Why Blog?

You may wonder why people blog. I just started doing it myself. I blog because I like to write. Maybe it's not just that though. I want a release, a place to put my thoughts, and to share ideas.

A lot of people use Facebook as a platform for communication. However, I can't relate to Facebook. In fact, I don't get Facebook at all. What's the point? I have friends and family that spend a lot of time in there. In my opinion, too much time. And, they share too much information there too... things that they shouldn't share, and things that people don't care about. But that's a different subject.

Back to blogging... 

I've searched for answers to questions. And I've ended up read people's blogs to learn something about software development or to find an answer to a problem with my scooter or car. I can confidently say that I've NEVER learned anything useful like that from Facebook, MySpace, or Google Plus for that matter. Social sites like those don't lend themselves to solving problems.

I've found that I can write what I like, anything I like. And I've encouraged my kids to write their own blogs to do the same. Share their ideas with friends and grow communities. Start a gaming blog site, or a blog concerning your favorite hobby so that others can learn from your experiences and ideas.

You can't forget monetizing either. You can monetize your site and make a little money while sharing your ideas. I'm not sure that you'll ever make a living at it, you have to become pretty popular for that, but it's honestly fun to do and a great learning experience.

If you get feedback on your blog posts it can help to open your mind to what other people think. If you're okay with criticism and to other peoples ideas that is. It could help you to make better sense of the world or to refine ideas and grow as a person.

One idea I want to explore is to put a book out as a blog. I have a book idea that I've started and not finished. It may help me to finish it if there were readers who would be interested in it and encourage me to post chapters as I finish them. In the end I could put the book out for sale eventually too. It could be a downloadable PDF or something. Or, I could self publish and sell copies to those that have become hooked after getting a taste of a few chapters. Maybe I could take donations from people that found the book entertaining and they can pay what they thought it was worth. Like I said, it's just an idea that I want to explore.

I find blogging to be rewarding, and If you've ever considered starting a blog, I'd say to go for it. What have you got to lose?