Why ... do I BLOG ??
Hi Kathleen --- you wrote that you were thinking of starting a blog and asked, “How do you like blogging? What's the best thing about it? And the not-so-great. Any insight would be appreciated! “ So, here goes …
In
2006 I read an article in the AARP magazine explaining what a Blog
was and how few seniors were taking advantage of this free venture.
It really piqued my interest. In 1954 I'd graduated from B.U.'s
School of Journalism and writing has always been a large part of my
life. Now here I was, age 73, retired 4 years and with plenty of
time to try out this blog thing. It's turned out to be a perfect
fit for me.
I
originally thought I would record as many memories as possible and
compile them
in book form for my three children. I
did do
that
in the first year but then found that
I
was hooked. Each
article that I wrote
prompted
me to remember more...a great taxing of the mind. Now
it's 12 years later and I'm still enjoying this
exhilarating memory experience.
Of
course there are a few drawbacks but I feel these are easy to
control. The big one, as most bloggers will agree, is “writer's
block”. I think the best way to conquer this is to put some time
between each post. I now post every 6th
day and that works well for me. Also you can choose guide lines for
your blog and I would highly recommend not allowing anonymous
comments … that leaves you open to all sorts of garbage being posted
as comments.
I
am very thankful that we have such a wonderful (and FREE !) venue for
our thoughts and
hope you will give it a try. And
finally, on top of everything else,
it has given me a whole new family of cherished friends.
posted by Ginnie at 3:00 PM
5 Comments:
I concur! Blogging is a great place for an interest in writing and meeting an on-line community! I always enjoy your posts too!
I started for a lot of the reasons you did---for the family. Oddly only one family member reads my posts. But then like you, I found it was a perfect fit for me. I have always written but never published, mainly as I would often run out of steam and never finished a project. Blogging lets me write in short bursts and get instant gratification from the comments. Also it opens us up to meeting really neat people that we would not normally cross paths with. Win/win.
Hi Kathleen and Ginnie!
A cousin talked me into blogging mostly to share pictures of my yard and "garden" or various misc. garden spots scattered around on the 2 acres I have sort of tamed here. That was 2006. I have not done much this year - computer problems. Had to get a new computer and it will not let me download from my camera... and, really, I have been too busy to go back to the computer dude and get it taken care of. We have tried 3 times... and now the garden is taking up most of my time.
But, here is what I want to share - you will meet some super nice people- and a lot of folks you really won't care much about... but the super ones, like Ginnie, well, they are seriously special. With all the miles between us, we would never have met any other way, but she has turned into a real good friend- more than just a blog-pal.
And, all that aside, it is a fun way to keep a diary of sorts of what is going on in your life. But the best part is finding folks that really connect with you.
Some bloggers are real entertaining - really good writers. And sadly, some folks have good stories to share, but they can't keep certain words off the page - one F bomb and I don't go back.
Give it a try! You can always quit!
Good luck!
Thanks Possum. and for your information Kathleen I've actually met and spent 3 days with Possum and I agree ... it's the people that we meet (whether per blog or in person) that make blogging so special.
I am still not entirely sure why I blog, and it has certainly changed over the years as has my life. I think for me, it's mainly a way of focusing the mind a little bit.
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