Archives
April 2009
March 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
Recent Entries
Stephen
Movie Metaphysics: The Dark Knight
What's Going On Here??
Why I'm Getting Rid of Google Chrome
Twitter and Me
Advent
To the 52, From 1 Of the 48
A Note To Authors (and PR people, too)
Beat Coastal, The Sequel
Obama's Backdrop

September 13, 2004

Why Do We Do It?

Just scanned this article about Bloggers not getting rich off their blogs. I was kinda shocked that anyone found this newsworthy. There are a LOT of bloggers out there -- some better than others, some just better informed, some just really lucky. I don't know of anyone who is trying to do this for a living. If they are, I feel sorry for them.

So if it's not to make a living, why do it? Why spend the time? Why spend the money?

I can only speak for myself. I KNOW it isn't about money. I used to be a marketing major, and now I'm in seminary, so I'm not even doing my REAL job for the money. It's not even really about the fame (though it would be neat to be walking down the street and have someone say "Hey! You're that View from the Pew guy, aren't you?").

I discovered blogging through an article I read online -- I don't even remember where. I started scanning blogs, and found Christians in the blogosphere. Christians with attitude. Christians with a message that they were getting out. And I thought "I want in on that!"

I had been hosting my own web site for a while. Had some articles that I had written up, but nobody was really reading them. It wasn't enough for me to just write this stuff -- I wanted someone to read what I was writing. I had something to say, and there were people who would listen -- I was sure of it.

I was also sure that I didn't want to spend a bunch of money. I was dumping over a hundred a year into my wkelly.org site, and had no results to speak of. I also wanted to make sure I'd stick with this blogging thing. So I headed over to BlogSpot, and signed up. I haven't shut up since :-)

And people read this stuff, too! I can remember getting my first comment (thanks, Rebecca). I watched my stats like a man obsessed (still do), and saw the number of hits I was getting. Not many, compared to most blogs. But a lot more than my "real" site. People subscribed to my feed. I got compliments posted on other sites.

And now, I'm hooked. If I don't post something, I get mad at myself -- I feel like I'm letting people down. Whenever I read something interesting, the first thing I think of is "I can blog that." My blog has given me a forum that I'd never had before. And sometimes, I think that I can make an impact. Somewhere. Somehow.

And I think that's why many people blog. To make an impact. Maybe not the teenagers who post things like "OMG hez such a QT!! 2 much 4 me!!" are trying to change the world. But there are folks out there trying to make a difference, and they, in the long run, are the future of this thing we all call the blogosphere. I'm just hoping to be part of that second group.

Posted by Warren Kelly at September 13, 2004 09:55 PM
Email me!
Email Protection by Name Intelligence