Blogging – because it’s there.
One of the things bloggers are asked from time to time is “why do you blog”. The answer “why not?” doesn’t seem to satisfy many, so I’m perhaps more likely to come up with some thoughts along the lines of “because I enjoy writing”, which is pretty much the main reason, although now that I’ve set up my own business, if I can use the blog to draw people into my site and make them want to obtain some form of paid service from me is another good reason.
But instead perhaps the question I should ask in return is why don’t you blog? Most people generally enjoy communicating their thoughts and ideas with others, and the medium of a blog is pretty much an ideal way to do this. Fair enough, there are things you should maybe consider — such as how much personal information you actually want to put online — but you may be surprised at how many people actually would want to read what you have to say, even if what you want to say isn’t earth-shattering, providing you write as least reasonably well.
I HAD MY BREAKFAST AND I HAD A BOILED EGG AND SOME TOAST AND THEN I WNET TO THE LAVATRY AND HAD A WHIZZ AND THEN I THOUgHT I NEEDED A POO BUT I DIDNT SO THEN I FNISHED GETTING DRESSED AND WNET TO WORK
…although unless you think you can do better than the above, you might possibly want to give it a miss.
But assuming you can write better than this (and lets face it, most of us can), then what is actually putting you off? If it is the idea that blogging is difficult, or that you think cost will be prohibitive, then you really have no excuse.
You Can Blog For Free
A chap contacted me a week or so ago through my contact form, and asked if I would give him a quote for putting together a blog for him. Given that he’d already written a couple of books, I reckoned that he was probably capable of forming coherent sentences and therefore that blogland wouldn’t be the worse for having him on board. So I said that I could do such a thing, but from the sound of what he was after, I didn’t think he’d really need a quote, because I reckoned that at least 90% of what he was after could be done entirely cost free, through having a hosted wordpress.com blog.
So with not too much work required, I put together a blog site for him to talk about his interests — walking, climbing and so on. Whilst never having described myself as a climber, I’ve certainly done some walking in my time (usually in the Lakes) and so from purely selfish reasons it’s been fun putting together his blog. I’ve enjoyed putting it together, I’ve enjoyed reading what he has had to write, and the link back to my site will hopefully help promote my services to others.
Okay, granted you can’t necessarily guarantee that someone will be around to help you set up a blog, but if you personally know any bloggers, they probably will (if they have time) be happy to help. And even if you don’t, it isn’t actually that hard. Which brings me to the next bit…
Blogging Isn’t Difficult
Then, when we’d got something we were at least content with, he then said that he felt that he would possibly benefit from some training, so that he was able to put together posts for himself. Again, I said that if he was really desperate for some training, I’d be able to put together a quote for him, but I didn’t really think he needed it. Instead I sent him some simple instructions about how to add a WordPress post:
- Login (link at bottom right). Username [redacted] password [redacted]
- This will take you to the admin page, where you’ll find all the functions, most of which you’ll never need to use
- To add a new post, either click ‘new post’ from the logged in bar across the top, or select posts/new post on the left hand side of the admin detail.
- You’ve then got a WYSIWYG editor to add a new post. There are two rows of icons – the top row of icons allows you to insert media into the post (e.g. the top row, left hand button allows you to insert an image; the one fourth from the right on the second row is the ‘more’ tag – anything you put before this is the ‘teaser’ text; anything else goes in the main post body only).
- You can save the post without publishing it by pressing ‘save draft’. You can set to publish immediately by pressing ‘publish’ or if you set the date by using the Edit link next to “publish immediately” and set a date/time in the future, this changes to ‘schedule’ so you can schedule the post to publish at a specific time.
- You can also mark posts as belonging in a particular category, although you don’t have to.
- … and that’s about it — just have a play around
Advice on creating a wordpress post
See? It’s not difficult. In less than a week, someone who had initially described themselves as a ‘technical neanderthal’ has been adding their own wordpress posts, inserting media, and is now looking at tagging posts and so on.
Because They’re There
The blog is maybe still “under development” to some extent as the creases get ironed out and further tweaks are applied, but it’s certainly up and running. So if you’re interested in walking — or what you can do with a blog quickly, easily (and perhaps most importantly free-ly) why not ramble over to Because They’re There… and take a look?
And remember, next time you’re wondering why someone else blogs you should maybe turn the question around and see if you can really justify to yourself a reason why you don’t.
And then when we’ve got you doing that, let’s look at getting you on Twitter…
Steve Woods says:
October 9th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Excellent post.
Personally, I blog because it makes me write things down and therefore think things through. If someone wants to read my ramblings, they’re free to do so.
Additionally, I’ve started giving myself goals and publishing them online. By doing so, I feel obliged to complete these goals lest I be forever scorned by both of my readers
Gary Miller says:
October 9th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Nice post Jack and I like ‘Because They’re There’ – even if it is still under development.
(Quick nitpick: How about a label for the Comments/Message box?)
I sometimes get really personal when I’m writing – especially just lately. But, for me it’s an ideal medium for releasing my emotions and achieving a state of catharsis.
Keep blogging and I’ll keep reading!!
JackP says:
October 9th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Gary, it’s a standard WP theme so we’re working within certain limitations as to what we can do…
Alen McFadzean says:
October 9th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Just to pick up on the point Steve makes. My blog came about because I started keeping a personal journal of my mountain outings in 2005. And the reason I started was because I found an old diary from 1986, in which I’d kept details of what went on at work, mountain adventures, potholing trips, union meetings, conversations. I was horrified to discover how much had been erased from my memory. Even people I had worked with had been scrubbed clean from my consciousness, and would have remained so had I not found the book. Yes, writing does make you think things through. And it allows you to keep fresh in your mind the things that would otherwise have vanished into thin air.
Shannon says:
October 9th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Liked this post, Jack! I wish more of my ‘real-life’ friends had blogs… or ones that they actually kept up with. From what I can tell, my friends who don’t start one or who let theirs die after a few days or weeks seem to feel ‘pathetic’ posting about daily happenings or thoughts so their blogs dwindle if they ever start one to begin with. (Apparently, some of us (and I’m really referring to myself here) don’t mind posting about daily nuances whether or not I think they’ll be earth-shattering to anyone, especially because I like reading others’ blogs that are the same way.) I find that if I have acquaintances even in the same town I’m in that keep a blog and/or read mine we form a much faster and more meaningful friendship because we know so much more about each other than what we decide to say in small-talk conversations at official social gatherings… you just get to share more of yourself on your blog than you’d feel comfortable doing face-to-face sometimes. What I try to tell friends that are starting blogs is to just be themselves, write how they talk, throw some personality into it. I’ve found that my friends’ blogs who I really enjoy are ones that sound like them rather than the ones that sound like they’re trying too hard to put on a certain appearance.
Anyway, don’t know if any of that was at all relevant! I kind of got going on that subject!
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