What’s with a Blog? (Why Blog?)

In order to keep this Post within my self-imposed 1000 word maximum limit, I am not going into all the reasons why I started blogging. I am, however, going to cover a number of areas that make me very happy about it!

I have recently had a significant influx of new Followers, a large proportion of which are new bloggers and probably just trying to attract attention to their Blog, but any of you that returned here will hopefully be inspired a little to stay with blogging and see just what it does for you!

Obviously it is always a pleasure to get new Followers after all, if we wanted total privacy from the world, we would not be blogging would we!  However, I always keep in mind that whereas WP is excited to tell you about your new Followers, it does not tell you about any Unfollowers, so that data is very misleading. Even the number of Visitors has questionable value, because some may arrive at your Blog by accident!What does have meaning, are the number of Likes and, more importantly by far, the number of people who Comment.

My Blog is an opportunity to share me and my world, with anybody who wants to do likewise. That, by natural extension puts a heavy emphasis on dialogue  and, one of my pleasures every day is to Comment on other people’s Blogs as well as responding to Comments on my Blog. This is all pretty obvious, I am sure, to even novice bloggers however, there are “spin-off” pleasures which may not be so obvious.

Given that my “audience” is all around the world, my chances of meeting a fellow blogger are possible, although unlikely. This coming August, there is an excellent chance that I will meet not only a fellow blogger, but also their family! That is so exciting!

I have also had the considerable honor of being invited into an email dialogue by a few of my Followers, with the view to discussing issues outside of their Blog.

The driving force behind this Post however, is the unexpected email from a blogger who just wants to share some news!

As many of you know, I am usually up around 5:00am every morning, and spend the next 3 hours creating railway routes for a train simulator company. However, before I start, I always just check my emails for anything trainsim related, or perhaps a message from family.

This morning, there was an email from a fellow Blogger. This individual has had a number of unfortunate life experiences which have accumulated into a challenging lifestyle with limited options to improve matters. The email this morning was simply to tell me that they had (earlier) been offered a job, and was loving it! Can you imagine my pleasure of knowing that somebody, for whatever reason, wanted to tell me that their job was working out really well?

This has happened a few times (but not that many!), where an individual has extended the blogging relationship to just outside the realm of blogging.  There are now a number of special people around the world who make me smile whenever I see their name in the Sender column of my InBox!

To you who dropped an email in my Inbox last night, I will of course be replying, but I should at least thank you here and now.  It was a lovely surprise, and your news made it even lovelier!

Why Blog? I am rather hoping that it is now a redundant question! Just thinking!

38 thoughts on “What’s with a Blog? (Why Blog?)”

  1. Colin, I am grateful for every response I get from you. You always have something positive to say and often wisdom to share. As I said to another blogger, “That’s one of the best aspects of these blogs we write; the lessons learned are shared with one another, and we gain at least some knowledge faster than perhaps would happen otherwise.”

    I don’t always have time to read your blog, which is a bummer. I can’t always keep up with work, writing, blogging, and family. But when I do, I am always left with a communal feeling. It’s wonderful as a new dog blogger – even if not new to the blogging world.

    Thank you for your posts! ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Molly. Thank you so much for your Comment, and I cannot disagree with anything you said… except perhaps the wisdom bit! Having shared my life with humans for just over 70 years, perhaps I have learned a few things after all! One other aspect of blogging worth mentioning is the absence of any preconceived ideas based on physical appearance, accents, or just simple body language. I have a really wonderful group of Followers, and the only thing they have in common is their blogging, and the ability to play nicely together! 🙂

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  2. Like you, I have a number of followers/readers who ‘chat’ via comments and email, and I have come to consider them friends! I did not know, when I started my blog a few years ago, that this would be one of the benefits, but it is the one I cherish most!

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    • Hi Amy. For the most part you are right however, some people do select Follow just to try and generate an interest in their Blog; I have had Comments which are little more than a tool to display a link to another Blog, and I have had Comments that link directly to commercial sites. Having total control over Comments is a wonderful asset! 🙂

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  8. This is what has amazed me so much about blogging. All the friendships we developed with people all over the globe. People who do care and feel connected enough to share parts of their private lives. That’s such a gift!!

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  9. A wonderful post! You captured in words the true gift of blogging. The friendships formed with fellow bloggers can become so special. I smile as well when emails pop up in my inbox from blogger friends.That does sound like a happy email that you received this morning. It is great that your friend found something to do that she loves.

    August sounds like it will be an exciting month for you! You never knew what adventures your blogging would lead to, did you?

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  10. I was lucky to meet one blogger. There are a few others within a reasonable range so there is always the possibility of more meetings. What’s amazing is that the person I met was exactly as I expected her to be. Her personality comes through her writing (and the photo on her blog wasn’t 30 years old!). There are some bloggers (like you) that I feel I know better than some of my neighbors.

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    • Hi Kate. I had to laugh at your “30 year old photo” comment, as so many of my Followers have been glamorous women (according to their pic!). I really don’t care what anybody’s physical appearance is as long as they can string some words together and express themselves! But then… perhaps I simply do have many glamorous Followers? 🙂

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  11. How nice you got that email. So many times feedback is missing and you are left to wonder how someone is doing. One of the most unexpected things about blogging has been the communities and freindships that develop. Mostly smiles, and grins along the way (Oh, Molly’s says while she’d wish for a bit of snow now and then, splashing with dog friends yesterday in the field’s pool was pretty cool.)

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  13. This struck a chord with me this morning. I’m not a writer, Sometimes I ramble on and I have poor grammar skills, but I enjoy communicating with people of like minds. I’ve had a Blog for some time but it mostly seemed more like a place to go talk to myself or keep technical notes in case someone out there ever needed help on a problem I had solved. I never wanted to break that solitude for fear of rejection or not fitting in. I have to say that in the last week after commenting on a couple of Blogs that people have been accepting and kind in returning the favor. I really appreciate that. I look forward to improving skills and being a good read one day.

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    • Hi Ron. You are one of the reasons I love blogging, because you express yourself freely. The blogging community is, in general, a very open minded group. Obviously there will be conflicting opinions but, for the most part, it is resolved diplomatically. I have written a few Posts that were potential problems due to the sensitive nature of the subject but, to date I have only blocked one Comment (since October 2014)! It’s great having you as part of the group!

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  15. What a beautiful post my friend. I agree with you that finding an email in your inbox does indeed make you smile from ear to ear. Blog friends are so special. Have a sweet day, and I hope you woke up to snow on the ground because I did. Sitting here on my couch watching the whiteout conditions while snuggling my dogs.

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    • Sadly… we just got a dusting of snow during the night, although Ray was extremely boisterous this morning so I must assume that even a dusting was met with his approval! 🙂

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