Why I Blog

At the end of this month, Mo’ Boy turns 6 years old. To clarify: Mo’ Boy is a blog I started in October of 2002, and have continued, with more or less regularity, to this day.

Now, there are blogs in the bloggosphere which are older, and longer running. But there are a whopping lot more that have come and gone in the intervening six years. My blog still continues.

Back then, I had only heard of blogging. I’d been reading about it as the buzz on the ‘net circles was just starting. I didn’t really understand it yet, though. Still, I looked into it, and started reading and following some blogs. It wasn’t long before I realized that I could use this to promote my music website.

I thought about my audience, and about what they would like to read, and started writing. Now, many years later, I find myself re-reading some of those early postings and smiling. I think back on how I felt, and who I was when I wrote those words. I reflect on the changes that have happened in the world and in myself. I notice the many things that have not really changed in six years, either.

I sit here thinking about why I do it all. Why I blog. I came up with some good reasons.


• I can learn

A lot of the time I spend with blogs is not spent with my own. I’m constantly reading and following other people’s blogs. As I do that, I’m learning. I can learn about practical things like how to use social networking to promote a business, to personal things, like how to show my children I love them more. I also learn quirky stuff like how to make a great Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread. A lot of times, in order to write about a particular topic, I’ll have to do some extra research. That helps me learn, too. Even though all this learning helps me to do specific tasks, I also get an overall sense of the zeitgeist of the ‘net.

• I can teach

I like to think that in my old age, I’ve managed to learn a lot of useful things. And, since I don’t always have an audience that’s interested in sitting down and listening to me pontificate, I can blog about it. I’m not arrogant enough to think that my blogging is going to change the world, but I do know that I occasionally will say something that will help someone else. At least that’s what some of my comments say.

• I can think and reflect

It’s hard to slow down. We’re all running and trying to pack as much into our twenty-four hours as we possibly can. Once in a while it’s good for me to stop and think about something. When I have to write about what’s happening or what’s going on, I have to contemplate and understand it. That thought process of writing, helps me to sort out a lot of my own issues.

• I can connect

By posting blog entries, I establish an audience, and I begin to connect with them. At times, as I’m writing, I’ll think, “So-and-So will really like this one!” or “Man, this one will really get That-One-Guy’s goat!” It’s a very cool thing to read a blog I follow regularly, and suddenly see him mentioning my blog. That’s a very validating moment.

• I can preserve

It’s a very cool thing to be able, now, to go back and read what I’ve written six years ago. I can sense my own growth and progress. I can understand myself much better.

• I can promote

When I first started, this was the one that focused first in my mind. Can I make this drive more traffic to my website? The answer was, and still is, OF COURSE! Blogging and using the bloggosphere is vital to the ongoing success of any website. Inbound links, incoming clicks, and interconnectedness and acceptance of your audience, all are great reasons for a business to blog.

But I also love the other reasons!


Mark is the co-director of http://seotrafficmagnet.com, the search marketing consulting arm of Clickincome (http://clickincome.com). Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.