Why Blog?

[kezabelle]

Pure curiousity this :D I don't blog, and I doubt I'll ever bother... but I do wonder why others do. I could see myself doing one about the kids so family and friends could check in every so often, or if I was going through a traumatic experience such as cancer - maybe I'd find people in similar situations to form a support group. Personally, though, I like forums as they're a fun way to have a conversation with people from varying lifestyles and of various opinions, but I just don't understand blogging. :)

So, why do yuo blog?

[Arial]

Hi Kez :)

I've done so many things on the net eg forums, email groups. photo sharing sites..

I've tried to be very careful about my privacy and about my husband's details..

I have been on the net for well over ten years, and have only had really bad experience ..so that's not bad considering.. I have seen way too much info on some of sites, even people's personal addressess! arghhh

I had a blog long time ago, just a silly experimental type.. it's somewhere still on the net ..

I have a current one, which i have revealed a bit too much bout me on it, eg having cancer, not being to have children etc..

I don't have a lot of access to support groups etc. and i don't have many friends these day to share stuff with, so it's probably just my way on getting it out somewhere ..in a therapeutic way ..

Same with being on forums and different online groups.. hence why i think all these means of communication are so popular now days IMO !

People do have the option of making their blogs private, if they wish to keep it to themselves and just use it as a personal journel :)

[Stormy]

Well, originally I was going to say "why not?" :P

I blog because it helps me take my mind off other things I would rather not think about. It's a creative outlet for me....share funny stories that I think other cat lovers or pet lovers would enjoy, a few of the multitude of photos I take get put up there as well. :yes:

I guess for me it is a stress relief of sorts....that and along with stuff I'm doing for Leigh, it gives me a project to work on. :)

[Naomi]

because my life is just so fascinating, it would be a crime not to share it with the www

and because we have family overseas and spread around the country who unfortunately aren't here to see our children grow up, so it's a good way to share photos and little stories with them

and more lately I've been thinking it would be a nice thing to show them as they get older, kind of a pictorial time-line of their lives (mine is mostly photos)

also I like reading back and seeing how far we've come, remembering special occasions etc (yes I could do that anyway, but I like it in this format)

[Stormy]

Naomi I wonder if Hugo will remember wishing for a lizard instead of a baby sister when he is older :hehe:

That still makes me grin :D

[kezabelle]

Thanks girls. As I said, pure curiosity. I very much agree with 'why not?' but I'm also curious as to why :) I think technology has had an enormous positive impact on so many people - particularly those who cannot socialise as they wish for a variety of reasons. But it's just one of those things I haven't understood. perhaps it's because the ones I've actually read have been a recount of friend's personal lives and thoughts - more like a personal diary, and I jsut can't imagine sharing that with the world...

Arial, the privacy issue does concern me on the Internet - but that seems to be an issue more for sites such as My Space and facebook than the blogs I've seen. :)

[Arial]

I'm on facebook Kez, which has been ok for me so far...

However i was doing a search on my space ( have got one as well, but don't usually check it), for people in my area, and i came across a 14 year old girl that lives a few streets away from us with her parent's home address on her page !! eeeek!!!

I did email her and told her she should take it down asap and why !! silly girl ! :(

[Naomi]

From the other side of the coin, these are some reasons why I read blogs (well, not so much now but I still have a small list that I read regularly)
* blogs belonging to friends, and I like to keep up with what is happening in their life
* blogs belonging to strangers, but I feel compelled to read what they write because they are great writers; or because their life situations seem similar to mine so there is an element of "I'm not the only one" or because their life is so different to mine that it is like experiencing life through someone else's eyes or experience.
* blogs like the AFW blog and a photography blog that have interesting articles on topics that interest me

... so people might also blog to provide those things for other readers.

Edit - Arial, the same thing happened to me! My brother sent me a link to his myspace and he had his (my parents!) address and phone number publicly available :O

[kezabelle]

Cool Naomi :)

Arial, I'm on Facebook too and most of teh people I know have all their details on it. Scares me when I see high school kids doing it, but stuns me when I see adults do the same!

[Alexa]

I would love to start bloggin but I don't think I am interesting enough to read about, I love reading your pages Naomi, they are so beautifully laid out and gorgeous photos of gorgeous children, also I think you need to be a little bit creative and be able to tell stories (something I know I'm hopeless at).

I'm on Facebook and only reveal certain things, mainly on because all my work mates are!

[Stormy]

Alexa if you're not too shabby with a camera, you don't even need to be able to tell stories. :) One of my favourite blogs is a wordless (or nearly wordless) blog of photos :yes:

[crashtestwoman]

Oh Kezabelle I'm a lot like you, I don't understand the whole blogging experience. I'm a very open person and really don't have any deep dark secrets or anything but the thought of strangers reading some of my most private thoughts is just not something I would encourage. I don't belong to facebook, msm, yahoo chat or any of the other chat groups etc, basically because I am just too busy with my life to spend hours on the computer chatting or updating photos etc. I try not to have pictures of my kids on the net or personal information on where we live etc because there are alot of nuts out there and it only takes one to take offense to what I say and I've got em on my doorstep harrassing me.
I like being annonymous and plan to keep it that way.

[Supa]

My blog is about my sewing & I used to keep a paper diary of my sewing but it didnt have photos in it so I upgraded to a blog instead :D

[Leigh]

People spilling their guts type blogs are only a very small niche of the millions and millions of blogs out there.

People blog about lots of different topics, craft, hobbies, business etc..many topics other than their personal lives. Many people make a living from blogging. Blogs have become much more than online diaries.

Why do I blog..here on AFW sometimes I have wondered the same thing considering how few of the members actually read it. Good thing we have a great following of outside readers.

For me blogging is all about networking, like a forum on a much bigger scale..I have met a lot of wonderful people from blogging, there is an amazingly friendly group of bloggers out there.

And, as with Naomi it is a great way to share a bit of our lives with family and friends.

To me the privacy thing isn't really a issue, I would be more worried about random crazies, than those on the internet.

If anyone is interested in trying out blogging, you can have a free blog set up for you here on All for Women to play around with..let me know.

[kezabelle]

Thanks everyone. It's just one of those things that intrigues me - and I've always viewed it much as Deb has described. Perhaps I just need to look more into it... :)

[Stormy]

Kerrie check out these ones for different ones apart from the "spill your guts" variety

http://digitalphoto.shutterchance.com/archive.php
http://orgjunkie.com/
http://cookalmostanything.blogspot.com/

They are anything but diarised blogs :D

[crashtestwoman]

Okay you have all convinced me that blogs are the way to go. :). I have read and learnt something today and I will endeavour to blog myself sometime next week. Maybe I will devote my blog to shoes and bags (my passion)?????.
Hope I didn't come of too mad in my previous post, was having a stress mess of a morning (thankgod school goes back on Tuesday).

[kezabelle]

Great blogs Stormy! They are amazing! Not feeling inspired though as I'm feeling a bit too inferior :hehe:

Agree tho Deb, this thread has certainly helped change my views on blogging - I'll have to have more of a search :)

[Stormy]

I love the cooking one....it gives me some great ideas that I wouldn't otherwise think of :)

[Leigh]

One of my fav cooking/photohraphy blogs, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/) OMG :faint: the stuff she makes is amazing.

Deb has her very own blog now...hopefully she will be sharing it with everyone soon ;)

[Stormy]

Oooh cool Deb, what you blogging about? :D

[kezabelle]

That site looks great too Leigh.

But now I have anotehr question - what makes these sites blogs rather than web sites IYKWIM?

[Naomi]

They are websites, but use blog format - blog is an abbreviation for weblog, which is just an online journal. It's a handy format because you can frequently add and update information while keeping all your previous information there, as well as often allowing for other people to comment. That's why there is such a diverse range of blogs out there, it isn't the content that defines it as a blog, rather it is the format.

[PreSchool Mama]

Also, blogs are easier and cheaper to maintain and update compared to websites.You could set up a free blog, hard to do with a website. Blogs are more informal and allow a community to come up around them, again unlike a website.

I started my preschool parenting blog because I was feeling depressed at having to quit work, actually. I mean I had all this training and experience teaching preschoolers, and I couldn't share it or use it, and a blog seemed like the perfect outlet. It's almost more satisfying than teaching because you're helping moms who are their children's first teachers. I've only been blogging for two months and I am addicted!

If you're looking to start a blog,and you don't want a journal type blog, and want to share information, choose something that interests you,AND is a subject that you can crank out content regularly on. If you struggle to find ideas to develop into posts, its' really hard to keep the blog going.

Hope you join the blogging community!:D

[kezabelle]

Still not sure I understand the exact differences Naomi - but I understand what you're saying - I'll go for a surf and I'm sure I'll define it more concretely for me :)

As for joining the blogging community, can't see it happening as I'm far too lazy! :D I'm great with chatting on a forum, but having to put in most of the work myself... LMAO

[wah_mummy]

Also, blogs are easier and cheaper to maintain and update compared to websites.You could set up a free blog, hard to do with a website. Blogs are more informal and allow a community to come up around them, again unlike a website. :D

I agree with this comment. :jump:

[zen]

this was good to read, as i have often wondered the same thing, knowing that forum sites are a big enough stretch for me most days, but i think i need the interaction with other people, especially other women.. i don't actually have much interaction with anyone offline.. (i don't mean to sound pathetic there, this is mostly by choice, i've never been a very social person) blogs really took over very quickly didn't they? :)