That’s what I googled this morning. Over the years I’ve started and abandoned so many blogs I can’t keep track – except the one with my name on it! And very often I wonder what in the world am I going to write about under my own name! What was I thinking buying this domain name!!?
But here it is and I googled “why blog” and here I am revving the writing engines again for a new year. I love this time of year when it’s brand new and you still have to think about the which year it is when you’re typing it somewhere! It always feels new and fresh and full of possibilities.
So what hit me when I saw other people’s reasons for keeping a blog. Well, here are a few that stood out:
- Share what you’ve learned
I think of myself as a perpetual student and it goes back to something I heard a long time ago from Wayne Dyer. He said something to the effect of this:
Never be an expert. An expert has nothing to learn and cannot be taught and therefore never gets any better. Instead always be a student, ready to learn, questioning what you “know” and trying new things.
While that sounds like a great philosophy (one that I’ve internalized for many years), it has a downside. It’s really easy to think that I have nothing to offer – after all, I’m not an “expert” on anything – why would someone care what I had to say? That thinking makes it really hard to teach! But as it turns out, when you’ve done something for a long time and found ways to avoid pitfalls and enhance experiences, people want to know that stuff. And really, every time I search for something on Google, someone is sharing what they know and making my life better. I kind of owe a debt here. Maybe there is a better word for “expert” out there?
- Improve your writing
I chose journalism as a major in college because I loved writing. Somehow I got pulled toward television journalism, then video production, and now web design, but all three pull from the qualities of good writing skills, namely the ability to tell a story. My story skills are a bit rusty, but writing more will probably help with that. We’ll see! Either way, it never hurts to work on such a key skill.
- Remember what you’ve learned
Sometimes when I look back at old blog posts I think – wow, that was pretty smart! Or not! But either way, you tend to blog after new insights or in the midst of research or doing something that sparks your imagination. Writing that down and keeping track of it helps cement that thing in your mind. It also gives you a chance to go back later and remember what you learned.
Ok, there are three reasons. I need to stop now and get on with things. Do you have good reasons to blog? Stick them in the comments below.