Meme: Why Do I Blog?

April 6th, 2007

BlogsAh yes, a blogging meme, which today I’m really thankful to have been tagged by Tamar - as I don’t have any other posts ready to go. It’s a simple question I’ll try to answer: Why do I blog?

Credit should be given to the originator of this meme, Rex Hammock, whose post I read while on vacation and thought his answers were pretty interesting. (I actually linked to said post here). He also has noticed that “Why do I blog?” has taken off.

Anyhow, here’s my shot at answering the question, which I think I’ve already made rather clear, and shouldn’t be any surprise to any regular readers of this blog.

Here are some pasts posts that lend some insight into answering the question:

My reasons for blogging basically break down into this list:

  • As a hobby. Distraction from work keeps me sane.
  • To learn stuff. I originally started out of a desire to learn pHp and MySQL which I haven’t gotten too far on.
  • To make personal connections. Oddly enough, this wasn’t my primary reason for blogging at the onset, but it has since moved to near the top of the list. I’m slowly getting to know various folks via the blog that I’ve never met face to face (you know who you are). I also enjoy reading the comments people leave. Someday, I’ll buy everyone coffee.
  • To voice my opinion. Sometimes I see stuff that is just wrong that I feel needs correction or countering. Or conversely, I get excited about stuff and want to let people know.
  • As a challenge. I’m into goal-setting and seeing how much progress I can make towards some seemingly unreachable milestone, like 3,000 bottle caps by the end of 2007.
  • To become a better writer. Little known fact, I once considered a career in journalism during college.
  • Because it’s a natural extension of what I’d be doing anyway. I was checking out websites, drooling over Apple gear, and writing movie essays before this blog existed.

I think one should take note of several items that are deliberately omitted. My primary reasons for blogging don’t involve money, popularity, attention, fame, or ruling the blogosphere.

But to narrow things down to their essence, and answer a simple question in a simple way, here’s the basic gist of it:

I just want to write about stuff that’s interesting and see if anybody responds. That’s really about it.

It would be cool to get some more free swag, though.

Lastly, I suppose I should tag a few others. Here goes:

You can follow this meme as it wanders around the blogosphere here.

Disclosure: I own a tiny amount of Apple stock.

5 comments!

  1. comment Gravatar Tamar Weinberg - April 6th, 2007

    Personal connections are definitely a big thing for me too and I’m glad that we connected :)

    Thanks for playing!

  2. comment Gravatar rexblog.com: Rex Hammock’s weblog » Blog Archive » links for 2007-04-07 - April 6th, 2007

    [...] Why Do I Blog? | Webomatica Jason Kaneshiro writes, “My primary reasons for blogging don’t involve money, popularity, attention, fame, or ruling the blogosphere.” (tags: whyiblog whydoiblog) permalink | categories: All other | Time posted: 12:07 am on Saturday, April 7th, 2007 [...]

  3. comment Gravatar Char - April 7th, 2007

    Jason - I hop you are enjoying your trip. Thanks for tagging me. I was tagged back in Feb. Here is my entry:

    http://essentialkeystrokes.com/the-reasons-i-blog/

  4. comment Gravatar Eric Berlin - April 7th, 2007

    My reasons are similar to yours. I would only add that for me there’s something addictive about the immediate and visceral reaction of publishing online. The ability to have a thought, construct some words to express them, and then have them instantly accessible across the planet for discussion, derision, or contemplation (sometimes all three and more!) is endlessly exciting. And yes, ego-fueling and addictive as well. But fun, and hopefully healthy and productive if you (read = me) don’t let yourself get sucked too far down into the interwebs vortex.

  5. comment Gravatar webomatica - April 8th, 2007

    Hey folks. I’m a bit under the weather with a cold - yeah it’s cool to find that people actually read other blogs and I enjoy reading other folks’.

    Eric I agree that feeling of publishing and sending words out where literally anybody could read it - is kind of addictive. It’s actually a little scary too!

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