At this point in your blogging “career,” what is your main motivation of keeping it up?
1) Friendship and connection to other like-minded people without having to leave the house to meet smelly “real people.”
2) Literary ambitions. Wanting to gain attention from agents and publishers and magazines and the Huffington Post so you can move to a higher level of friends, and stop reading the poorly-written blogs of most of the people who you used to call your friends.
3) Cheap therapy. You are mildly nuts. You know it, we know it. You might as well exploit it, and tell us all about it. Every day. Because it helps.
4) Blogging bigshot dreams. This is mostly relevant to mommybloggers. You fantasize becoming one of the Walmart 11 Mommybloggers or the Domino Pizza 12 Mommybloggers, so you can feel better than your friends, constantly reminding them about your power, even though you repeatedly say you are doing it all for “them.”
5) Financial Empire building. You want to turn your blog into a business, and hope to get a lot of free stuff from companies. You consider yourself a social media expert, and sell yourself as one. You pose as a blogging maven, telling others how to do it successfully, when basically — in your heart — you know it is mostly writing something with the keyboard and pressing publish, not much different that what we used to call “writing letters.” You have 15,000 friends on Twitter, but don’t know who any of them are. Or you take the opposite approach and follow 3 friends, using the old-fashioned “hard to get” technique so successful in dating. Your blog is basically a business card for your “real” endeavor, which is to take over the world.
6) Hopeless individual. You have no real idea why you are still blogging. It is a time waster, and you make no money doing it. You worry about the bad economy, and it scares you. You have not gotten laid by any of the female bloggers that you make believe that you care about, except for that sole sexy email chat a few months ago that never went anywhere. Married female bloggers don’t even want to give you their phone numbers because of their lame “husbands.” But you keep at it, at least until BlogHer in July. Because you are a dreamer.
I’m probably nestled in that small, tiny space between 6 and 1. I’m hopeless but I still think I have to blog (or at least blog once in a while) to maintain my superficial bloggy friendships.
IF I don’t stop eating tuna, people are going to smell me through my blog.
Wait, maybe they already do.
#6. With the exception of BlogHer in July.
This is fascinating.
I’ve only been doing it a month. I started because I found my abrupt transition from corporate life to stay-at-home motherhood a little tough, and I thought it might help to focus on some outside-world stuff for a little while each day. Also, I am eventually hoping to make enough money to pay for, like, groceries and whatnot, so that I can continue to stay home with my kids after my unemployment runs out.
My blog isn’t as personal as most of you though, so I’m not sure my reasons are as relevant.
1 and 3
And I meant schtick in only the most positive way.
I’d like to know the more serious Neil, even though this one is so very entertaining.
I’d say #’s 1 and 3 apply to me.
#7: You enjoy writing but don’t get to do it in your everyday life. Blogging gives you an excuse to write something every day, and the impetus to keep it up because of the misconception that there are people who will care if you don’t.
why? there is no why.
but #2, all the way. once i hit the bigtime, it’s so long, suckers!
it’s too bad i’ve been waiting 20 years for the bigtime.
i have no idea. i don’t think i fit into any of those.
i’m a 1, 3 and 6 girl as well. i like to write, but i don’t have writing ambitions. i also like to have fun and for me blogging is fun…most of the time!
After 60 comments, why do I bother leaving one? I am compulsive that is why. I love the people from around the world that I get to interact with and I am hoping to sell a few paintings as well, also it is writing practice.
My blog doesn’t really fit any of those criteria. It’s a readily accessible place to to keep people updated on a project. I’ve been slacking lately, so, the hopeless part matches.
I can’t believe no one else has called you on your passive aggressive attempt at getting single bloggers to make you dinner just to prove they garnish mac and cheese
I started blogging to document the amazing, transformative trip I embarked upon in 2008… a friend clued me in about blogs (didn’t know a thing) and I was off and running. I’ve written all my life and yes, there’s a bit of a hope that these stories might add up to something in the future.
The immediate gratification of blogging is selfishly addictive. I had a pretty quick response to my theme, and also have met some fellow bloggers who have either started a similar journey or want to and thus interact with me.
Blogging to me is part creative flexing, part therapeutic, part rant outlet … with a sprinkling of vanity and pipe dreams tossed in.
Dreams becoming reality.
ps-I’m also trying very hard (but not to successfully) to overlook that ridiculous blogging is for girls comment.
#3, for sure. Also, I do it for writing practice, so I guess I fall into the #2 writing whore category as well.
I’m definitely number 3. And I’m OK with that.
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Uh, #3, considering the interweebs know more about my ovaries than my most intimate friends…
How about: Because I am surrounded by people who could not care less what I think about anything, and having a readership, tiny though it may be, let’s me indulge my fantasy of being relevant.
Also, I blog because I hope to be the Blog Crush of the Day some day.
My motivation for blogging is to try to get 70 comments as you have (so far) on this post. Not that I’m jealous (!) but I couldn’t get that if I announced who really killed JFK and posted nude photos of the entire Obama Cabinet. I guess I’m a #1 and #3 guy also. I would have said #2 years ago but that’s pretty unrealistic (although I did get on Huffington and one gig for a food magazine from my blog). I keep mine going because I have a desperate need to write about whatever the hell I want to without having to listen to others as I do in my writing for hire life.
Because the blog world can’t plug it’s ears when I’m trying to talk. Oh and it makes me keep writing. Oh and then strangers can read about how f’ed up I am rather than my friends and family!
Katie Lauren
How come all the Hopeless individuals are guys or Lesbians?
There ought to be equal time and space for women, heterosexual, hopeless individuals.
I’m just saying.
I am a sell out! I started out with #1, but lately it’s become #5.
Also blogging is a way to “test drive” some possible topics for paying assignments…so variation on #2.
Number 6, definitely.
That was a joke…I haven’t REALLY had any sexy conversations with mommybloggers
I really can’t choose any of those options because while I desperately aspire with every fiber of my being to be a Walmart blogger *snort* I mostly do it for fun and friendship.
I am mildly nuts.
wait, nothing about me liking to hear myself talk? damn.
Put me down for the trifecta 1,3,6
could you BE any cuter?
i blog for none of the reasons you listed.
After 5 years of blogging I am not sure I could stop.
I didn’t click hard with any of your six options. I think I just like having a place to express myself and I like the idea that someone might read it and enjoy it.
Hello, Neil.
I haven’t been keeping up with my blog. When it feels right, I blog, when it doesnt’…I facebook.
Or neither.
Or both.
#4 made me laugh and laugh, because I have a particular vendetta against a couple of those vipers.
7) All of the above
Why am I still blogging?
‘Cuz I didn’t have a freakin’ choice!
All the other sweet clubs were filled up!
Gosh!
A little late here but a little bit of 1-6 for me.:)
#6
I realize this comment is like, almost a year old, but… why do you blog? Clearly, you’re a great writer and you love to write – is that it? I love writing and I can’t shut up sometimes… I also love stumbling across a new awesome blog – like yours – and just reading.
By the way, I’m married, with two kids, but I can’t really cook. Oopsie. I love going out for dinner, though! Especially with smart and sassy people. Who are good writers. And have great blogs