Lois over at Heart@Work came up with this fab idea on letting people write on her blog about why they blog— sure letting other people update your website is a renege, but the series of articles have been quite interesting. Interesting enough to get me to write my other thoughts on the subject.

My Blogging History

I’ve been bloggin’ in a general sense for many years … at least since ‘97. But I wasn’t using any sort of engine, and I certainly wasn’t calling it a blog. I would just write down some of my thoughts and email them to my friends, and later publish them on my web site. I originally called them Tea Thoughts as I still attribute tea to some magically properties that seemed to invoke … well, thoughts.

But when people started showing up on my virtual doorstep looking for tea related stuff, I decided to change them to howardisms … besides, everyone needs to start an —ism before they die, right?

I also needed some help in maintaining the site, so I converted part of my web site to be a “blog” and got an engine to replaced a half-dozen drunkenly written Perl scripts … wait a minute, I thought all Perl scripts were written in a drunken stupor? Wait, that was all Perl scripts look like they’ve been written in a drunken stupor.

But I digress …

Why I Write

Lovely blogging engines help, but they certainly don’t help generate any content. That has to materialize from one’s gradually shrinking gray matter. No laughing matter, mind you. I believe that I write for two audiences: me and you.

Me. Writing for myself is almost a form of meditation… therapeutic almost. But therapy isn’t just about bitching, it is about self expression. So I don’t write about issues… I just write about thoughts and see what shows up. I also love the creativity of crafting my site… I like both the words and the design. Granted, my sister-in-law thinks its pretty bland, “Can’t you use more than a single color?” Guess not. I enjoy the process of writing and enjoy pushing that “Post” button and seeing the results on my web site.

You. Writing for you gives me joy later on. I really get a kick when people link to my site or make nice comments. I echo other’s sentiments that this process creates a micro-community. Granted, whenever I mention a story from one of my blog-friends’ web site, my wife will raise a inquisitive eyebrow and ask, “And who is this friend of yours that you’ve never met?”

Future Me. Months or even years later, I get to enjoy myself and this website all over again. Often in trying to think of something, I will use my own search engine on myself, and sometimes amaze myself with my dry humor and serpentine charm. Ok, self-flattery is not very becoming, but every now and then I come across a forgotten gem that makes me snicker with satisfaction.

What’s Wrong with Blogging?

My biggest complaint about my web site is that people don’t read it cover to cover… like a good book that this site is supposed to be. Most people hit a single page that Google gives them and wham-bam-thank-ya-ma’am, and their gone… without even so much as a comment. “I’ll visit you tomorrow,” they say, but we all know the truth about web surfers… they just take and take without any thought of giving.

Then, there is my readership… a brilliant bunch of interesting and insightful people… that’s right, both of you. They come over regularly for tea and to read the latest droppings… but don’t often have the 1&12frac; months it would take to read my backlog of posts.

So, sure I sometimes guilty of reposting previous gems, but mostly I just make links to them on newer entries. So, if you just can’t get enough of my thoughts on “blogging” … here’s some more:

• Is Blogging Just a Fad?
• Is the Fad Over?
• Tips on Diary Writing
• Bashô’s quote on journaling …