Blogging?

I started a blog about 2 years ago. I have updated maybe 10 times. I find it really hard to come up with enough to say to put in a post, without it sounding like a diary. I was never one to keep a journal or anything like that.

A good solution for me is twitter. Short thoughts and observations are much easier for me to put out there. I almost never use the allotted 140 characters.

I also post my photos to flickr. I don’t know if that counts as blogging. I am more of a visual person and say things through my photos rather than my words.

For me, micro-blogging and photo-blogging are therapeutic in the sense that we all have something to say, and it is so easy to do it without pressure from others. You don’t really know who will read or see what you put out there, so it is safer than saying those things out loud to the people you know and see on a daily basis. Someone is reading it. I read blogs all the time, and follow tweets. It is a large part of my day.

As far as commercial bloggers, I read an article a while back that said it is one of the most stressful jobs out there. They are pressured to be the first to post the latest news. This isn’t it, but it’s basically the same idea. I know I wouldn’t want to be a pro blogger.

I am not surprised at the health benefits. In many ways, it is like keeping a journal, but online, which has the same benefits.

I have a blog, but can be sporadic about doing it. If you don’t write in your journal for a few weeks, who knows it? If you stop blogging, you lose your audience. I have experienced a sort of “blogger’s high” after writing and posting a piece.

I am surprised about row4food’s article. That’s depressing.

@row4food I really like the concept of Twitter, but have not been able to talk any of my friends into using it. So if I twitter in the forest and no one hears it, is it meaningless? I decided it was.

Somebody is talking about the therapeutic value of blogging.How can blogging have any therapeutic value in the sense that it addresses some pathological disorder and is aimed at curing it. Blogging is done mainly for the self-expression it affords to the common man who has normally no avenues available for such expression. We do not use blogs as just diaries but as useful instruments for dissemination as well as for participation in the ongoing socio-cultural debates.

Well i dont really have a blog. I have something called a tumblelog (which is a micro-blog) for sharing links, pictures, quotes,music and videos. As for the benefit, I dont think there is any real benefit except fame i guess. In terms of money, i can earn about $ 180 if i put ads on my tumblelog but i refrain from doing so. But it does help me get my word out there. For example, i have about 483 followers. So when i post something like this image, 46 other people posted the same thing and it helped me get my word out there. Also it helps me feel somewhat powerful knowing that i have a decent number of followers.

Also my tumble-log also helps me in terms of my web design career. If people who visit my tumble-log like its design, they ask me to do design blogs for them and hence it helps my career.

I imagine it is the same as keeping a journal.

A wikipedia link

@nisheedhi and phoenyx Perhaps the knowledge that it’s being disseminated gives some form of validity that’s helpful in the healing process. The article doesn’t really go in depth so it’s hard to say what the difference would then be between journaling and blogging.

@mirza Thanks for the info on tumbleblog, something that I hadn’t ever heard of before now.

Well…I do not know about the “therapeutic” value of blogging…but I do think that blogging about your private info or anothers is a great way to finally bring Big Brother into the realm of reality…don’t you?

It could be, but doesn’t have to be. No one is urging anyone to hand out names or telephone numbers or admit to crimes committed. The only way to protect one’s privacy is to essentially live like a hermit, use nothing electronic in nature, have no subscriptions, and never leave anything behind that might constitute a paper or e-paper trail. If the topic is completely innocuous in nature then in the end it would be of little interest to anyone.

Hmmm….A Hermit…..sounds like a plan!

Blogging is definitely therapeutic for me. It allows me to reflect back on my day and recognize the good, the bad, and the ugly. I always try to find at least one thing worth laughing about, which helps me to move past the little nuisances and irritants in my life. However, when I am bogged down and weary, I have a built-in network of friends and strangers who can offer comfort and encouragement and advice that I might not otherwise get. The writing itself may be therapeutic, but the community is what really makes blogging such a powerful tool.

Personally, I have a creative design blog which is pretty much a release for me when I want to comment on the art and design world. It’s not too far from writing a term paper on the subject but it helps because I get to choose what I write about and how to say it.

I’m on a quest to become a novelist. My blog is a great way for me to practice writing skills as well as blog about what I’m learning about the craft of writing. So in that way it is therapeutic for me. (It’s also addicting…)