Why do I blog?

February 19, 2007, 10:00 AM | 2 Comments

Fresh off my vacation I found out this morning that I’ve been tagged by Adrian with the latest blog meme that’s going around. Why do I blog?

I’m not quite sure how I feel about the whole meme thing and I know a lot of people find them annoying, but like Adrian said, this one is particularly relevant. It’s always good to state (or even question) why you do the things you do even if it’s only to justify them to yourself, so here are 5 reasons (in no particular order) why I still bother with this blog thing.

• Expression

  I stole this one from Adrian, but I think it’s probably true for anyone who writes, whether your medium is digital or the old-fashioned pen & paper journal. I write on this site as a form of expression, an outlet for me to vent, discuss, gather and summarize my thoughts. It also gives me an avenue to write about the things that interest me.

• Hobby

  Again, this could probably go on anyone’s list, but this site has sort of become a hobby of sorts for me. A lot of times it doesn’t involve writing blog entries or adding links, but working on my site has been a labour of love and I’m often thinking about what I can do next. It’s important to me that I spend a good amount of time “offline” pursuing other interests (family, sports, music, TV, etc.) but this is definitely something I’ve really come to enjoy.

• Development (Professional and Personal)

  Stolen from Adrian again, but if there’s one goal that I really have for this site it’s that I learn and grow because of it. Many of you know that I built my site from the ground up (no pre-packaged CMS for me so far) and because of that experience I’ve gained a lot of knowledge of many different technologies over the past couple of years. On top of that, on many of the posts I’ve written I’ve been honoured to have many people add their thoughts by posting comments. This usually leads to a good discussion or at minimum a lot of contemplation over the topics I’ve posted. As far as personal development goes, the more you practice, the better you will become at whatever it is you’re practicing. I’ve only been doing this for a year and a half, but I know that my writing has improved over that relatively short time span and it’s becoming easier to get my thoughts out of my brain.

• Networking

  If there’s one thing that a blog can do for its author it’s getting them connected with other people. In the web/design world, networking is extremely important on many different levels. For those on the job-hunt or freelancers looking for clients, a lot of times it really is who you know that can get you the leads you’re looking for. Through networking with other people in your industry (or those that share your hobbies and interests) you can have some really good discussions, bounce ideas off each other and build relationships.

• Because I think I have something to say

  My thoughts may not change the world (my football analysis certainly won’t), but I think that everyone has something to say. Blogging gives me a platform to say what I want and open those thoughts up for discussion and debate. I always enjoy the feedback I get from comments that readers post, even if it’s contradictory to the views I express. I’ve been fortunate to have my ideas and thoughts help people and I really get a lot of satisfaction from that. In the web development industry I truly believe that knowledge is for everyone. I’ve learned so much from those who have “gone before” me and writing on my site is my way of giving back. I hope that my thoughts have and will continue to help people grow in their profession and inspire (or reinspire) those who read them.

Who am I tagging?

Well, I’ve never really done the meme thing before, so I’m not quite sure who to tag exactly, but here goes. I’ll be tagging Brad, Snook, Nathan, Eric and Klaus. Why do you guys blog?

Posted in: Reinspire