Tuesday, February 28, 2012

To Blog or Not to Blog?

People write blogs for many different reasons.

There are blogs that are professional, political, psychotic.

There are blogs that are meaningful, meaningless, moronic.

People blog to share information, insight, infatuation.

Some are for gossip, some make you laugh, some make you cry, some make you think.

Most are personal. And all of them mean something to someone.

Yes, there are many different reasons to write a blog.

The authors of blogs can write exactly what they wish they could say out loud. They can tweak their drafts until the words are just right. They can give real, deep thought to their arguments before advocating an opinion. They can pour their souls out on to the Internet as a form of free therapy. They can write whatever they want without giving much thought to how someone reading it will react. There are fewer social restrictions on the Internet.

And there are many reasons to read a blog.

It's where you can get professional, political, and psychotic information.

It's where you can get meaningful, meaningless, and moronic information.

People read blogs to gain insight and get the latest gossip on the latest celebrity.

But most blogs are personal. And I believe that there is one main reason people read personal blogs - pure and simple curiosity.

Reading someone's blog is like being handed the key to their diary. You're able to read about a person's trials and triumphs. What they dream about, worry about, love, hate, and hope for. You can learn about their relationships, past and present, with spouses, kids, boyfriends, girlfriends, family, and friends. Personal views on politics, money, and religion all come out. It's not like talking or listening to a person in person. It's so much more.

Readers can come and go as they please, virtually undetected. There's no social obligation to laugh, comfort, or offer advice to the author while reading a post. If you do want to leave a comment, you can write whatever you'd like, even if you use words you would never say out loud - nice, mean, or otherwise. Or, you can just read about the author's life and move on with your day. The only one you're really answering to is yourself.

I write for therapy, a creative outlet, and perhaps because I'm a bit narcissistic.

You read out of curiosity.

Simple as that.

2 comments:

  1. You got it! And you just started. :)

    I write to get it out of my head, but I LOVE the interaction. Live for it. It's so comforting to hear I'm not alone or get advice from others who have "been there".

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! The encouragement is appreciated for sure!

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