I was reading a comment today from Ileane and she was sharing with me that her daughter got her into blogging. I also learned not too long ago that Gini Dietrich started Spinsucks because she was frustrated by the way that many PR professionals created a very poor impression of the PR industry. This inspired me to write this post, because I suspect the answers to the question “Why do you blog” will be far more interesting than the post itself.
Why do I blog?
I started blogging years ago on my company website in the late 1990’s, I didn’t realize what I was doing would be called blogging one day. I mostly wrote stories to inform my company’s clients about changes occurring in the IT industry that might affect them, and I actually still do that on Facebook and at Managed Solutions. I continued to do that for a number of years and eventually in 2008 I started blogging using wordpress.com on my blog called “Reasonable Ideas”. On that blog I wrote mostly about non-profits and science. This experiment would carry over into my next blog Joegonesocial.com, the blog you are most likely reading this story at. When I decided to embrace social media it was not an easy transition from paranoid IT Security minded guy to the more open and public Internet footprint that comes with being a blogger. In light of that I made the decision to wholly embrace social media and to add it to my “must do’s” in my business. Bottom line, I blog for a lot of reasons but the core (and intentionally vague!) reasons I blog are:
- For business reasons.
- For personal reasons.
Why do you blog?
I am intentionally not giving a lot of detail about my reasons, I really want this post to be more about you and why you blog. What do you blog about and why? I look forward to hearing about you.
I blog because I found myself being asked the same questions and giving the same advice to friends in the job search so I thought to myself – why not share my advice with everyone, whether they listen or not! I also have wanted to improve my writing skills and I know the only way to do this is by practice!
Great post, I love hearing how people got started in different things. I look forward to hearing everyone else’s blogging story. Have a good day Joe!
I blog because I found myself being asked the same questions and giving the same advice to friends in the job search so I thought to myself – why not share my advice with everyone, whether they listen or not! I also have wanted to improve my writing skills and I know the only way to do this is by practice!
Great post, I love hearing how people got started in different things. I look forward to hearing everyone else’s blogging story. Have a good day Joe!
@rachaelseda hi Rachael, thanks for sharing your reasons to blog. That is a great reason to blog, that is to answer frequently asked questions. Thanks for kicking things off 🙂
Hi my name is Howie and I am a Blogaholic.
I think we all blog for different reasons. I actually don’t want to blog. I find I prefer commenting on the many blogs I read. But I do it for a few reasons. One is exposure for me and my business to showcase insights and prove we are up to the job. Secondly is partially my own personal branding efforts. And lastly is a respository of data. I am a heavy data cruncher and often I get insights before others. My current blog was a relaunch and reformat to be part of my business vs just personal. But I still link blogposts from the old one because there is great stuff there. It is so much easier to send someone a link vs rewriting something all over again.
I mean seriously it takes effort to come up with blogging ideas non-stop. I give so much credit to the people who are able to post every day of the week. I try to post 4x a week but am thrilled if I do 3!
@HowieSPM interesting, I think commenting on a lot of blogs is extremely smart Howie. Like you I struggle to produce content regularly. For me 3x per week would be excellent.
From the personal branding side of things does your commenting or blogging play a bigger role in that? Also glad you mentioned that, I have a podcast tonight with olivier blanchard missdestructo and mitch neff called #Brandapalooza. http://msol.us/brndpfp and I would love to have more material for the episode so I look forward to your answer 🙂
Thanks for participating! – Joe
I blog because I write. There are some things that don’t fit into any other update methods because they’re too long, hence why a blog is more appropriate for those sorts of things. Interestingly, my reasons for blogging have changed over the years. In the early days of blogging I did it because it was like a journal, only it was online. This appealed to me greatly, and it was a way to explain to my classmates what that notebook I wrote in all the time was. Now I keep doing it because I can’t stop.
I don’t blog near as often as I should…I like to blog when I feel inspiration hit me, and not that I’m not inspired often, I just need a swift kick in the near every once in awhile to act on that inspiration (that’s where jenna langer steps in and does her best David Beckham impression).
But when I do blog, some times I find myself blogging more for myself than anyone else. That seems kind of weird, I know, but often times my blogging is me organizing my thoughts in a way that makes more sense to me and helps me better grasp an issue/thought/etc. But I also love to share those thoughts with others in hopes of helping those who may be in the same situation as me. So I guess that’s why I blog!
@JMattHicks jenna langer I understand what you are saying, it serves a creative outlet. Personally, I don’t blog, though I have considered starting.
@Sushi That is very interesting Sushi, I found it a lot easier to write informally in a notebook in the past. Transitioning that to blogging could be a challenge for many of us, sounds like an interesting niche. I noticed the wiki address in your profile do you have a public blog you’d like to share? I’d be interested in checking it out. Thanks for participating.
@JMattHicks jenna langer I get that Jeremy, funny I was just replying Sushi’s comment about a similar notion. I think writing for yourself is a great tool, I am one of those people who thinks aloud, writing has a similar affect as well. Thanks for sharing.
@hackmanj The only transition I did was the addition of typing those thoughts, as I still do both. There’s definitely room in life for paper and digital writing.
I do have a public blog to share. Actually, I’m not sure why I put the wiki there. But here’s my regular blog, where I attempt to write something every day no matter what. http://www.sushimustwrite.com
I blog for several reasons. The first is to drive traffic to my web site. A lot of people would not admit to this but I do. I went from blogging a couple of times a week to 5 times a week because of this.
One of the things I share when I blog, is my expertise. Their is two reasons for doing this. One is to share information with the social media communtiy. The other is to show people that I am a specialist in my field and where my strengths are. This is important when creating business relationships.
I enjoy blogging as well. I would not do it if I did not enjoy it.
@JMattHicks jenna langer you have way too many Livefyre points Jeremy. I think Jenna should make you work sundays now as punishment.
@hackmanj yay for missdestructo I am going to comment on that link vs here. Thank you for asking.
@Sushi That is pretty impressive, I like the Novel that you started when you were younger. Are you still working on it, did you publish?
@hackmanj Thank you! I’m not working on that novel anymore; the rest of it is terrible (or worse) and I wrote it to show that yes, I could finish a book. The one I’m editing now has been in the works since 2009, and I’m hoping to get it published.
@Robcairns hey Rob, I had typed up a response but must have stopped short of posting it! Thanks for your honest answer, I think this is practical in many ways assuming you provide valuable content which I know you do. Thanks for sharing!
Sometimes it is hard to keep track of my experiences and the lessons I learn, and I feel that blogging is a great way to reflect. Writing is so much more powerful than even I can comprehend, and I am attempting to begin to take advantage of the power of words. I have to agree with jmatthicks that I blog for myself more than anything else. Lately, writing is seeming more and more like a mirror to me – it reflects how I am feeling and my ability to successfully communicate my thoughts.
“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” ~ BuddhaI think that sums it up for me.
PS. livefyre is cool 😉
“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” ~ Buddha
I think that sums it up for me.
PS. livefyre is cool 😉
@JonHearty jmatthicks that’s cool Jon, so really just more about expression in your case. Writing about what we learn is very rewarding also. A pattern is developing here in the responses. Thanks Jon 🙂
@simbeckhampson Great quote Paul and being as you are all about learning it makes great sense to me. What better way to share than to blog. Thanks for sharing that.
Yes @livefyre is quite cool! 🙂
@rachaelseda I want to like your comment twice because those are both great reasons that I follow too 🙂
@HowieSPM I know when you comment on blogs they pretty much are blog posts! I have several topics that I need to write posts about, and when I eventually get to writing them I’ll need to dig up the comments I have left on other blogs to bring all my thoughts together.
@Sushi that is awesome 🙂 I know that warrenwhitlock is big into publishing, are you two connected?
Good luck with your book!
@HowieSPM @JMattHicks Jeremy already responds to emails, tweets, and comments outside of business hours. I really need to step up my game!
@JMattHicks That kick is coming soon! (imagine me saying that in an accent 🙂
I’m the same way. I blog more for myself than anything else. Actually thinking in terms of blogging helps me split up my ideas. When I start writing it can be very hard for me to stop, and blogging helps me organize and compartmentalize my thoughts.
All of these comments are so great, I had to like all of them! It’s really great hearing everyone’s reasons for blogging. Many are the same, but we all have our own personal touch.
I have started blogging multiple times, and was never good at following through. I was required to blog in 2008 when I did an internship at Iowa State University, and it was my favorite part of the day. I attempted to start again at the beginning of 2009 when I was in North Carolina for my Grandma’s 80th Birthday. I wanted to start archiving all of her old photos to preserve our family history. I started blogging AGAIN in July 2009 when I went studied for a semester in Australia to share my experiences with my friends, family, and anyone else that was interested. Now I’m starting (yet again) for personal branding, to share my knowledge, to archive my past and present, and as a personal outlet.
I always had a barrier in front of me because I thought i had to find a niche to blog about. Now I realize that I’m blogging for me and about me, so anything I write is relevant. Sure, I’d love to have thousands of visitors to my blog each month. But the real power of blogging for me is sharing experiences and making personal connections. One comment from a new reader is 100x more valuable than 1,000 readers. It makes it all worth while.
(ok, I’m going to have to turn this comment into a blog post now 🙂
@hackmanj @Sushi Words cannot express how awesome it is that we are calling somebody Sushi in a serious conversation. God bless there interwebz!
Sujin’s blog is a lot of fun. I like to get on there and bug her about secret leaks of books and free autographs. It seems to be working…
@justcarlos It’s definitely a great outlet for personal thought, growth, and expression. If you’re interested, go for it man! It’ll be worth it!
@HowieSPM jenna langer Livefyre points are like restaurant gift cards: you can never have too many. I’m trying to stockpile what I can now so that when Jenna deems the time necessary to unleash the Kraken of her commenting wrath upon us, I can at least say I WAS the lead in the office for a period of time before being wiped out. Beware Howie…the Kraken is coming…
@jennalanger What accent? lol
@jennalanger “One comment from a new reader is 100x more valuable than 1,000 readers. It makes it all worth while.”
Boom.
I just stumbled upon your blog today and can tell I will enjoy it! I love that you are interested in your readers! I actually blog more on the personal side than professional. I started my blog because I lived far from family and it’s the easiest way to keep everyone in the know. I love when strangers stop by too, but right now it’s mostly family who stop in to see what my husband and I are up to. Someday I would like to start blogging more from a professional perspective- but for now I’m just loving practicing my writing and sharing our adventures in updating our condo. =)
@justcarlos What would you like to blog about Carlos?
@JMattHicks @Sushi Ok now that quote just “went social” love it:
“Words cannot express how awesome it is that we are calling somebody Sushi in a serious conversation.”
@jennalanger @HowieSPM ok now I have to invite my friend kstaxman on this one. He is a comment blogger too. Lol!
@jennalanger Well said Jenna, it is awesome to see you discover these important truths right here. I can’t wait to see that blog post, come back and share Please! 🙂
@hackmanj Your welcome Joe. I’m in the middle of a project so time is not on my side, if it was, you know you would’ve have received a far more detailed response 😉 perhaps I’ll come back later and add more; very interesting to read the different accounts though – well done. Bye for now.
@Smiley_Melly You have a very nice looking blog, I love the touch with the cursive signature after your posts. Keeping people informed in your case family is a great reason to blog and I suspect even though you blog for personal reasons it probably is a bonus professionally? I do really enjoy learning through others. My favorite posts are always the ones with the best conversations. Thanks for joining the discussion and sharing. 🙂
@hackmanj @Sushi YES! I saw that I was mentioned with that quote! Was that you?!
A very timely entry on the day when I re-constructed / re-launched / re-envisioned my blog.
@hackmanj Thanks so much! I suppose it could help professionally too. I hadn’t thought about it much from that perspective! =) Thank for stopping by. I look forward to your future posts.
@hackmanj warrenwhitlock I don’t know him, but I’ll be sure to check him out. Thank you!
@FrankMcCarron why do you blog Frank?
@hackmanj @JMattHicks “Words cannot express how awesome it is that we are calling somebody Sushi in a serious conversation.”
I think this needs to go in my blog’s About page. It needed a rewrite anyway.
And Jeremy’s requests for leaks do seem to be working. Some would say I should rethink this strategy, but I think openness is a good thing. What say you?
@JMattHicks @Sushi you bethca 🙂 I post quotes I find and attribute them on Quotes gone social on Facebook and that auto posts to twitter.
@Sushi @JMattHicks I think that quote would almost work for your tag line! 😉
@hackmanj @JMattHicks It definitely would!
@hackmanj @Sushi That’s awesome! Thanks for the shout-out!
@Sushi @hackmanj I’ve gotten my leaks, next on my list is an autographed copy of a book. I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN NOR WILL I. (cue dark and stormy clouds)
@JMattHicks @hackmanj I haven’t forgotten either. Once I get a copy of my book in my hands…
@hackmanj Good question – I have opinions, views that I want to share and photos and activities that I think others may (or may not) find of interest. I don’t believe I’m going to write “War and Peace” (although I would be glad to shoot the photos for it haha)
@FrankMcCarron I love photography, that’s awesome. I actually need to do a better job of pushing out a photo stream. Any recommendations? 🙂
I push out my photos on blogspot – but Tumblr is the “flavor of the month” of late
Well, you already know why I blog! We actually created the blog to figure out how and if it was something that would work for our clients. And we named it Spin Sucks because of what you say in the post. As the business grew, and then declined, and now is growing again, we found the blog to be the one thing that kept us all together. Now the blog is driving us toward a new business (to launch in May) and, really, to beat Brian Solis as the number one PR blogger!
@HowieSPM I agree Howie is a blog-a-holic.
@ginidietrich I am responsible for so much blog traffic. Just like digital ad click throughs where 6% do 50% of the clicks. I am in the 6% generating 50% of the blog traffic world wide.
@ginidietrich Who is Brian Solis?
@ginidietrich @HowieSPM he is the man with a big plan…. shonali says so.
@ginidietrich I thought Spinsucks was #1? Who knew! No doubt it won’t be long, with a little help from your aptly named project perhaps?
Thanks, I actually didn’t know the full details. 🙂
@FrankMcCarron I had heard a lot of photo bloggers were using Tumblr. Does blogspot support email posting? I am a self hosted WordPress guy 🙂
@Simbeckhampson wow not only did you come back for more, you also started using Livefyre on your blog. Right on buddy 🙂
So… I thought I would come over and comment on this FAB post in a bit, but so many people have beaten me to it! I loved reading about how you started, Joe.
This may end up being a bit of a blog post (or maybe I should continue the thought as a post on my own blog), but the reason I started blogging was this: I was having a Twitter conversation via DM with a “thought leader” on the controversial post of the day. At the time, I had guest-posted once, maybe twice, but didn’t really know if I could blog (who would care, etc. etc.). The next couple of days, I saw almost my words represented verbatim in this person’s blog… as that person’s own comment.
Now, fair enough, a lot of people can think and say the same thing, but it struck me as a little odd that there was not even any attribution, e.g. “I was talking to so-and-so on Twitter and it made me think this” (though even that wouldn’t be correct attribution, since it would still appear as if that thought was the other person’s and not mine… but it would have been something.
That pissed me off. So I started blogging.
I’m pretty sure you know of my blogging ups and downs, Joe, but I’m really, really glad I did. I’ve become more confident about writing, and growing a blogging team has been (and continues to be) an absolute joy – thank you @HowieSPM , bryce_keane , ericaholt , iherwin , shanan_s , narciso17 and SO many more newer WUL team members! I like to talk (as you know from Twitter, Amplify, Facebook, et al). A blog is a great place to do that, and I’ve come to enjoy it immensely.
@FrankMcCarron Hey, you never know, you might just write “War and Peace” – or the digital equivalent. :p @hackmanj
@Shonali @FrankMcCarron the eternal optimist and friend Shonali! Never sell yourself short Frank. You just never know what you might do. ^5 Shonali
@Shonali @HowieSPM wow Shonali I had no idea, thanks for sharing the rest of the story. I can really relate to your experience, I had something occur where I created a great opportunity for someone I know. The person had the stones to brag about it as if it fell from the sky in front of a group of mutual contacts without so much as a “made possible by….” I wouldn’t normally mention this kind of thing but it really ticked me off. Needless to say as much as I love to help others I have little desire to help that person again.
This has been a really great experience for me, it is so great to hear more about the bloggers I follow and to meet some new ones along the way thanks to livefyre .
Thanks for your great contribution! 🙂
@hackmanj @Shonali @HowieSPM Huge smile on my face right now to hear that Joe. It was the vision for creating livefyre in the first place, and it’s great to see that vision starting to have an effect on so many different communities!
@jkretch You’re in SF aren’t you? I am in the east bay, we need to meet up some time. Maybe we can put together a panel discussion for my podcast, hmmm. #Commentapalooza? 😉
@jkretch @hackmanj @Shonali hmmm if I click thumbs up that puts Jordan only one behind in lifefyre points. I mean this a cut throat situation. Will think about it!
@hackmanj @HowieSPM Well, now you lit a fire, Joe. My post tomorrow will take a leaf out of your book!
@hackmanj @HowieSPM We are #7, but we’ll be #1 next year! I may concede #1 for dannybrown . Nah. Who am I kidding? He can have the #2 spot.
@Shonali @HowieSPM woohoo! Can’t wait to read it 🙂
@ginidietrich @HowieSPM dannybrown #7 is darn fine, and that Brown fellow is all-right too, I will be pulling for you both. Good luck.
On a side note we need to get the band together again, what do you say @Shonali , Danny and Gini? Last nights panel was almost as fun as the PRapalooza but fell short of the cow manure hysterics of your panel.
@hackmanj dannybrown @Shonali ABSOLUTELY we need to get the band back together! But let’s feed Danny some booze. He really needs to lighten up.
@ginidietrich @hackmanj dannybrown Any time! But does one “feed booze” or … I don’t know what the “or” is. But it feels like there should be an “or.”
Hi Joe,
You’ve probably heard me say this before, over on Amplify; the reason I blog is most briefly described in one of my favorite quotes:
“Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.”
(Sir Francis Bacon)
I write because it helps me learn, it distills my thoughts, it lets me take fledging ideas out into the world and see how they hold up under the harsh light of day. And it gets me reading and conversing with other bloggers. Can’t beat that!
Which reminds me, I should probably get back to work on my ever growing stack of unfinished posts-to-be-written 🙂 (including one that simbeckhampson reminded me that I ought to be writing)
@Shonali @ginidietrich @hackmanj @DannyBrown I thought Danny was marketing advertising vs PR. I am really confused. I can’t find any of your channels in TV guide am I supposed to special order the executive package that comes with Starz?
@jleffron simbeckhampson Hi Janet, so happy to see you weighing in on this and what a great quote. In many ways I could use some inspiration from that quote, I am not a exact writer but I do my best .:)
You definitely captured something that is unique to the other responses about seeing how your ideas hold up. I think that is one of the greatest aspects of sharing ideas, gaining so much rich feedback and learning from the responses. Thanks for reminding me about that.
Yes please, keep writing, where are you primarily writing these days? Link please 🙂
Thanks for joining the discussion, it is great to see another Amplify friend finding this post. 🙂
@HowieSPM @Shonali @ginidietrich @DannyBrown I think that was among the first questions I asked last time this crew got together Howie. I think all three of them have a lot of expertise in both PR and Marketing but I could be wrong. 🙂
If we start giving Danny (and Gini?) booze, this one could be PPV only.
@hackmanj @Sushi warrenwhitlock Warren is cool…
@hackmanj Yep! Big thanks again to @jkretch who got me the golden ticket as the excitement was reaching feature pitch. I also pleaded with him to give @jleffron a ticket today and they did – so double Kudo’s!!! Also tried this out on Android and it work very well – can’t wait to use it on my new Tablet soon… You know Joe, being surrounded by like minded people who love shiny tech objects just makes it all more fun. Adios for now, back to work! Cheers.
@hackmanj I’ve been a bit of a slacker with writing for the past month – I’m blaming it on lack of time, but it’s probably equal parts busyness, laziness and trying to write too many things all at once instead of just getting a few of them written and out there. 😉
I’ve always thought one of your gifts to blogging is the quality of attention you give to the comments (both on your own posts, and others’) – that’s very appreciated. Real conversation is an artform that you have mastered – and a big part of what takes all these platforms from mere noise to learning and application.
Glad to catch up with one of my fav ‘Ampsters’!
@hackmanj I’ve been a bit of a slacker with writing for the past month – I’m blaming it on lack of time, but it’s probably equal parts busyness, laziness and trying to write too many things all at once instead of just getting a few of them written and out there. 😉
I’ve always thought one of your gifts to blogging is the quality of attention you give to the comments (both on your own posts, and others’) – that’s very appreciated. Real conversation is an artform that you have mastered – and a big part of what takes all these platforms from mere noise to learning and application.
Glad to catch up with one of my fav ‘Ampsters’!
@jleffron I am sure you will get into the groove again, it is really a challenge isn’t it? I know I am awful about maintaining my blog at times, but I’ve been trying to do better.
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate what you said about quality of attention and comments. You are very kind to say that!
Thanks very much for your kind words! 🙂
@Simbeckhampson @jkretch @jleffron “being surrounded by like minded people who love shiny tech objects just makes it all more fun” that sums up so many of us on Amplify doesn’t it?
Cheers Paul, don’t work too hard 🙂
@hackmanj @FrankMcCarron YOU are Mr. Nice Guy, Joe!
Well, even though I have tried a couple of times, I have never had the time and constance to keep a regular blog, but I started to microblog and share my stuff more regularly mainly to keep a personal track of my reads and events.
I love technology and have been working in the mobile field for years, I used to write for a magazine, which then became a blog, so I started to share my reads on the topic getting into the curation concept maybe even before the term was coined. At the same time I started to add some personal comment, and to write some original content when I had something more to say; since I often had people asking me for advices and suggestions I could make things easier redirecting them to an article rather than repeating the same things several times.
Finally, thanks to the Amplify’s platform, I realized how many people reach my posts and read/share them, so this appreciation by people makes me want to share even more.
@Flapic I didn’t know the story about the magazine, that is pretty cool! I think you and svartling have amazing blogs on Amplify. I would say they are probably the top 2 traffic wise but Eric would have to confirm that. 🙂
One of the things I like about your blog is the humor you bring in, I think that keeps people coming back. Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂
I’m trying to make people think different. (with apologies to apple)
@adrielhampton that is a great reason to be a blogger Adriel. I know you are also very passionate about everything you are involved with. Thanks for the succinct comment!
@hackmanj yeah, I have been writing on a magazine about PDAs and Smartphones for a few years before doing it electronically 🙂