Why We Blog: Assignment 1

Written during the early stages of blogging, "Why We Blog" expands on what the purpose of a blog is. By interviewing a lot of different bloggers and following their blogs as they were written, the people who wrote the article, Bonnie Nardi, Diane Schiano, Michelle Gumbrecht, and Luke Swartz were able to see how varied and interesting blogs could be, whether they're used as a communication tool for schools, to talk about science and health, or to just talk about life in general. For example, a blogger named Lara writes about things personal in her life while a blogger named Evan writes about more scientific ideas. Blogs could pertain to a niche group of people or a vast group of people; as long as people view it it'll be updated. Just as how people have different subjects for different blogs, they also have different motivations as to why they are updating the blogs in the first place. Some people want to document their life, use the blog to voice their opinions, to express their thoughts and feelings about different things, to express their creativity or to be inspired, or to simply connect with others to share interests. One blogger, after becoming very ill, had her blog taken over by her husband who, via blog, documented her illness and recovery throughtout the whole process. Blogs can be valuable for people who want to archive their life or that just want someone to talk to. The connect us in many different ways and help us get involved with groups that we might have never become a part of in real life. Whatever and however someone wants to say something, blogs are there for them to do that. Blogs are, in my opinion, a fantastic way for everyday people to express themselves in many different ways. These ways can be informative, funny, emotional, or just plain entertaining. They help document peoples' lives and let people connect with others as if they know each other. Blogs have helped shape the connectivity that the internet provides and has circulated so much information to many different people. While I don't frequent too many blogs (I occasionally look at PostSecret and some others from time to time), I value the importance that they hold to many different people. I've always kind of wanted to start a blog but did not know how to start. Hopefully this practice with blogs will finally give me the encouragement I need to start writing a serious blog!