Blogging – just an online diary or something more
There’s a whole load of reasons why people write blogs. Some aspire to be writers, or want to write something for them, others want to share some learnings or experiences they’ve had. Others, like me, start out wanting to journal what they’ve got up to. With a child, it’s a great way to be able to document the ins and outs, especially now photo albums are much rarer.
I used to love flicking through old photo albums and with most of my photos now stuck on my laptop (I do print out some, but then where do you store all the albums? Note to self, must do a N photobook for age 2 at some point!), a blog is an alternative way of journaling.
I used to keep a diary when I was a teenager. I think I kept one for about 5 years, although I can’t say there was an awful lot going on at the time. Daily entries were quite limited, so really I should have just written when I had something to say. It was really funny years later to read what I’d written and who I’d fancied at the time, so hopefully in years to come I’ll still want to go back and read my blog posts. I’m hoping N will also be interested in finding out what we journalled for him.
But a blog can be so much more than a diary.
You’re not restricted by space (who remembers those 5 year diaries where you couldn’t write much more than the day in the space available?!), or time, and you can use any technology available to you dependent on your blogging platform to get across your message. A blog can and usually is much wider than the blog itself, with blogs sharing across social media.
What starts as a journal might end up being a community. My blog is nowhere near that, but what I thought would be all about us, for us, is definitely more than I intended.
What do you class your blog as? Do you wonder whether you should blog? Or do you think there are too many around and would never set one up yourself?
Great post. My blog started as a journal almost two years ago and although it is still very much a journal it has spiralled into so much more! I can’t imagine not blogging now x
Thanks Donna. Just the same for me. It feels like part of me, although the OH doesn’t agree, and thinks it’s a waste of time. He doesn’t realise the opportunities that come from it, and how much more there could be
I’ve been blogging almost two years. I started it as a hobby, a place where we could share our IVF story and hopefully that in turn would help others going through the same.
It’s still a hobby, but has turned into so much more than I ever thought it would be.
Lots of opportunities, have met new people and learnt so many new skills!
Same for me really. It amazes me at some of the opportunities that come up (although working does mean events are pretty much out for us). No wonder lots of people set up blogs with the intention of making money from the start.