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Why Do You Blog?

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Categories: Blog, Blogging

Blogging and social media is transforming the web with well over 100 million blogs and some of the highest trafficked websites being blogs.

It is challenging mainstream journalism, media and PR as we have known it for decades.

Bloggers who are fans and who have far reaching influence are highly sought for advertising and marketing campaigns such as the launch of “Wizarding World Of Harry Potter”  theme park as mentioned by David Meerman Scott on his blog Webinknow.com.

A very small group of fans.. seven raving fans to be exact… were invited to participate in a top-secret Webcast held at midnight on May 31, 2007. Estimates by Cindy Gordon Vice President of new media and marketing partnerships at Universal Orlando Resort put the total number of people that heard the news after that midnight secret Webcast at 350,000 million. David goes on to say in his ebook “The New Rules Of Viral Marketing”.

“Because Gordon’s team launched The Wizarding World of Harry Potter through socialmedia—putting fans first—they were able to run the entire promotion in-house, with a very small marketing budget (covering the Webcast infrastructure and the micro-site production) and a tiny development team. They did not hire an agency, and they did no widespread outbound media relations, no marketing stunts, no CEO conference call, and no expensive advertising.”

Research by All Academic Research revealed what people blogged about such as:

Internal topics, which deliver blogger’s revelations on

  • Experience and work
  • Relationship with friends and family
  • Intimate feelings

are the most popular among adult bloggers in the personal blogging sector.

External topics such as

  • Reflections
  • Comments on politics
  • Technology
  • Public events

Are not as popular among adult bloggers as the impression constructed by mass media.

Gender differences were located in blogging motivations and topic preferences.

  • Men claim higher approval of information motivation
  • Women endorse self-documentation, self-expression, and passing time more than men

Accordingly, men are more likely to blog about external topics while women prefer topics closely related to their life. Other than gender, age also plays a role in motivating people to blog. Motivations as self-documentation, self-expression, and passing time have a negative relationship with age. Educational level was found no connection with specific blogging motivations.

So people write blogs for all sorts of reasons and motives such as:

  • Business motives
  • Write about their area of passion and interest
  • To share
  • To make money
  • To put forward new ideas
  • Self documentation
  • Improving writing
  • Self expression
  • Medium appeal – they just like blogging
  • Passing time
  • Socialization

So why do you blog? “Vote Now” and at any time you can come back to this blog post and view the results as they come in by clicking on the button at the bottom of the survey “View Results”



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  • http://blog.sandrareid.co.nz/ Sandra Reid

    The main reason I blog is to share my fractal art and the stories behind each piece of art.

    For me it has been a cost effective solution to initially building an online presence without having to financially invest in building and hosting a website. The downside, however, has been that while I can share the stories around my art blogging has not the best way to showcase all my art as up until recently there has been no option to include static web pages on the blogger platform.

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  • http://www.jeffhilimire.com Jeff Hilimire

    Thanks for the post, Jeff. I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot. Obviously people start blogging for different reasons but to me the only staying power a blog really has is if you’re passionate about what you’re writing. This especially applies to people that start blogging for a business reason. It’s a huge commitment and often a thankless one at the beginning, so if you’re not passionate about the topic then you’re likely not going to be able to keep it up.

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  • http://www.lemiffe.com lemiffe

    I blog for most of those reasons except to make money.

    However, I think the main reason we all blog is to share something with the world, something we think, feel, believe in, happened to us, know about or want to learn about.

  • http://timgier.wordpress.com timgier

    I blog to say what is on my mind in the hopes that those who read what I write will keep me honest and challenge me to think of new things, and in new ways.

    • http://disneyfairygodmother.wordpress.com disneyfairygodmother

      I started blogging to promote my Disney Travel business. I love sharing tips on how to create magic! Sandra Clarke

  • http://www.preservecompany.com Bruce MacNaughton

    Hi Jeff,

    I found you through Twitter and have enjoyed your blog for a few weeks now. Thank you.

    I am certainly thinking about creating a blog, and the list above make me think….why. There are a number of items listed that seem to ring the bell.

    What I would love to see asked by the same folks would be: Why do you read blogs?

    Keep up the great work and thanks again.

    Respectfully,
    Bruce

    • http://www.3daysinlondon.info Cindy

      Hey Bruce, take the plunge. its great fun and a brilliant way of connecting with ppl. I read loads of blogs on Social Media, Travel & photography and others just because I like what they the writer has to say.
      Cindy @notjustagranny

  • http://dazedreflection.blogspot.com Dazediva

    Hey Jeff,

    Been following your blog and tweets for a while now .. Great post and it totally inspired me to write my own blog post on the same topic – do check it out when you get a chance ..

    I’ve been blogging for about 2 years now .. and I blog for a combination of reasons .. because I want to; I feel that I have some information worth sharing with others; to leave behind my blogger voice so that one day maybe my kids / grand kids can look back and think of me as a real person and not just a ‘mom’ or ‘grandma’ or ‘aunt’ .. Blogging allows for self expression – and opens an avenue for one to meet or come across like minded people across the blogosphere.

  • http://worob.wordpress.com worob

    I blog for the experience. Helps me do my job better.

  • http://www.toddweisscfa.com @ToddWeissCFA

    I blog for both business and personal reasons. My blog is an opportunity for me to share my ideas on business, franchising, social media and networking and business tips. It helps me connect with others and share ideas. Since I started I have connected with a lot of great people. I also find the experience to be very rewarding. It’s a healthy outlet and helps break up the monotony of the work day. I enjoyed your post Jeff. Thanks

  • http://soundwebsolutions.com/blog/ Cindy

    I blog because I want to share my expertise with our client base and with potential new clients, so they build confidence in my authority and continue to turn to us when they need help with Internet Marketing. I realize this won’t build me a huge blog following, but that’s not my aim.

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  • http://twitter.com/PrimeMinister3 LeeAnn

    I used to blog because I didn’t want to express my perspectives on certain topics verbally, but wanted them out in the “open”.

  • http://www.renewmymind.com Daniel Dessinger

    I blog for many reasons: passion, self-expression, and teaching. I have a teaching gift and a passion to make things understandable and digestible that were formerly confusing and disjointed. Blogging allows me the chance to hone that gift while also building a reputation.

    I’ve gotten hired twice in the past five years primarily based on the strength of my blogging for various venues.

  • presentationadvisors

    I started to blog because I wanted to make the world a better place, one presentation at a time. I knew it would help my business, SEO, thought leadership and such, but when I write an article I’m motivated by helping people.

    Jon Thomas
    Presentation Advisors
    @Story_Jon

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  • Barbara Vogel

    Love the cartoon, Jeff. Gets through an important message that while social media requires authenticity, if you are not circumspect about how you communicate your thoughts, you may inadvertantly offend someone that you do not want to offend. You can question authority and express your thoughts…it’s all about how you say it and having good manners. This goes for in-person and online self expression.

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  • http://Www.theaccessorybarn.com Nicola Grayling The Accessory Barn

    I had been thinking about blogging for a while and reading how it can help you with your online business but I never knew how to start. Then I noticed a challenge and decided to join. It was a now or never situation.
    I completed the challenge and found I loved it. I talk about all sorts.
    I continued to blog now for the enjoyment of it and if it helps my website then that’s great if it doesn’t well so be it.

  • http://www.dreamforyourlife.com Kathy

    I started doing dreamwork a year ago and I was telling a friend about it. He suggested blogging to chronicle the experience. At first I didn’t like the idea – it felt too exposing. But then I began and I got over that. Now I love it. I love sharing the experiences and feelings that I am having. I love the connection that I am making with others. Its great fun! Go to http://www.dreamforyourlife.com to check it out.

  • http://www.girlwhocould.com @ashleighblatt

    I am finding that I really enjoy blogging as it a great way to be “heard” without really imposing yourself on other and you will never be interrupted! Ha! No, it’s great to share ideas with people on things you are passionate about.

  • http://www.ryanfmc.co.uk ryanfmc

    It’s good to see that ‘writing about your passion’ is leading the way, I truly believe that writing about your passions makes for a more informative and engaging post. Oh and keep up the good work Jeff!

  • http://workfromhometraining.com/ Gary Smith

    I write for most of those reasons, including making money. The making money part is more a long term goal though. It takes time to demonstrate that you have a passion for your topic and something interesting to say, so at the moment it’s mainly about writing and sharing.

  • http://twitter.com/SLau78 Shari Lau

    I just started my blog today. I’m blogging for self expression and hope it will lead me to find my inner truth.

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  • http://justinewrites.com/ Justine

    I write because I have appointed myself as the family “memory-keeper” and I also started another blog to hold myself accountable for the new path I’d like to forge in my career. But above everything else, I write because it is akin to breathing.

    • http://twitter.com/badriravi Badri Ravii

      resonates my feeling so much!

  • http://twitter.com/oldfox004 Vinaya Gopal

    I blog personally for self-expression, does that speak a lot about me? Well, yes! In reality, I don’t get a chance to express my self much.

    I’m a little surprised that political and tech blogs are not as popular as the personal experiences or relationships one. Here I guess the opposite is true. The top positions are all taken by tech or politics!

    Talking about blogging for Lighthouse Insights, then this would be a combination of business, passion, sharing, socialization,etc. And of course, in all this I get a chance to improve my writing and update my subject knowledge.

    insightful post!

  • http://twitter.com/JillBrown20 Jill Brown

    I started blogging to teach myself about creating and marketing content when I took up an editorial role with an online company. (My background is in book publishing.) And because I love writing. And to create an online presence for myself as a writer. And to teach myself about social media. So, practical and emotional reasons. My blog is tiny, but I’m determined to improve. What was my side project has become a trillion times more interesting than my job!

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  • http://jeffbullas.com Jeff Bullas

    Just go for it! :)

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  • Pulin

    @Liz Thats a quite a long time.i have just started.can you please share your experience?Is that ok If I will ask for any advice?

  • http://twitter.com/BubblesDeux Dee Dee Mozeleski

    I’ve been blogging since 2007, first within a ‘closed’ community of writers and readers and now with my own domains and I love it. Blogging has taught me so much about myself and the world and how we both fit together. In some ways, blogging has made me so much smarter and confident – for instance, I blogged all politics in 2008 and had to learn how to correctly, and diplomatically, defend a position. :) I read a ton of blogs and there are so many wonderful and thoughtful writers out there and it feels like such a great way to ‘meet’ new friends and colleagues.

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  • http://twitter.com/jackdrsm Jack Durish

    I write historical fiction and collect a lot of research that doesn’t make it into the pages of the novels I write. I share it in my blog to establish my expertise in the subjects that appear in my novels and hopefully engender interest that will cause people to read the novels

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