To Blog or Not To Blog

To blog or not to blog, that is the question that was recently up for discussion on a loop that I follow. I think it’s a really interesting question. What’s the benefit that we get from blogging? Is there a downside to it? So here are my thoughts on the issue, but I’d really love to hear yours as well.

First, the positive side: Blogging allows me to reach out to people.

I have my Facebook page, and that, I’ve found is the best way to actually have some interaction (because goodness knows, almost no one ever comments on my blog, but that’s ok, I know you’re out there and reading what I’m writing, and that’s ok). I post announcements on Twitter – never once have I had a conversation with anyone, it just doesn’t seem to be a friendly medium for that sort of interaction.

But blogging, well, it’s kind of like teaching. I get to lecture about what I want (or what others have asked me to “talk” about). I hope that others learn from what I write or find it interesting. I try and engage my readers (and students) in a dialogue, but it doesn’t always work – some people simply prefer to listen and not engage, that’s ok. But this is my box, and so I stand on it and tell people about what I know and what I think they might be interested in.

Now, the negative: Well, some people said that blogging takes up too much of their valuable time. Ok, I can see that if you try to blog a lot. I blog once a week, every week, on Sunday mornings or afternoons. Once I get an idea for what I want to write, it takes me about half an hour to pound it out, and fifteen minutes or so to upload it and get everything looking nice. Nope, not too much time.

I have mostly stopped my Fooding blog, which I’m sad about, but that’s not because it took up too much time, I’ve just run out of recipes! I’m pretty boring. I make the same things again and again, or I use recipes for which someone else has the copyright. So, when I do find or create a new recipe, I’ll post it. Otherwise, sorry…

Some people on the loop thought that they weren’t getting enough eyeballs on their blogs to make it worth the time and effort. You know… I don’t really care. I enjoy writing. I enjoy the thought that a few people are reading this. I’m not all that picky about how many that is, although I would certainly prefer to have lots of readers, I’m not going to stop writing if it isn’t in the hundreds. If I did, I would have stopped long ago.

So, what do you think? Do you blog? Why or why not? Is it worth it? Since you’re here, reading this, has this been a waste of your time or mine, or a thoughtful and/or learning experience? I truly would love to hear your thoughts – c’mon, be different, leave a comment, let me know you’re out there. J