you write, and determine if it is because it’s self satisfying or if it’s because it’s completely superficial. Personally, if I had to choose– I’d hope that my true reasons weren’t for the superficial, but for the real connections that so few make in the online environment because I know, even if I have never met you or may never meet you, I can only hope that you’re touched or at the very least inspired by that which I give so freely: my heart.
contemplative
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This is exactly the question I’ve been asking myself for the longest time: why do I blog? Or rather, why I used to blog. this was a really eye-opening post, as well as thoight provoking. Thanks!