Why do people blog?
This question has been raised to me several times in recent months. Good question. I am not sure there is an answer. I do not understand WHY I enjoy writing my thoughts and ideas or WHY I want others to read what I write. I spent a while this morning googling phrases such as "why write", "writing expression reason", etc. and came up with little in the way of answer to this question.
I did find this quote that has some bearing on my reasons for writing:
These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. -Gilbert Highet, writer (1906-1978)
Many of us who like to write believe our written words to be representives of our minds alive on the paper (or screen, as the case may be.) The following quote by Lee Martin, author of The Bright Forever, conveys more of my thoughts and feelings about why I write:
I've always, from a very early age, been in love with language and narrative. The reason I think I've made writing my life, in a sense, is because it's the way I interact with the world around me; it's the way I think about what it means to be alive on this planet Earth, and what it means in terms of our interactions with other people. I often think that writing is a very spiritual
pursuit, not so much in terms of traditional religion but in the terms of communing with the world and its people.
Why do we blog? Who knows?
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(You can read a review of The Bright Forever here.)
I am unfamiliar with both this author and this book;
I just found interesting the author's statement about why he writes.
4 comments:
Very good post. I sometimes wonder why we blog. I know I love doing it, and I get very competitive with it. However, the whole blogging thing is a mystery to others - they have no desire to blog or to read others' blogs.
Maybe the connection is with wanting to write. It is a way to write and have our writing read by others without going through publishers. Maybe?
I think it's just a huge chat room. I keep seeing the same dynamics I've seen in chat rooms or message forums in the past. It's just that now everone has their own space.
My daughter has enjoyed making fun on me doing a blog. But, she has a 'My Space' account. It's not much different. Instead of links, they add 'friends. It's about the same thing - just not called blogging! lol
It's a little like socializing online, I guess.
Good post :)
I have 6 blogs at blogger.com and a journal with a group, LISNews. I like to write. It is nice if others read and comment, but not essential. When I wrote letters, I always wrote more than anyone else I knew.
However, I do wonder why people play golf or tennis. ; )
You sound like me, Norma - LOL. My blog is with Blogigo. For the time being...
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