Littering the Web with My Thoughts

A few days ago, I was asked why I started a blog.  I have many reasons including connecting with other people, staying inspired, building my platform, honing my writing and communication skills, and eventually maybe even making a little money with it.  So of course, when asked, I said: Drum Roll PLEASE...  "I just thought it would be fun."  HUGE Sigh Here…

I do think having a blog is fun, but that wasn’t actually my reason for starting this blog.  I really want to share my experiences and inspirations with other like minded people. I happen to have Fibromyalgia which is intertwined with my life, so I write about it a lot as well.  My thought was that this blog would ultimately help me connect with real people like me, whether they have Fibromyalgia or not. 

Do you want to know what the response to my saying I started a blog for fun? It was “Really, don’t you think there are enough teenagers littering the web with garbage?”  My response was a wonderfully intelligent quip that went something like “uhm, no not really.”  I coupled that fantastic response with staring at the ground confidently avoiding eye contact.  Guess that person will probably not visit my blog and that’s ok.  Blogging isn’t for everyone, but it also isn’t just for teenagers. 

Oh, and although the littering the web analogy caught my attention, I really don’t consider anyone’s thoughts to be litter.The last I heard there were something like 450 million somewhat active blogs online.  

Originally, I suspect there probably were a lot of teenagers blogging. Let’s be honest teenagers tend to be the first to learn about and try new technologies.   As the mother of a teenager, I think this is great.  Teenagers have a right to have their voice heard just as much as any adult, at least in the blogging community, as long as they maintain dignity, respect, and clean language. 

Anyway, since I struggled to persuade this friend of a friend to see the fantastic benefits of writing a blog, I decided to write a post about it.  I would love to be able to blame my lack of verbal cleverness on my Fibromyalgia, but the truth is; I just did not feel comfortable and did a lousy job of explaining the many virtues of blogging.  I think I did a better job of expressing my reasons to start a blog below.

Here’s my list of the top 10 reasons why I started a Blog and why you should start one too!

Top 10 Reasons to Start Your Blog

    1.       To express thoughts and opinions – We all have something to say, and a blog gives you the opportunity to speak and be heard.  Since my verbal communication skills seem to be lacking, blogging offers me a way to communicate using my written words. 

    2.    To help people – We all have struggles and we all have experience that can be beneficial to others.   I started my blog in large part because I wanted to help other people going through life with Fibromyalgia and other health conditions find inspiration and know that they are not alone.

    3.    To connect with other people – By blogging, you can start to find other people with similar interests and create your own community. 

    4.    To build my platform – For those of you who are interested in starting an online business, blogging can be a great way to start establishing your brand, focus, and circles of people who can possibly help you later.

  

    5.     To stay up to date on a specific topic-You can keep yourself motivated to continue learning more about the topics you are interested in and staying up to date, so that you can share information with others.

    6.    To hone writing and communication skills – The pen is mightier than the sword.  Words have the power to change the world, whether they end a war or find a connection with one other person, words are powerful.  If you have ever thought about being a writer, then blogging is a fantastic way to keep writing.

    7.     To have creative and inspirational fun – My hope is that everyone has at least one thing they are passionate, because a blog gives you a place to share that passion no matter what it is.  For me, this equates to blogging for fun.  This is the part where we get to express ourselves and be creative.

    8.    To Stay in Touch with your Family and Friends – Blogs can be a great way to share information with your family and friends. You can share stories, photos, videos, and more.  This can allow you to connect more deeply with your friends and family than you could with Facebook or other social network sites.

    9.    To Promote Something for Marketing – If you have a business, a blog can be a way to establish another audience for your marketing where you can promote your business, products, services and even yourself if you want to.

    10.   To make money – Some people make money by blogging and I believe it is a valid reason for blogging.  For me, the focus of my blog is to share my thoughts and inspirations, but for some people blogs can make a lot of money by using advertising and generating income in other ways.  Honestly, I wouldn't mind making money with my blog, it's just not my main focus.  

This concludes my Top 10 Reasons to Start a Blog. If you have a blog, why did you create your blog?  Did I miss any other great reasons to start a blog? Let me know. 

Oh and if, by some chance, the friend of the friend who said that blogging is littering the web with garbage happens to see this post, then I guess you were more intrigued than I thought! Maybe you should start a blog too… J

As for my fellow bloggers, let’s toast to “Littering the Web with Our Thoughts! May our thoughts be heard and shared by others as we build a community of people unafraid to share their innermost thoughts, intriguing experiences, and influential inspirations.”