Thursday, November 12, 2009

Why Do We Blog?

I told myself I wanted to blog everyday.  I decided that if I would do it first thing, while I'm sitting with my first cup of coffee, before I checked email or Etsy, that would work out great.  I got up at 7:45, not bad, let the dogs out, fed the cat, made the bed, threw in a load of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, took a few pictures to download, got My Bob out the door with his bottle of water, apple, cell phone, and a package to deliver, now I'm ready and it's only 9:45.    I'm making progress.  The best news in all this is My Bob is on the road for the day.  You know how I love the day to myself. 
So here I sit at my computer, in my little kitchen office, and I'm so happy.

Why do I feel this obsession to blog?  I've been thinking about this.  Of course, anyone reading this is also most likely a blogger (still don't like that word, it isn't pretty).  Why do we do this and why do we love it?  I feel good after I write.  I feel more organized in my head.  So I guess one answer to this question for me is that I like to write.  That leads to another question:  why not just write in a journal and keep it to ourselves?  Why do we feel the need to put it "out there"?  We have strangers read about and look at our lives.  Now I don't feel like you are all strangers.  In fact, some of you are like good old friends and I love "talking" to you.  Is that why we do it?  To make new friends?  That wasn't my goal at all.  I even tell myself sometimes that I don't need any more friends in my life.  I enjoy my cyber friends now as much as my tangible (for lack of a better word) friends. I miss you if I don't hear from you.  Do we do this in order to stay in touch with family?  That's not it, either.  My immediate family doesn't even know I do this.  For some reason, I don't want them to know right now.  Maybe some day I'll surprise them with it, but not now.  Why?  I don't know.
Is this maybe like our own little reality show?  Maybe.  Although I would never want to be on one of those.  Why do people do that?  For the money would be one answer.  Well, that's certainly not the reason for blogging.  I guess there are some that actually do make money through ads on their site, but that's not happening for me right now either.
For me, I think the two reasons I do it is because, 1)  I like to write and "they" say you should write about what you know.  I know me and my life.  2) It is cathartic.  It calms and relaxes me and organizes all the thoughts in my head.
My other blog is for different reasons.  It's about my art and crafts and creations.  I like to share this.  It also keeps a record of what I'm doing from start to finish through pictures.  I then go back and look over my own blog to see what I've done, because I'm getting very forgetful the older I get.   Especially if I've sold something or given something away.
Here's my studio that I promised to show.
 





 Sorry these pictures are a little dark.  I should have edited them a little better.
This room gets very cluttered and it's the only room in my house that I feel good with the clutter.  I'm very much a neat freak in the rest of my house.  These pictures should also go up on my other blog, since this is where I make the things seen there.  I'll do that later.

As far as reading blogs, I know exactly why I like that.  I am amazed at the interesting and talented people out there.  The writing and pictures from most of you is better than most magazines and books. I love the insights, thoughts, and life coping skills that I read about.  I love seeing pictures from other's lives and pictures of other's homes and creations.  I feel like this is a secret little world, well, not so little, that those that don't know about are really missing out on.

So why do you blog?  And is there a different word we could use for it?

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