Blogging as a Hobby? #Blasphemy
The not exactly game-changing, mind-blowing, or even particularly new trend in blogging.
No no, it’s 2013, so “blogging” doesn’t count. Blogs are social media outlets now. Blogs are sales vehicles. Blogs are business entities. Something something something authenticity. Something else something promotion. Blah blah…
Okay stop. You can blog as a hobby. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing since blogs popped up. Remember LiveJournal? Or Myspace Blogs? Or even forum threads but everyone got their own and we all kept track of each other? This isn’t new.
It just wasn’t being done by the then 30-something (now 40-50-something) crowd that was running their own businesses. I realized that was true when last week a middle-aged, white male blogger of some renown (not naming names because, come on, it’s probably happening to you right now) suggested he was going to start approaching his blog as just a hobby. And then a baby-boomer white female of some renown suggested the thought was “game-changing” and needed more explanation.
Except it doesn’t The concept is simple. Like writing? Like sharing your ideas? Have time? Just do it. But maybe instead of using a notebook, you blog. Or instead of writing Facebook notes, you blog. Or instead of posting an animated GIF to summarize your feelings on Tumblr, you blog. Like, on WordPress, or on Medium (which is actually kind of cool) or on Blogger, et al.
But Where’s the “Return on Investment” for Personal/Hobby Blogs?
Aside from the awesome feeling of writing and being read, personal blogs actually can positively impact your business. They’re a place for you to freely express your opinions, explore your position, and experiment with different types of content without ever going “off-topic.”
Also, people get to know the real you. It’s like having your own episode of “Behind the Music” except you’re writing, directing, and producing it. Maybe your actual business is boring like mine is (who wants to see snippets of PHP code?!) but there’s probably something fascinating going on behind the scenes. Like hate mail. or a road trip.
Bloggers these days are all about “engagement” and “audience” and “fans” but why not take a minute to actually give people something to like besides a spiffy logo and witty tagline?
Corey Freeman has a personal blog that is not at all a ploy for building fame. But also she likes to link to things that cost money like this blogging course.
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