I may be biased, but I think bloggers are a brave lot. Knowing that anyone in the world with an internet connection could potentially be watching, they share everything imaginable. Their political leanings, their life philosophies, their deepest depressions, and their intimate moments from sex to childbirth.
If you don't know what a blog ("web log") is, here is an example of one written by Darren Rowse, founder of ProBlogger, that thoroughly answers that question. Is a blog simply an electronic chronology of thoughts or is there more to it? ProBlogger is a highly successful blog, but you might be asking which is the top blog site. As of this writing, Technorati currently calculates Huffington Post as #1. While China's Han Han is often considered the most read individual blogger in the world1... and certainly one of the most controversial.
So why do we publish our thoughts for all to see? Why not just keep a diary under the mattress? Certainly most of us don't start a blog thinking we can compete with the likes of Huffington Post, TMZ, or Perez Hilton.
Last week I posed the question to daily blogger and 13 time best-selling author Seth Godin. He has been dubbed "America's Greatest Marketer" so he certainly knows what makes a blog tick. His response, short and perhaps surprising: "I blog because I don't really have a choice. The ideas in me insist on being shared, and this is the least painful way I can find to do it!"
He taps into a simple truth behind the very origins of blogging. Most people blog simply because they have something to say. And they make it public because there's some part of them that wants to be heard. If blogging didn't elicit an emotiotional reponse, the blog wouldn't last. I'd posit that even if a blog eventually returns financial gain, it must primarily provide lasting fulfillment to the blogger for it to stick around.
Last year I interviewed blogger and best-selling author Neil Pasricha. He writes the award-winning blog 1000 Awsome Things that has stuck around since 2008 and is still going strong. Pasricha's impetus for starting his blog stemmed from stresses swirling around him.
"Every time I opened a newspaper it was about melting ice caps, pirates in the ocean, and an economy about to blow up.
And on top of that, I was in a
marriage heading the wrong direction and my best friend was in a major
depression. Before long, my wife came home from work and told me she didn't love me anymore...and my best friend very sadly took his own life.
With a black cloud over my head I just felt like I needed something positive in my life. Some way to remind myself of the good things, which seemed like they were hidden behind some heavy velvet curtain.
2"
Pasricha never imagined his blog would garner 30 million hits- a result many bloggers dream about but very rarely attain. In 2010, BlogPulse estimated the blogosphere to contain 152 million blogs3. While most do not become famous, millions of blogs do provide profit for their owners. Advertising and affiliate marketing are sources of income for blogs with even modest amounts of traffic, and it's another top reason that bloggers blog.
Having been a blogger for two years, I can relate to both Pasricha and Godin. Fame and financial gain were not reasons to start a blog. I blog as a means of staying connected to current and potential clients. I blog to compliment my professional work and to be a resource for those seeking change. And, like Godin, I blog so that my thoughts will leave me alone.
Other reasons why people blog:
- To maintain a routine- motivation and accountability
- To hone the craft of writing
- To air new and provocative ideas
- To spread cutting-edge information or timely opinion
- To connect with a like-minded community
- To forward the tradition of storytelling
- To build resume or clout
- To express creativity
- To find catharsis after a traumatic event
- To attract web traffic
- To rant or vent
- To see our names in print - ego
Sources
1 http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/blogger-han-han-controversy-on-democracy-in-china/
2 http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/design-your-path/201104/1000-awesome-things-how-neil-pasricha-wrote-the-book-everyday-awesome
3 http://royal.pingdom.com/2011/01/12/internet-2010-in-numbers/
Brad Waters is a personal development expert who blogs at how about cake.
