I Blog, You Blog. We All Blog. Why?

Why do we blog? Why do I blog? Why do YOU blog? It has been alluded that we only blog because we are lonely and out of touch with the real world and that we are slackers. Those are some pretty demeaning words...don’t you think?

I have only been blogging for about two months now. Prior to starting my own blogs, I frequented several blogs on a regular basis and contributed via the comment sections of those blogs. After several years, I finally decided to jump in on my own. I finally decided that I had something to say about everything as well! (My wife calls me a know-it-all anyway) Did I get into blogging because I was lonely? Did I get into blogging because I am out of touch with the real world? The answer to both of these questions is an emphatic, NO!

In fact, it is because I am in touch with the real world that I did decide to get into blogging. I have my own political blog. I keep up with current events locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally. In fact, I would surmise that most, if not all, political bloggers are more in touch with the real world than the average non-blogger. I have connected with others who don’t share the same view as I, yet, we have made connections. I refer you to the following blogs: The Liberal Journal, Tim Flowers, and Couchmouse’s Corner. In fact, two of the three have been guest bloggers on my own political blog. Blogging can bring people with different views together to meet in the middle. In the real world, arguments can get heated when face-to-face. The fact that blog discussions are the written word means you deliberately place your thoughts on a page. You must think about what you are writing. You actually have to read what the other person has written, think about it, and formulate your own response. Blogging forces one to be insightful in order to put something in writing for the rest of the world to see for fear that if you don’t, you will most certainly come off as being less than intellectual. In the real world, the same discussion could lead to fisticuffs.

After having my own political blog for close to a month, I decided to start my own personal-diary type blog as well. Because the political blogs can be so mind-numbingly terse, I needed another outlet. I needed to be able to talk about things other than politics. So, I started a separate blog where I can talk about things going on in my family, to include the ups, downs, and humorous things that happen in normal every-day families. It was also a place for me to just put down other thoughts (such as this). What I have found through my blogging journey is that there are a lot of great blogs out there!

Blogging isn’t only for politics and family life. I have found some great humorous blogs (Monkey Fable and Tales, Slacker Heaven, and 45 Caliber Headspace); some creative writing blogs (Words of My Life, The Anatomy of Construction, and The Truth About Lies); some great blogs about books (The Thin Red Line, Book Calendar, and Store Books Cheap); and even blogs about how to blog (The Entrecarder, Ty’s Blog, The Buzz, and One Stop Blogger Tips). While I have only named a few of the very many blogs I have found, these have come to be some of the ones I visit the most.

I think one of the greatest things about blogging is that if you can think of a subject, there is a blog for it. For example, if you click the link for a subject I name, you will be taken to a blog for that subject: Blog Awards, Automotive, Self-Improvement, Marketing, Advertising, Art, Business, Jobs, Fashion, Children, Computers, Technology, Investing and Finance, Health, Gaming, Law, Parenting, Military, Military Families, Politics, Education, Celebrities, Cooking, Religion, History, and Science. I could continue this list if I wanted, but it would probably take up the whole Internet! If you want to find more, just go out to the Google Blog Search engine and try it yourself!

The point of this essay is that despite what some are saying about bloggers, we are not slackers, nor are we lonely individuals and we are not out of touch with the real world. In fact, blogging is a world-wide community of individuals who are either looking to connect with others, looking to help others, looking to make money, looking to voice an opinion, express their freedom of speech, or are simply looking for a way to get things off their minds. I believe we bloggers are probably more in touch with the real world more so than some non-bloggers.

The fact that I’ve provided you with the links above now gives you the ability to connect with those I’ve previously connected with and proves my point. Blogging is about a world-wide community of connecting and linking. Offline, we have families, friends, jobs, and other interests. Blogging on the web just gives us a wider collection of friends with like interests and it makes all of us better for it!

Now, connect with those individuals I linked you to, and while you’re there, let them know that Bob over at My Frakkin Blog sent you! I’m looking forward to their visits as well! And, before you go…drop me a line and let me know why you blog!