7 Reasons I Love Blogging

Recently, a number of incidents have reminded me why I like blogging and put effort into it, even when I'm tired or working too hard:

1. Blogging is a way to keep people in my life ( family, friends, colleagues, business associates) up to date on what I'm working on. They don't have to read the blog often, but if I'm busy writing and blogging,I'm not dead.

It also helps old acquintances find me. Yes, usually there are reasons some people do not remain friends, but sometimes we lose touch because we no longer attend the same school/work for the same company etc, and personally, I'm terrible with keeping in touch. But if someone ponders : " I wonder what happened to Damaria ," and does an online search, they can find me.

2. Blogging is an excellent marketing tool
The blog content itself communicates that I can write; the links to other platforms say I understand social media and the links to published articles give you samples of my range. So by the time client contacts me, the issues are:

• am I the right fit for your company/organisation or project
• am I available for the duration of the project
• how much will it cost you.

I also like the fact that I can provide other people with a platform to talk about what they do, to highlight their products and services and to direct traffic to their sites. I don't have a set criteria for choosing people, sites, products etc. It simply has to be something I like and that I feel, is a good fit for me.

3. Blogging is a good way for me to make friends
I've made so many new friends through this blog, or their blogs, or other online forums. And some of these online friends have evolved into real life friends who I have been close to for years now; others are growing to become friends; I've worked with others on writing projects, and it's been lovely.

Strangely enough, I never did meet the dangerously weird ones. Lucky me!

4. Blogging is a good outlet for me to chat with people
Working from home means I'm not surrounded by my friends/peers during the day. And even though I like the quiet ( and lack of interruptions), there are times when I want some social interaction. The other good thing is that, if something interesting happens, I need to only say it once here. Then everyone can read it whenever. Telling a story over and over can start out exciting and grow to be tedious:-)

5. Blogging gives me a platform
Bloggers can write and publish what they want, when they want and how they want.

I believe that decency laws, and I'm not talking about clothing, sex or even swear-words, should apply, But for some people, that's optional. Laura has published a nice post about what freedom means to her.

For me, this freedom to publish what you want means that there is no editor to tell you your chosen story is NOT news even though you know the information is useful /can help improve lives [ the trade off is lots of grammar and punctuation errors:-). You also don't have to listen to some journalist/book reviewer telling you that your book is boring so they're not going to review it. Assuming you were lucky enough to actually get a journalist to actually respond to your pitch:-).

When you have a blog, and have something to say, you just write it up and publish it... and your captive audience will engage with it.

And sometimes this freedom means I can chatter on about boring stuff that I should probably keep to myself, because frankly, no one cares. But, to paraphrase some old time musician, it's my blog and I can write if I want to, write if I want to... you would write too if it happened to you!

6. Blogging is a good tool you can use to take over the world
Not really. But you can use it to change your world/community for the better.Maybe the change will not be large-scale to begin with, you can make a difference in your community through blogging.

You can start a web page or even Facebook group for your community; help them stay connected with each other and to communicate. You can highlight a cause when there is a need in your community.

You can review various services and businesses that you use as a matter of course, so that people can learn more about what's available to them, and where they should be more cautious when doing business. Blogging about your community won't take too much time, and and you can just choose to mention things in your personal blog rather than starting an independent one if time is a factor. Whatever you choose, it's a contribution to society and your eforts are worth it.

BTW, many thanks to the people who took part in the clean up of our local park (above pic is of former 2010 World Cup Soccer fan park). More photos of the event are here. And thanks to Doreen for uploading the pics.

7. Blogging is a way to make money
I intentionally mention this reason last on my list because this is what attracts most people to blogging. The myth is that you can start a blog and make your fortune. And maybe even get some fame in the bargain!

There's so much lousy info out there on how to make money blogging! And the reality is that, most people flake out because it takes hard work and consistency to build up a blog to the extent that it can make money.

And you have to be very interested in the subject to write about it regularly. As for me, I've previously noted that Storypot was never intended to be a source of great revenue. This is my house, where we have coffee and chat. It may end up growing to the extent that I feel comfortable accepting the advertising offers I periodically get, but that's a way off.....

For those who want to know more about blogging for money, I suggest reading this site (guy actually earns more from a niche blog he started rather than the blog about making money site I'm referring you to) and that site. ( She sold the site recently to a network, for an undisclosed sum.)
Anyhoo, talk to me: tell me why you love blogging.