Blogging for Fun, Profit, and Influence
February 14th, 2007 by Richard CockrumA different game of tag is making its round of the blogosphere. This time enquiring bloggers want to know why you blog, why you take the time once a month, or once a week, or once a day, or once an hour, to put the digital pen to paper and broadcast your thoughts, opinions, news, and life to people worldwide.
I’ve been tapped by two wonderfully creative people, Nneka, in the story of her not so secret love affair, and Steve Johnson who went from monetary goals to personal growth.
On my About page I list several reasons why I originally began to blog. These included
- Sharing some of the beliefs I have learned over the years that have helped me live my life and make sense of the world.
- Sharing some of the tools I have picked up that help make one a more effective, loving human being.
- Making a few dollars in the process.
These same basic reasons still stand, but many others have been added over the past year.
- I’ve met some great people, to whom, even though we’ve never met physically, I’ve formed emotional attachments.
- I can talk to anyone from anywhere in the world, from any sex, race, socioeconomic status without preconceptions getting in the way.
- I can learn more than I actually teach, from other people who write and comment, and from clarifying my own thinking enough to write understandably about a topic.
- My children are all over the world. Blogging is another forum to keep in touch with them.
- I become known. When I decide to turn some of the things here into a book, people will know who I am.
- I get to have a newsletter, forum, radio show (podcast) with the digital printing press.
So I blog out of arrogance, teaching, learning, relationships, and mercenary motives. But any way you look at it, it’s about me talking to you, and you talking to me. Now, I’m going to pass the baton by asking, Why do you blog Renee, Carolyn, Tim, Aaron, Easton?
Popularity: 10% [?]
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February 15th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Yayaya, you got me, Rick!
I can run but I can’t hide, huh? 
Question is why did you tag me at my fish blog?
February 15th, 2007 at 9:34 am
The internet - the biggest small town in the world. No handy places to hide here.
February 15th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Thanks for tagging me, thanks for the followup email.
February 15th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
This is a great and complete list of the reasons people blog. No one really blogs for totally unselfish reasons, I think it is always a combination of helping yourself and helping others. It’s nice to see someone being honest and realistic about this, instead of the typical ‘I just want to help people’ post.
February 15th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Thank you for stopping in and commenting, John.
I try to be honest. If you can’t be honest with yourself, you can’t be honest with other people. My short answer to the question was “Because I want to”, but that’s the short answer to anything we do. Even when we’re being unselfish, and most of the people who blog do have a strong unselfish streak, we’re doing it for selfish reasons. I don’t mean that in a bad way. Just that we find it more rewarding to help people than to not help them.
February 19th, 2007 at 4:00 am
[…] Last week, both Rick Cockrum at Shards of Consciousness and Lyman Reed of Creating a Better Life thought it was my turn; Rick in his post, Blogging for Fun, Profit, and Influence and Lyman, with Why I Blog. Does that mean ten reasons instead of five? It does now; in this case, more might not be better, but it’s easier. […]