Why Blog?

In the last several weeks, friends (Stan and Phil to be specific) have asked with sincere interest why I blog. In each case they have different reasons for questioning the wisdom of doing so and their questions warrant a reply. It's too easy, of course, to answer their question "why blog?" flippantly by saying "because I can," yet that is in part the answer. The technology exists. It's easy to do. And I enjoy experimenting with it. Yet there are other reasons too.

Stan's puzzlement arises over how I expect to gain a wide readership, and what I might have to say on a regular basis that would compel readers to visit my site. Though I've said to him that I write because I want to do so and that I'm not concerned whether anyone else ever visits the site, that is only partially true. Of course, I think I would enjoy the interaction that comes from comments people make and, like everyone who doesn't have it, I wonder whether being "famous" would be rewarding in some way. But I'm not writing this blog because I hope it will make me famous. I am writing it because it gives me a place to say what I want to say, whether others listen or not. I can comment on technology trends, discoveries I make online, or post help I have provided to one friend so that other friends (or strangers) might also benefit from it.

Phil's primary question seems to be why I would want to reveal my thinking to anybody and everybody who happened across these words. While Stan seems to be concerned about people not reading what I've written, Phil's concern is that they will read it. Phil focuses on the diary aspect of a blog, those posts that are personal in nature. I suppose he's trying to save me from myself, from my revealing those dirty little secrets about my life that would diminish me in other people's eyes. Yet it's possible to be personal and honest and still be able to talk in polite company.

In some ways, both Stan and Phil are right. Few people will probably ever read these words and those who do will find them inane and pointless. Yet, I don't really care. I am writing as an exercise in freedom. I speak out on the Internet because it is possible to do so and so that I can practice the art of doing so. As a dabbler in things technological, I like to see whether I can use the tools that are available and that fortunately are free. So blogging for me is learning how to post to the Internet, how to use to tools, and it is the joy of learning.

Blogging is also an exercise in writing. Just like in the days of Echo Bulletin Board Systems and my participation on the ILink Writers forum, the exposure (or potential exposure) of what I write to public scrutiny imposes a discipline that a private diary would not have for me. The fact that blogs are updated as frequently as they are also imposes an expectation on me to write often. In general, such outside expectations help to inspire me to write more carefully and thoughtfully.

I don't know if my blog will be read by those who don't know me or even by those who do. I blog for me. If other people derive benefit from it, all the better. If not, well I can live with that too. As Rick Nelson said in Garden Party, "If you can't please everyone, you've got to please yourself."
- posted by Perry @ 6:16 AM