Friday

Why Blog?

I was at The Restaurant today and realized I hadn't yet posted for the day which would equal a giant FAIL in the daily posting challenge.

Firstly thanks to everyone who commented yesterday. It actually makes me feel a hundred times better about everything. I can't believe I only recently discovered blogging, it's such a great outlet and it really is a way to get everything you're feeling out, have people non-judgmentally comment on it and relate to what you're saying. Thank you, I love you all!

I was thinking today about the reasons I started blogging. I've always liked writing but keeping a journal isn't really satisfactory. Don't get me wrong, I still have one, but it's more for the small things I think about, those times when you're having a quasi-emotional breakdown and need to just write and write even if later on it makes no sense.

I discovered how big blogs are when I was idly searching the internet for something to do with being an assistant (which I no longer am) and stumbled across this post. Before that I didn't really even realize that it was a whole huge community or that people read and commented like they do.

Obviously now I see that it's so much bigger then that, but that day in my office I literally sat and read from beginning to end. After clinking on links like crazy I realized that it was something I really wanted to try, and now I'm so glad I have!

I always wonder how everyone else got started...

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I didn't do a post today (well, yesterday now) so I fail. Oh well. I could fake it (pretend like it was published yesterday). In fact, I might do that... hmmm...

Oh, and to answer your question, I started blogging because I enjoyed some friends' blogs and thought it would be a good way to write stuff down about Meredith to keep track of and look back on. Something she can read when she's older too. I didn't start it for others to read (I didn't think anyone would be interested), but it's neat that people do read it.

Kez said...

Hmm, I think I started blogging because I liked the idea of writing something that people would actually read.
I didn't know what a "blog" was for ages though. Just that I had flirted with the idea of a site about me (this was way prior to myspace and facebook taking off).
Very narcissistic huh.
I also wanted to find ways to vent about issues I came across in life - except now I try to keep things light.
I love this whole community thing :)

I haven't posted today. Less than four hours to think of something brilliant...damn!

Chele said...

I started blogging years ago just so friends around the world could be updated on what I did, because writing mass emails I couldnt be tossed.
Then eventually I just started to write about evrything and love the fact I could connect with others out there

P said...

I remember I started a blog back in 2005 and did two posts. It was all only because I read Mimi Smartypants and how she'd got a book deal based on her blog and thought "oh, i could do that". Hmm, yeah, good idea Paula.

Anyway I gave that up quickly and it was only when I joined the networking service bebo in May last year I decided to put a couple of thoughts in the blog section. People I knew were always telling me they were funny but I always felt like I was having to watch what I said because of people I knew reading it! So I went onto blogger.

As it turned out people I knew were destined to find it anyway and give me abuse for it, so I had to start all over again. But for me it's become an outlet for me to vent my frustration and get impartial opinions on things. I can sometimes be more honest on my blog than i can in real life, and although I am aware that there ARE people I know in real life reading it, I also know exactly who they are, so I know what I can and can't say. You don't get that kind of interaction with a journal - I think it's nice when you've had a bad day and want to vent about it that there are people in blog land on hand with sympathetic comments and advice. It makes you feel good!

Sorry, that was very long winded!

Some Guy said...

I never would've expected how much blogging could positively affect my life. I'd never written anything before and never kept a journal. I had written a few goofy things and put them up on a MySpace page. I got a note from legendary blogger Grant Miller, a friend from growing up that I had lost touch with. He told me to check out his blog. It looked like a lot of fun. Since then, I have made tons of really great friends and even met my girlfriend who has since moved from Virginia and in with me in Michigan. Blogging is way better than any internet dating site - at least for me!

Ben said...

I think people already know my story but basically we had to start one for a class showcase thing for creative writing. Then I just held onto it afterward to see if it could grow into anything. Now I can't imagine not having the opinions of all the people I've met through it.

Not yours though. I could do without yours.

Dr Zibbs said...

I started blogging at the end of 2006 but didn't really get much traffic until June 2008 when I started commenting on blogs. Now, it's totally addictive. I try to explain to non blogging friends that it's like having a network of really funny friends at work and everyone is commenting thoughout the day on something funny that happened in the morning. Take a look at Gwens (Everything I Like Causes Cancer) post from yesterday and you'll see what I mean.And I agree with Some Guy about it being better than internet dating. All joking aside, if I were single, I'd ask out some of my readers in a second. I already know some of them so well and it's just from the interaction we've had within blogs.

katrocket said...

I'm glad you took up blogging, Alice. I know a lot of people think it's nerdy or narcissistic, but I think of it as having my own personal entertainment network, and all my blogfriends are just different channels I enjoy.

I got started via Flickr, a photo sharing community. You can leave comments and send messages and stuff, so it's similar to a blog in some ways. Two good friends I met there had really entertaining blogs, so I thought I'd give it a try, and that was 3 years ago. Now I have 3 blogs, write regular columns for 3 print magazines, and I earn my living online.

slopmaster said...

I just found my post again after being gone for over a year! I thought I deleted it, but there it is after all these years. I've decided I'm going back to it. Thank you blog gods, and thank you Alice. Your name is like Alive but with a c and like Osama's name is like Obamas but with a b.

slopmaster is back!

slopmaster.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

I was bored at work with an internet connection. Sure, just dial-up, but it's something.

Gwen said...

I read a handful, without commenting, for years. I got involved their stories and talked about it a lot to my IRL friends. One night, and IRL friend who writes screenplays, asked me why I didn't have one. I didn't have a good answer so I started one the next morning. I was afraid of the technology and my sustainability, but quickly overcame both fears. Now sometimes I think people would like for me to shut up for once. Like now.

paperback reader said...

I started my blog just to drown out Gwen. It clearly hasn't worked.