Why to blog

One of my favorite bloggers, Barry Ritholtz of The Big Picture blog, wrote something of a mission statement this morning for why he blogs (and why he thinks others should--or should not). It definitely resonated with me, since it in large part described why I blog. I thought I'd pass it along, in case any of you were wondering why I write; below is an excerpt.

I can think of many reasons why someone might start and maintain a blog:

Blogs? Yeah We Got That

         1. You have something to say
         2. You enjoy the craft of writing
         3. You want to figure out what you think, and do so in public
         4. You want to be part of a larger community of like minded individuals
         5. You have a hobby or interest that you are really, really into
         6. You want to maintain a presence on the Intertubes
         7. You have an expertise and you want to share it
         8. You have an eye for content (text, graphics and video) and you enjoy leading other people to them
         9. You want to create a permament online record of what you are reading, looking at or thinking about
         10. You like engaging in debate with total strangers

That’s off the top of my head.

Note that each of these bullet points begins with YOU. Blogs are about what YOU want to produce, regardless of how many readers shows up. The Big Picture would more or less be the same content with 100 or a 100,000 daily readers.

People are often surprised to learn that I write for me, not for the readers. That keeps it honest (as opposed to the SEO-driven content-farm material). It also helps to quiet the voices in my head.

I don't think it's quite as selfish a pursuit as Barry might indicate in his last paragraph, as his bullet points #7 and #8 are certainly outward-looking and important reasons to blog. He goes on to emphasize his belief that making money should never be the primary purpose of maintaining a blog--it may be an ancillary benefit, but if it's the only point, the blog will lose its soul.

For me, I definitely enjoy the craft of writing--and the introspection and thought process that writing requires (points #2 and #3); those are really the primary reasons I have this blog. But I also enjoy the conversation that it sparks; I like getting pushback from both my friends and strangers, because it challenges me to reconsider the things I think (and my reasons for believing them).

Blogging is always a very introspective pursuit, which I believe is what Barry is trying to get at. You write about what you believe, and see if others agree or disagree, rather than simply writing what you think people want to hear (as is a frequent criticism of the mainstream media). So that's why I write; the question now is, why do you read? I tend to think the reasons are fairly similar to my reasons for writing--that's my goal, anyway.

[The Big Picture]