Rediscovering the 'Me' in 'Mumeeeeeee'

'I have always thought that there is no more fruitful source of family discontent than a housewife’s badly-cooked dinners and untidy ways'. (Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861)

September 22, 2011

I blog, therefore I am.

Blog:

noun

  • a personal website or web page on which an individual records opinions, links to other sites, etc. on a regular basis.
So, now you know what the official Oxford English Dictionary definition of a blog actually is.

But the what isn't usually the most asked question. It's the why. 'Why do you blog?' is what people really want to know when they look at you goggle-eyed over the bowl of kettle chips at someone's house party.

It's not an easy one to answer and sometimes I'm not even sure myself (as can frequently be seen in the ever-increasing gaps in my blog posts *slaps self on wrist and promises to do better*). But, even though my poor, long-suffering blog should probably be taken off to some sort of a Shelter for Neglected Blogs at this stage, I could never abandon it, walk away, switch off completely, because it's my little bit of space to write, rant, pontificate, practice using words like pontificate and generally 'connect' with other people who like to write, rant and all of the above.

This is by no means the first blog to question the why of blogging. Far from it - there is continual debate out there in the blogosphere about the 'why'? Funny that - how the act of blogging itself often becomes a reason to blog. And it isn't just the doubters and the nay-sayers and the blog conspiracy theorists (I don't actually think there are any of them, I just made that bit up) who ask why - it's the bloggers themselves. People like me. Bloggers.

Is it all a bit pompous, we ask? Are we bloggers just the annoying kid at school who strains their arm ever skywards in a desperate attempt to be picked to answer the question; the kid who revels in the 'show and tell' days - 'Look at me, Look at me!' we shout, 'I have something very important and astute to say.' Are we bloggers all just lying in the gutter, looking at the words of agreement and support in our comments boxes?

I don't think so.

In fact, I think blogging is just the same as anything else we choose to do in life. We do it because we enjoy it. We get a sense of satisfaction from it. We may do it to hone our skills as a writer (you wouldn't find Usain Bolt heading off to the Olymipcs without putting in a bit of practice somewhere first would you now). We may do it to build a profile, to 'showcase' our portfolio, to promote a book (oh yes, one day, it will be mine), or to simply have a space to say what's on our mind when a spiral-bound notebook and a distracted pre-schooler don't seem to be giving us quite the attention we feel we deserve.

Why blog? Why not.

This post was inspired by two other very interesting posts I've read this week about the point of blogging. They are written by Caren Kennedy here and Derek Flynn here.

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12 comments:

  1. Like you, I neglect my own blog (only I do it more frequently) but as you say, it's impossible to keep away. I enjoy blogging; it's just that it has to fall by the wayside when everything else builds up. I have little conversations with my blog, telling it that I'll give it more attention, a revamp, and more posts sometime soon - but I think it's stopped listening! Thankfully part of my own business involves blogging for literary festivals, so get my fix, but it's still nice to have your own little corner where you can just say what you have to say and leave feeling satisfied. And if someone sees it and inspired (like you were above) then even better!

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  2. Hazel, you think all these blog posts about blogging by bloggers means we're going through some kind of existential crisis? LOL Great post. Really nailed it as to why we do what we do.

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  3. Oh I do hope you don't give up this blog! It's funny, I was just thinking about this and the whole social media thing this morning and definitely have a post in me about it. It is especially but not completely just about the blog. Some of my friends roll their eyes at my facebook/twitter involvement but give me the 'I don't want to know look' if I dare mention my blog. In fact I rarely do mention it in 'real'life. Are they afraid of it? Think I'm crap? Or are they jealous? We're a strange nation you know....

    xx Jazzy

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  4. Aaaarrrggghhh. And here I was thinking I was writing masterpieces with every post.

    Epic fail.

    LCM x

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  5. I've only been blogging for three months myself, but I do think you're right. It's a very satisfying thing to do, and in your case, it's satisfying to read too! Love the mug, by the way.

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  6. It took a very long time for my family too understand why I a blog, they get now. My friends on the other hand don't know what to make of it. But I am beyond caring, a blog because I love it, and I get to read interesting blogs like your blog

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  7. PS my keyboard is not working, I amusing speech recognition software hence that dumb blonde typos!

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  8. Someone once wrote - we should keep our blog, our blog should not keep us... and that made me relax a lot about my long and silent gaps. For me though, it's the dairy I write that others can read - mostly my kids when they are older I hope - as they would section me if they read my personal diary... It's a journal of life.... although unlike life there are large gaps of inactivity!

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  9. Pompous? Moi? How dare you pontificate in such ponderous manner? (See what I did there - all the p's in one comment. Now THAT's a reason to blog, all by itself!)

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  10. Now I like the idea of there being blog conspiracy theorists, I might become one of those it sounds exciting. I often wonder why I blog because it seems to be more irritating than fulfilling a lot of the time. But I know what you mean about your own little space and I think that's what it's all about.

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  11. Yup, yup, yup. And I enjoyed the two articles you linked to as well.

    I agree with Emily O. It's about your own little space.

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  12. I don't know if I've ever mentioned, I like your alphabetti spaghetti header.

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