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Do you have a blog? And if so, why?

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Re: Do you have a blog? And if so, why?

#41

Post by RyanMcGreal »

I have a personal blog [1] and am the editor and a regular contributor to a public policy blog [2].

I blog because: I love to write; I enjoy and learn a lot from the dialogue that blogging enables; I think regular writing exposed to the scrutiny of others makes me a better writer; I love to read what other people have written and want to contribute my share; I like knowing that something I wrote was valuable to someone else; I'm a bit narcissistic; it's a very effective method of structured procrastination [3]; and it has led to a few employment opportunities.

[1] http://quandyfactory.com

[2] http://raisethehammer.org

[3] http://quandyfactory.com/blog/1/

Re: Do you have a blog? And if so, why?

#42

Post by 3pt14159 »

allenbrunson wrote: post #24

When I'm picking up some new technical subject, the best way to learn about it is to google it. Most of the time, what I end up at is some blog post that tells me more or less exactly what I want to know. So it seemed only fair that I should try to give a little something back. Some of my blog articles have been pretty popular. A couple of times they have been used as answers at StackOverflow. I always get a little b…

Let me be the first person to thank you. I rely on blogs like yours daily.

Re: Do you have a blog? And if so, why?

#43

Post by saturdayplace »

raganwald wrote: post #14
patio11 wrote: post #5

Yes. 1) Blogging is like going to the gym except for writing: if I stopped, I'd end up an overworked, pudgy Japanese salaryman with no writing ability in English. 2) Blogging makes people say nice things about my ideas and that has always given me the warm fuzzies. 3) My decision to start a business 3.5 years ago was heavily influenced by accounts of success I had read from other people, and I wanted to leave similar…

I came here to say these exact things. Well done, and good luck! Actually, I'd add a fifth item that is related to item 1: 5. Writing about things helps me clarify my ideas and stop hand-waving over important details. So writing makes me a better writer, and it also makes me a better thinker.

Related to this: Writing about something I'm not 100% familiar with forces me to learn more about it both breadth- and depth-wise. When learning a new topic, it is extremely helpful to write up a tutorial describing "how to" do this new thing. If forces you to understand before codifying an attempt to help others understand.

Re: Do you have a blog? And if so, why?

#44

Post by 3pt14159 »

_3ex7 wrote: post #20

No, I feel a lot of people my age are not experienced enough to be able to write anything worthwhile. The result is "So I was reading this on [well-known blog] and here is my commentary", or "This is how you do X in Y", which should really be in the wiki for Y.

Not trying to be combative, but so what if they are?

My last (and widely viral) blog post was about me reacting to a blog post, but that didn't change the fact that many people found it interesting enough to forward on to their friends, post to Reddit, etc. I've learned so much from the reactions to my 3 short blog posts that I don't think I'll ever be "too busy" or "too inexperienced" to blog again in my life.

Re: Do you have a blog? And if so, why?

#46

Post by artagnon »

Yes. Because:

1. People have told me that they've found it useful. Even if I don't post very often, I won't take it down.

2. I get to improve my English and communication skills. Writing forces you to express yourself clearly and succinctly, while leaving out irrelevant details.

3. I often use it as a platform for publishing a lot of original content, and I'm looking for peer review. I often get useful comments.

4. It's almost effortless for me. Most of my blog posts start off as email replies to people seeking explanations to certain things.

5. It's an online identity I have full control over. When someone searches for me, my blog is what I want them to see. Not my Facebook or Twitter profile, which can tend to get clogged up with garbage from friends.

Re: Do you have a blog? And if so, why?

#47

Post by oscardelben »

Blogging for me means reaching an audience easily. I'm from Italy but I've known a lot of awesome people in the world through blogging.

I'm also practicing English a lot, and I'm improving my writings skills every day.

It's also an opportunity for me to learn new things and compare them with like minded people.

I write mainly in 2 blogs, http://oscardelben.com, and http://www.freestylemind.com/

Re: Do you have a blog? And if so, why?

#48

Post by boundlessdreamz »

I blog for three reasons

1. To hone my writing skills

2. To put a solution to a problem in the public or make some knowledge public as often when I'm researching some problem, it is in blogs that I find solutions. This is my way of giving back

3. I'm interested in adsense optimizations and my blog provides an opportunity to test out my hunches.

My blog is at http://www.manu-j.com/blog/

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