On Blogging

As we approach the New Year and my 1000th blog post (which will be sometime in January), allow me a moment of introspection. A number of fellow bloggers have left the blogosphere or drastically reduced their presence. Some have moved to new homes. Some have disappeared without even a farewell (Monkey, where are you?). Some have left only to be back a month or two later (We did miss you, BustedBlonde).

Which brings me to the subject of motivation. What is it that keeps us blogging?

Clearly it is not fame. David Farrar from Kiwiblog is probably the only blogger in New Zealand with anything approaching name recognition.

Recognition from your peers is a possibility. But you have to bear in mind that at least half the “recognition” you will get will be negative. The blogosphere is no place for the faint-hearted or those who have to be liked by everyone.

Extending influence is a likely motive for political bloggers. I suspect people in government feel much more comfortable reading blogs than they do entertaining lobbyists. Bloggers represent a free feedback loop which can be useful for gauging opinion. Bearing in mind, of course that most bloggers (including yours truly) are highly opinionated, politically aware and probably not a great representation of joe public. Still it is nice to feel that your opinions are at least considered, however briefly. I certainly find this a motivation, personally.

Stimulating debate. There is no doubt that, when you have an established blog with a decent regular readership, it is great fun to stimulate a running debate in your comments section. I have recently blogged about how I consider isolated blogs like No Right Turn not to be real blogs at all but merely a static vanity website. If you don’t like debate, then you probably should consider a less stressful pastime than blogging, like macrame. Blogging is all about opinions and opinions are all about debate (and, regrettably, insults).

Giving structure to life. I have been told that the old practice of keeping a journal was to give some structure and perspective to your life. You can look back through your journals and see where you’ve been and gain insights on where you are going. Personally, I prefer the “trail of destruction” method. It is easier and you don’t have to keep all these tedious journals.

Sorry, I don’t do introspection well. Mucking around in my head just makes me irritable.

One last motivation for me is the simple joy of creation. I am reasonably good with words and ideas and I get a great deal of pleasure out of writing down my opinions and ideas, preferably in a somewhat entertaining way. This is certainly what keeps me blogging, despite my absurdly busy lifestyle. I suspect this is the underlying motive for most long-term bloggers which, after 18 months of posts, I guess I can consider myself.

When it ceases to be fun – that will be when I stop blogging.

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