Why Blog?

People need to communicate. Not just want to. Not just like to. Need to. Web logs or online journals known as blogs are one of the most modern ways people communicate. My previous speech gave a broad overview of blogs. Now we’ll talk about some reasons people blog.

Venting: Handle with care. If this is a reason to start a blog, do it anonymously. These are some of the most negative blogs on the Internet. Sometimes, though, they’re also the most educational in that they confront a serious issue and determine how to address it.

Newsletters: In lieu of paper newsletters, some companies are putting their news on a blog. Generally, these are intended for existing customers only, so the web address is not widely publicized. They could make a good recruiting tool as well if they are provided with relevant information regarding product, price comparisons, and customer service issues.

Interaction with friends/family: I obviously cannot speak for everyone, but I have family spread out all over the country. I have aunts and cousins in California and an uncle in Maine. I have friends from Hawaii to Florida, from Mexico to Canada, and from England to Korea. In the days of no ‘Net, I could still have had these friends, but it would have been far more difficult to keep in touch with them than it is now. Some people use their blog as a daily update to let people know what’s going on. Some, like me, use it only when something big is going on.

Sharing pictures/videos/music: I have friends who have photo blogs. They post pictures they take with a short explanation of what was going on at the time. Other photo blogs post the pictures with either a very short caption or no explanation at all. Music and video blogs are more complicated than a traditional text-based blog because there’s something called embedding that (to be honest) I don’t totally understand involved with posting the video and music files.

Professional networking: The most blogs I have seen that fall into this category are maintained by writers. That is not to say there aren’t any by sales people, teachers, or accountants, but since I stay mostly in writing circles, those are the ones I encounter.

General silliness: There are quizzes that go around the Internet via blogs and e-mail called “memes.” They have titles such as “5 Things About Me” or “My Favorite Songs” and the like. Of course, jokes make the rounds on these blogs as well.

There is one caveat to blogging. Some employers frown on it. There have been cases where people have been fired from their jobs for blogging, even if they never write/say anything about their job or employer.

Regardless of their maintainers’ purposes in starting blogs, they all have one primary focus: To communicate. It’s just one more reason to blog it all.