I think people underestimate the learning aspect. As a blogger, you don't have all the answers, but you'll find out about many of them thanks to the conversation that will ensue. It helps you learn and grow. I always find this aspect of blogging to be freeing and enticing.
If you can stand the snarky answers that a crowd will always generate, there is nothing in the world like writing a blog which basically says "I don't understand this! Please help" and having folks come by and offer assistance.
Writing on its own will bring your thoughts to the surface where you can really think about them. Doing it on a blog lets others help you think about them.
I like that line. Often, the act of writing something forces me to commit to a particular thought rather than the Heisenberg-uncertainty haze that is usually bouncing around in my brain, and it is often the case that once the thought has been nailed down it looks a lot less compelling than it did when it was still a probability function.
Often, the act of writing something forces me to commit to a particular thought
This is the main reason I write things down. Writing something down forces me to commit and defend a certain idea, even if only to myself. Writing it down for the world to see forces me to defend the idea to additional level of scrutiny. In short, writing something down helps me keep from BSing myself.
1) To improve my writing/skills.
2) To reach out people of different countries/skill sets (which would have never possible/tough with out a blog)
3) To contribute back to the community.
4) To build a virtual identity of myself (when I meet some people for the first time, they usually start with "hey.. you write that blog, right!?)
Blogging is a bit like public speaking, and people are scared of it for good reason. You are really putting yourself out there.
Totally agree. After my first blog post I woke up the next morning with the same feeling I get after a night of too much drinking, asking myself "what did I do?".
I recently started out my first blog which has ever found any audience at all. The response has been amazing and it's been a very rewarding experience both personally and professionally, and I hope to keep it up.
I agree with most of the article's points, except when it comes to commenting. My thinking is that commenting systems often degrade into back-and-forth, one-on-one bickering and end up distracting from the main points being raised in the blog post.
The exception of course, would be technical blog posts, where comment threads often include more in depth tips, corrections, and tidbits of related information.
I think the key point for me is committing to blog, rather than just starting one. No one wants to be another person with a blog last updated a year ago. This is great motivation!
