Comments on: Why do you blog?

By: LisaNotes

LisaNotes — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 20:19:36 +0000

In reply to Beverley. I agree with you, Beverley--you definitely are a Teacher and Writer, and you're very good at both! I pray the Lord will continue sending you courage and next steps.

By: Beverley

Beverley — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 10:11:36 +0000

I’m a Teacher and a Writer and i would love to write a book or two but that takes courage and i am still finding mine.

By: LisaNotes

LisaNotes — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 23:41:35 +0000

In reply to Micah. We probably would all do well to periodically take time to reflect on our purpose again, even if we have before. Sometimes it changes over time. Thanks for chiming in, Micah.

By: LisaNotes

LisaNotes — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 23:36:20 +0000

In reply to Natalie. That's interesting, Natalie. Sounds like blogging served its purpose for the season, and now you're in the midst of discovering new purposes for it....

By: LisaNotes

LisaNotes — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 23:29:44 +0000

In reply to David. It's funny how writing can really help us work through our problems. I've never quite understood how that works, but I know it does. Putting pen to paper (figuratively anyway) seems to engage the brain in a way just purely "thinking" doesn't.

By: Micah

Micah — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 16:57:15 +0000

Very useful tips here. Myself I think I probably fall between the teaching and curating categories in terms of my motivations for blogging. So a bit of a mixture too. It’s great to think about though as it’s probably not a question I’ve spent a great deal reflecting on, as strange as that may be.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 16:40:11 +0000

I started to blog for the discipline of having a reason to write regularly and to finish things. I blogged about the same things I’d always dabbled with writing, but the discipline helped and I learned that my online voice is a little different than my narrative essay/that-book-I’ve-been-slowly-working-on voice.

After a year of blogging I’d more than met my objective of becoming a more disciplined writer, and to tell the truth, I’ve felt a little lost with my blog ever since. Lost isn’t a bad place, just a place, one I’m (mostly) okay with.

By: David

David — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 22:31:11 +0000

I think all of my blogs (inc. my work blogs) are like diaries or workbooks. Each post is either working through or writing up a recent problem. Sometimes they turn out to be useful or at least interesting to someone else. So, maybe dreaming? Dreaming in public.

Those six tips are good. #4 is definitely true: you can make a lot of assumptions about your readers (and your readers will appreciate your cutting to the chase).

I agree with Barbara H’s point about interaction. I think that is the secret sauce.

By: LisaNotes

LisaNotes — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 22:03:07 +0000

In reply to Barbara H..

I think my dad would have loved blogging for those same reasons, Barbara. The interaction is amazing, and it’s an aspect of blogging that I didn’t really know about until I got into it. I had no idea how much community could develop this way! But I do now and testify to it that it’s real and helpful.

Maybe one day we will meet in person. But even if we don’t, I feel like I know you anyway. I’ve definitely been blessed by your friendship.

By: Barbara H.

Barbara H. — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:58:20 +0000

There is one blogging reason I don’t see listed: interaction. I know some bloggers whose blogs are pretty much made up of memes through which they interact with others. I wish my mom had lived long enough to get in on that kind of thing. Well, I wish she had lived longer for greater reasons than that. 🙂 But she kept working past retirement mainly because she thought she’d be bored and lonely at home, and there is a whole blogging world out there I think she would have enjoyed.

I don’t see myself in any one of those categories, but I guess teaching/persuading would be a big part of it. I tend to think of it more as coming alongside and sharing what I have learned and hopefully helping people along the way rather than speaking from a position of authority. I also started blogging in order to (hopefully) improve my writing by writing, but my posts do tend to be too lengthy still. And, yes, I even blog for some of that interaction. I’ve gotten to know folks like you that I count as dear friends that I will likely never meet in person (though I’d love to!)