Why do you blog?

I'm new to blogging and BlogHer and am so happy to find this thought-provoking post. I love reading the varied and wonderful responses from such passionate and articulate women.

I began writing stories and poems as a young child, and never really stopped until I was in a graduate program for creative writing. The academic environment provided me with amazing opportunities, but it also exposed me to pressures and expectations for which I wasn't quite ready. I can't exactly say that I lost my voice as a result, but I definitely got much quieter and put my pen down.

I've turned to blogging as a way to re-connect with my writer self, and explore what writing and creativity now mean to me. I expected blogging to feel akin to journaling, but I find that just the possibility of an audience really shapes how I craft my words.

Sending you my best!

http://thingsididandsaid.blogspot.com/

You have stated so many great reasons to blog, thank you for your comment.

It is amazing how blogging has provided a whole new way for people who LOVE to write the ability to showcase their creativity.

Bound by few rules, open to expression and interpretation, necessary for therapy and for fun; it's a good way to spend our precious moments.As you said, "It's how I make sense of my life."

Thank you so much for joining this discussion. You have placed here a reason for blogging that will resonate with many.

You are right, the blogosphere is not a village with 126 million people residing in it. That is what makes the small communities have more meaning.

Creating a blog, arriving at BlogHer and finding people of like mind has made conversations far more stimulating.

Here's to adult conversation and the virtual design of a room of your own!

I've been blogging in some form or another since 2001. My first blog was simply for me to write about what I was dealing with at the time.

Nowadays I blog to educate ( http://adoptionblogs.com ). I blog to share ideas ( http://technology.momcentral.com ). I blog through the pain and the joy ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com ). I blog about our life ( http://stopdropandblog.com ). And I blog to find community ( http://ohiomomsblog.com ).

And like others who have commented, I blog because I'm a writer. I have to write. It's what I do. I'll go insane otherwise. It's how I make sense of my life, my world.

Jenna Hatfield (@FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom )), from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com ), is a freelance writer and newspaper photographer.

Thanks for taking the time and looking it up. Go blog power!

Michelle Roger writes for Living With Bob (Dysautonomia) ( http://bobisdysautonomia.blogspot.com/ )

Last year, my family and I moved from the place/culture/friends/home that had been mine for over twenty years. It was a big shift, both geographically and personally. All the way from Austin to Boston.

At first, I began blogging to share my new life with old friends. Lately, I've found that my blog has become something more. As Virginia Woolf said in A Room of One's Own, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is going to write." As a stay-at-home mom of three, I don't have a room of my own. I rarely have five minutes to my own. But my blog provides a virtual sanctuary where I can write and develop my photography and engage in the vast community of fellow bloggers.

I've found that last bit is difficult. The blogosphere is so much more congested than before. So many voices. It's not a village anymore. it's a crowded metropolis. That's the main reason that I joined Blogher...to start conversing with other bloggers.

Oh, about comments. I love to get comments. I'm practically greedy for comments. Some days, it feels like the only adult conversation I have!

You prompted me to look up Dysautonomia, so through you I have learned something new today.

Again, the power of the blog! Words that translate despite the miles that separate us.

Thanks for your contribution.

It is the common thread - being driven to write, the comments can be the icing on the cake.

Thank you for adding to this wonderful array of reasons to blog and for leaving a comment. :)

I don't know if there is one particular reason I blog, but I know it's not for comments. I began my blog as a venting place, thanks to a life changed by chronic illness. Then it moved onto a place to educate others about my illness which is rare and unknown (Dysautonomia). When I became ill there was little to no info out there, which frankly is very isolating. Then it became a place to just be open about the realities, nothing is really off limits and I try and find some humour in my really rather humourless life. So I guess it's really ended up being about about my personal journey.

Initially there were zero comments. Now I get a few but no huge numbers. I'm just happy with what I get and really it's more about the quality of the comments than numbers. To hear that my little words made even one person feel less alone or that they printed out posts to give to their families to help explain what they were going through is priceless.

Like some of the others mentioned my numbers continue to click over on Google Analytics so people are reading even if not commenting. I tend to focus on the stats that make me feel happy. For example, who knew that my humble words would touch someone in Poland or Finland so that they come back time and again. I love that.

Michelle Roger writes for Living With Bob (Dysautonomia) ( http://bobisdysautonomia.blogspot.com/ )

I love receiving comments and I love leaving them, but I also write a family blog which is barely read and receives no comments. And I'm still driven to keep writing it. I think I blog for different reasons at different times and right now, I would keep writing.

Melissa writes Stirrup Queens ( http://stirrup-queens.com ) and Lost and Found ( http://lostandfoundandconnectionsabound.blogspot.c... ). Her book is Navigating the Land of If ( http://thelandofif.blogspot.com/ ).

Thank you. There is no doubt that blogging has opened up the ability to touch, inform and support others in ways nothing has before.

You are right; there is effort involved but the end result is hopefully balance and perspective that aids the reader in a meaningful way.

What they came for is what they got. Something mutually beneficial for both writer and reader.

That need to write was what drove me to explore blogging. I was encouraged by others and I have not regretted a single moment of time spent doing it.

I love the strength in your statement "my main driver in blogging is simply to do that which I am meant to do." "And that is to write."

Thank you, Margaret.

The Clueless Crafter, who I came to know some time back, is now writing for an online women's magazine. A direct result of her blog. Unfortunately, she now doesn't have time to blog...too bad I enjoyed it.

Being a personal resource is so important. Blogging has closed that gap between family, self and resources. The ability to share experiences, learn and ask questions you may not normally feel comfortable to ask, is what makes it very valuable.

Thanks for your comment :)

I blog for a few reasons, the foremost of which is to help educate others about postpartum depression (PPD) so there are fewer mothers suffering in silence unnecessarily thinking they are alone in their experience and to help chip away at the stigma that comes from people not speaking up. There needs to be more people out there talking about PPD, and blogs is one major way to do that. I also blog to get things off my chest, especially when my primary pet peeve is triggered (i.e., ignorant comments). Though more frequent comments would be nice, I do not necessarily expect visitors to leave comments unless they have a need to reach out to me for support. Many come to visit my blog for reference purposes rather than to communicate with me. So, no, I would not stop blogging if I didn't get the number of comments I see other blogs out there getting on every one of their posts. I am not doing this out of a desire to be popular. For me, the end goal is not to win some kind of popularity contest. Though, to ensure your blog establishes a decent readership, you need to put a certain amount of effort into it by way of networking with others who blog about the same or similar topic--for example, linking to each other, referencing each other on your posts and/or on Twitter, etc.

I had a blog that was pretty well-traveled. Had I kept it up, I'd probably be in a different blogging 'space' in my head and on the 'net. I didn't get traffic there over night, it took a couple of years. I shut it down, for various reasons (family members featured prominently in that decision).

But I write. I have to write. Not all of my writing is on-line, some is work, some is personal, some is written with an eye to publishing. So I started a *new* bog, leaving out the bits that caused me previous issues. I did import some of the blog entries from the old blog, because they were pieces I still wanted to share.

I don't get the same kind of traffic or commentary that I used to enjoy on the old blog. But I discovered too, that I enjoy writing for the sake of writing. Of course I want people to read it if I put it out there, but my main driver in blogging is simply to do that which I am meant to do. And that is to write.

Comments or no comments.

~Margaret

Just Margaret ( http://maurhoffbarney.blogspot.com )

I love the confidence you exude when speaking about why you blog. It is inspiring to hear about a person's growth within the blogging world.

"Write because I want to and trying to keep it interesting" is important to me too.

I encourage new bloggers to keep going, despite the lack of comments initially. As I have found it takes time to find your voice.

Thanks for your comment and the endorsement of the other women who commented, I will be taking a look at each from here on in.

AshaB

Most of the really popular bloggers had been blogging for quite a few years before they got "big"....which makes sense, as blogging is a popular thing, now.

I blog because I'm a writer, and blogging is sort of a way for me to keep on track, to keep me writing. Plus, I have rather alternative ways of parenting my daughter, and there are quite a few people who use me as a personal resource. So when I post articles about my choices, I think it's good for some people. It's also easier to communicate what is going on in my life with my friends and family with one, simple broadcast.

I also have a recipe blog, because I create my own recipes. And soon, I will have a website of recipes from myself and my family.

Of course, like many, there's a teeny part of me that has the Julie & Julia dream...to be found, published, etc..., but, honestly, I'd rather be published for my creative writing than for my blogging :)

I have a blog I read that was designed for this woman's family but turned out to be of interest to outside readers. I love the fact that it evolved in such a way.

Can you (or anyone) explain to me the pay per post? I recently had someone solicit me to use my blog in such a way. I don't know what they are talking about.

Thanks for your comment and I had to smile when you said "they will call me to the carpet for making them read nonsense." Least you know your readers are passionate :)

Yes, that is the message I received from the woman's blog post, she felt like she was talking to herself. It is hard to adjust if the need is to be part of a conversation.

Also, as you mentioned, the style of the blog makes a huge difference. Sometimes I've check out a site and I'm confused as to the purpose. Do I comment or is it just advertising disguised as a blog?

However, comments are an introduction to other bloggers. So, with that I will say, thanks for adding your voice.

Susie Kline

www.motherhoot.com ( http://www.motherhoot.com )

I've been blogging on and off since the mid-2000s. Now I am trying to make it a regular quest.

But mostly I write because I want to. I believe I have relevant things to say and a an interesting way to say them.

I try to comment on every blog post I read. Because I know how much these comments mean to us bloggers!

I've really enjoyed all three blogs for the two women above me. Both of you have been added to my daily bookmarked blog tour!

My best commenter is my 80- year old Uncle.

I rarely get any comments, even when I do giveaways.

I started my blog as a way to keep in touch with my family and although I have evolved into doing some Pay Per Posts and reviews and giveaways, it all goes back to my family, they are my core readers.

I know that there are 43 definite people reading EVERYDAY and if I do a Pay Per Post that doesn't hold something personal and interesting to them, I will hear about it. Not in a comment but in an email or a phone call. They will call me to the carpet for making them read nonsense.

and the fact that sometimes no one comments on what I write doesn't really bother me. At least on one of my blogs. I can see from my stats that some of my articles have been read many many times over months and months, but there is not a single comment. That's fine.

On the other one, I solicit comments. I don't get many, but at least I don't feel like I'm just talking to myself there.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt ) | Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ ) | First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com )