Why Blog?
I’m sure hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of people know by now that WordPress is now beginning to offer a hosted blogging service. It’s currently very exclusive and you have to be invited, as noted by Matt, there is already an invite on eBay. But that’s not the point to this post.
On the new WordPress.com homepage there is a list of bullet points headed “Why Blog?”
- Connect with an audience of dozens to millions.
- Stop sending mass emails to everyone.
- Archive your thoughts.
- Why the heck not?
Number 1 - Yep, it’s dozens in my case nowhere near millions - and probably never will be. Number 2 - I never did that. Number 3 - Yeah, it’s good for that - so long as you’re willing to share your thoughts with the world. Number 4 - Exactly!
While I was composing an email to Yaro Starak today, it struck me that there are good reasons to read blogs as well (well, der!). I might have met Yaro, once maybe, but I’m not really sure. Yet, because I’ve been reading his blog for so long and we’ve traded trackbacks and comments, it certainly feels like I know him and I didn’t think twice about shooting him off an email to ask for his assistance.
At the risk of stating the obvious, blogging is great because it creates communities. They’re communities with no geographical borders, and an endless supply of interesting people. As well as that, blogging allows people to peek in and sample a community before they commit to being part of it. And that’s if you even want to be part of it, maybe you would find it just as enjoyable to simply sit back and watch. I do that with a number of blogs around the place. There is so much interesting stuff out there in internet land, while you should always keep exploring, it’s nice to find your little corner and be part of the community.
On a somewhat unrelated note, it’s been brought to my attention that this blog is becoming increasingly uninteresting for some of my readers (sorry Pa). Some have suggested that it was better when I was talking about holidays, family, friends and Laura. Rest assured that I haven’t given up on those topics, I just haven’t had the time of late.