Please be patient ... this blog takes just a little longer to load because of all the graphics here, but it's worth the wait ;--)

If you missed them, click for links to
my 2008 Blog Blasts for Peace:
Sacred Ruminations- The Strength of Gentleness
Small Reflections-A Revolution of Music,
Blog Rolls & Bling - What if?
(a Colorful Alternative to Bombs)
and last June:

Thirteen Thoughts on the Topic of Peace
Peace in Every Step

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Why I Blog ...

Rebecca of Reba's Ramblings is celebrating her Blogoversary today by hosting a Blog Carnival with a giveaway. She has asked visitors recently to address the eternal question ... specifically the issue of why we blog. This is my attempt to respond, although it seems to me I've written of this periodically all along during the last 8+ months ... I'm just not sure where.

It's clear to me that blogging ...
1. provides a way for me to experiment with sharing what I write ... without having to sit face to face with someone as I do this thing, and I've discovered that I'm much more of an introvert than most people (including myself) generally realize
2. allows me to become accustomed feedback from a variety of readers and get over my tendency to keep what I write to myself
3. introduces me to others who write (and take photographs)
4. keeps my mind active and learning new things all the time
5. stretches my imagination and my boundaries
6. fills free time with interaction when I'm alone
7. opens my eyes to what is ... and what might be ... if only
8. expands my world and opens me up to new possibilities & experiences
9. allows me to make & interact with 'virtual' friends

Initially I blogged because others suggested I might enjoy it. They were right. I did ;--)
1. Each day at Small Reflections I wrote whatever entered my mind, pretty much as if I was writing in my journal, and at Sacred Ruminations I followed Carla's example ... celebrating My Sacred Life for a month in daily posts then changing to a weekly Sacred Life post, while sharing whatever came to mind each day.
2. I visited other bloggers to gain ideas & information, returning to my own blogs to experiment and share what I'd encountered.
3, When 2007 came to a close, I revisited my first ten weeks as a blogger and thanked my 'blogging buddies' ... linking to various posts I'd written and activities in which I'd participated ... surprising myself with what I'd discovered & accomplished in such a brief time.
4. In mid-January I pulled together my Small is Beautiful Top 7 in '07 Blog Review at the request of Magpie Girl, and by the end of January I'd reached 100 posts.
5. Once again, at the suggestion Anglophile Football Fanatic ... I created a list of 101 Things About Me on my 101st Post ... sharing a brief history of my life ... revealing more perhaps than I intended to, but leaving it 'just because.'

A few days later (when I reached 106 posts on my 2nd blog, Sacred Ruminations) I created A Milestone Missed? in which I celebrated and reflected about blogging to that point.
6. I had participated in NaBloPoMo and Holidailies ... posting daily on both blogs for two months straight, and with encouragement from Sandy of Momisodes (although I had reservations) I signed up for Blog 365, but began to do some rethinking.
7. I moved the initial information introducing myself from the About Me section of the sidebar to How I Became a Blogger and introduced myself all over again briefly in an updated paragraph which remains in my sidebar now but is in need of another revision soon.
8. Interestingly, fellow bloggers honored me with 'awards' that I displayed in my sidebar and passed along to others in posts with links ... introducing my 'virtual friends' to one another and building a 'virtual community' of sorts.
9. I celebrated my 63rd birthday online ... here and here ... participated in the Ultimate Blog Party ... joined a wide variety of new weekly activities ... and generally had fun playing.
10. As my sidebar got cluttered, I created a special page for Awards & Bling at Small Reflections to make room for new things.
11. When folks complained about the site locking up and/or being slow ... I created this 3rd Blog and moved them over here instead.
12. Gradually I've added sidebar links to my posts by category in the About Me section in hopes that visitors could locate, read, & comment on what interests them more readily.
13. To speed up things even more at Small Reflections, I moved my multiple Blog Rolls over to the 3rd Blog along with Logos and Links to memes I enjoy.

So ... to answer the question of Why I Blog ...
it's FUN and I enjoy everything about it!!!
Sometimes 'life' intervenes and takes precedence over blogging, but when things calm down this Blogosphere remains ... inviting us each to share & engage as much or as little as we choose.
How funny that this list ended up having 13 things ;--)
Thought for Today
"I am never bored anywhere; being bored is an insult to oneself."
Jules Renard

15 comments:

Joyce said...

Congratulations, Storyteller, on starting your third blog!

Your "Why I Blog" post is so comprehensive. Mine will be much shorter. You are setting the bar high!

I'm certainly glad you decided to blog, no matter what the reasons. You're a great virtual friend, and I'm thankful to know you. :)

Karen said...

All excellent reasons--especially the last one!!

Karen Coutu said...

I too enjoy meeting new people online as I am much quieter in person. Great post!

Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba) said...

Yay for you!

Thanks so much for participating. I've really enjoyed seeing the reasons why people blog. :)

storyteller said...

Joyce – Thanks so much. I created this blog last month to move lots of stuph from Small Reflections and hopefully speed up the loading time over there and now that it’s here … I figure I’ll post something now and again, but certainly not every day. This topic seemed a perfect post to share here though I don’t know how many folks will see it. I’m glad to be blogging too, and I’ll look forward to reading your post when you publish it.

Karen (Stagwoman) – Yup … the motto of the galz in my Red Hat group is, ‘If it ain’t fun, we don’t bother to do it!’ If blogging didn’t bring me enjoyment, I’m sure I would have given it up by now.

Karen (of Sillymonkeez) – I know what you mean. It’s so much simpler to be ‘outgoing’ when blogging than in person. I enjoyed learning why YOU blog when I read your post this afternoon. Thanks for sharing and for visiting my 3rd blog.

Rebecca – I’m glad you asked the question and encouraged us to share. I’ve read a few of the posts already and am looking forward to visit others as time permits. This was a great idea!

To all – I almost skipped this opportunity after posting on both of my other blogs on Sunday and getting interrupted by ‘real life’ … but I’m glad I followed through because it was fun to revisit my journey and share in this way. Thanks to all for visiting and adding your thoughts here. Hope you’ve all had a marvelous Monday!
Hugs and blessings,

Anonymous said...

So interesting, and I agree with many of the same reasons. I've met some really great people blogging, too.

Momisodes said...

Okay, my apologies for arriving late here. Not sure how I missed this!

I'm so glad you began blogging. You really do have such a gift with words. It's been a pleasure following you since Nablopomo, and watching your blogging and number of blogs grow ;)

Loved reading this!

Tina Coruth said...

Storyteller,

Congratulations on starting your third blog! This is very nice!

I like your answers, especially the last one. :-)

hugs,
Tina

storyteller said...

Maggie – It seems many of us share this ‘social’ reason for blogging.

Sandy – Not to worry … Sunday I posted on all 3 blogs so I understand how you might have missed this one. I don’t know how you keep up with your readership ‘as is’ … but thanks for dropping by and sharing. I appreciate your lovely feedback, but methinks YOU’RE the one who has a way with words ;--)

Tina – Thanks … ENJOYMENT is the reason most of us blog I suspect. If it wasn’t fun, we wouldn’t do it would we?

To all – It’s lovely to find all of your comments here this evening. I wondered when I posted here if anyone would even know. One of the thing my new laptop does is ‘insert’ my name, email, and URL for me when I leave a comment. For some reason the old one didn’t. I admit it’s nice to not have to type all that repeatedly, but I’m not sure exactly how it decides which URL to insert. I suspect I’ll figure it out eventually, but for now … I get what I get … and so does everyone else.
Hugs and blessings,

Michelle said...

Many excellent reasons for blogging. A friend of mine also suggested I start my own blog and it turns out I actually enjoy it. It will be one year in January, so I guess you can say I'm still a newbie. LOL!! There's still so much I need to improve on and learn. Thanks for stopping by. I always enjoy meeting new blogging friends. Take Care.

storyteller said...

Michelle – Thanks for visiting my newly created Blog Rolls & Bling Blog and commenting on my Why I Blog post. You’re even newer to this ‘virtual world’ than I am because I started Small Reflections late last October and Sacred Ruminations shortly thereafter. I’m amazed at how much I’ve learned so far and how much more there is to learn … but it’s all good so far and I figure I’ll be doing this for a long time to come.
Hugs and blessings,

Sandee said...

Well, good for you. As long as you are having fun then you are doing it right. Have a great day. :)

storyteller said...

Sandee – You’ve got THAT right! Thanks for dropping by my Blog Rolls & Bling Blog. You’ve reminded me I need to think about posting something new here … just because it’s been a while and I’d like to keep things ‘fresh’ even though I don’t publish here often.
Hugs and blessings,

Anonymous said...

your site is loading slowly..

storyteller said...

Anonymous
Yez ... the site has MANY graphics and DOES load slowly, but it IS worth the wait. Thanks for dropping by ;-)
Hugs and blessings,