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Who Blogs Just Because They Love to Write or Simply For the Fun Of It?

Posted by Libertine • 1/30/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Tags: blogging

I've belonged to Blog Catalog for about a month now and I've noticed several generic-type blogs that seem to exist for the sole purpose of making money. Such blogs have little to no content that indicates the blogger's personality or interests.

Also, I've seen a related type of blogger who seems mainly interested in statistics: hits, increasing their ranking in blog clearinghouse sites like Blog Catalog, comments, etc. They offer to read and comment on your blog in exchange for you doing the same, and don't seem to care whether their visitors have a true interest in their blog's contents, just so long as it drives up the statistics and rankings.

Don't get me wrong -- I am pleased to see a lot of visitors on my blog and I cherish the comments I get. But because I don't do much "shameless promotion" of my blog, the hits and comments I get are from people who are truly interested in what I've got to say and their interaction on my blog isn't solely motivated by a desire to increase statistics on their own blog. Indeed, I'm a bit disappointed when I encounter people on my blog who are thus motivated.

I joined Blog Catalog mainly to find other blogs that I'm truly interested in reading, hoping others would likewise find my blog interesting. Though I'll add nearly anyone to my friends list who asks, only those blogs I'm actually interested in and/or who were my friends before I joined Blog Catalog go in my neighborhood.

I've never made a dime off any of my blogs and though I'd not ever turn down any money offered, it's not my motivation for blogging. One of my prime motivations is to make people think of things in ways they might never have considered before, particularly in the realm of sexual ethics. From the unsolicited emails I get, I see that I am doing just that and one such email means more to me than any money I could make or getting a top blogger award.

Plus, blogging is just plain fun. I've met lots of like-minded people while blogging, while also making friends with and gaining understanding of those who have a different view of the world.

How about you? Why do you blog and what do you see as your most valuable "reward" from doing so?

User Comments

1/30/08

africana

I honestly couldn't have said it better myself. I blog, because I have a story to tell, a story I hope touches people who are going through or went through the same things I have. I love every comment I got on my page because they all came from random strangers from all over the world who left them because they "understood" me and that is enough for me.

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1/30/08

iamfiction

I agree. Wholeheartedly. I blog because I have a story to tell too... and doing so in a public forum can be therapeutic. I love it.

I'd rather have a handful of people who really read my blog than a million that click a link and fall off the page just as quick.

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1/30/08

antibarbie

I blog because I don't know how to shut up about the nonsense rolling around in my head.

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1. 1/30/08
  
  Libertine
  
  And that is why I like your blog -- your personality shines through every post you write.
2. 1/30/08
  
  antibarbie
  
  Aw, thanks for the compliment. I really do appreciate it. Your blog is very interesting too.
1/30/08

suburbqueen

Although I added adsense for a couple of months out of curiosity, I blog because I simply like to write. I am a thinker and I like to write about my thoughts. It's nice to know there are others out there who like to read them as well.

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1/30/08

ezrahilyer

I blog because I must. If I do not let my natural creativity out at least a little, I will implode.
I enjoy putting my journal of what I am thinking up on the 'net for all to see.
I don't do it for money, or fame, as I said: I do it because I must.
-Ezra Hilyer - www.strayoetry.com

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1/30/08

JunkDrawer

I blog because I love to write and I get a huge kick out of people telling me I make them laugh. I won't monetize my blog. The comments and interaction I receive is payment enough. That sounds really lame, but it's the God's honest truth.

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1/30/08

cheekyricegirl

i certainly don't blog for money. i just do it as a way of organizing my life -- and letting the few people who know about the blog in on what's currently going on with me.

blogcatalog sure is not what i hoped it'd be, though. it's a great way of finding other blogs to read in certain categories that you're interested in. but it's also so easy for other people to add you as their friend. and it seems like that's all that most bloggers on here are out to do, collect "friends" freely just to build up their numbers and generate readership. i'm not quite fond of that approach, to tell the truth. i'm here as a reader and writer, not to make extra dough or do the numbers game of collecting thousands of "friends."

or perhaps i'm just being a snob.

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1. 1/30/08
  
  suburbqueen
  
  Although there are some like those you've described, the majority of the users here are not like that. There are plenty of great people here. Don't let a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch.
2. 1/30/08
  
  Manictastic
  
  I know what you are saying. Before I decide on a "friendship" I always check if that person actually checked my blog. Most don't even bother, ignorant of the fact that people can actually look that up.
  The best way to find new blogs here is by just doing a search quest in the directionary. You'll find lovely blogs that way.
1/30/08

ThriftShopRomantic

Unquestionably because I love writing, and this is a great way to genuinely be read.

It's something I find myself appreciating every day-- and an opportunity I never would have imagined having many moons ago in my creative and professional writing classes in college.

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1/30/08

offendedblogger

Exactly.

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