Blogging about blogging

Firstly - happy birthday to me! I'm 31 today, and i don't look a day over 35. Perhaps this might be the year I don't get asked for identification when I buy alcohol.

I've tried to find somewhere on the net that's suitable for this post, but I can't.  So I'll stick it here.

I wanted to blog about blogging.

Why should I do this?  I've only been blogging for perhaps ten months. I'm still something of a newbie when it comes to blogging, and apparently my website isn't the most popular one in the world just yet. (as a comparison, whilst facebook.com has 8.2 million websites linking to it, thoggy.blogspot.com has 38)

Nevertheless, I wanted to give this post a go.

Why do I blog?

Well, I started a blog because I wanted to practice writing.  I've always wanted to write, but I've had little energy for doing so for a number of years due to studying and the like (that's an excuse but I'm sticking with it), and blogging is a low-risk way of writing.

But, it's addictive you see.  You can't help it, but you want your blog to be viewed, and liked, and popular.

And yes, you want to make money out of it.

Do I?

Well, over ten months I've got 11,000 views, so far haven't actually received any money (although I'm hoping I might get something by the end of the year) and have a grand total of 18 subscribers.  So I'm certainly not going to be quitting my day job any time soon.

But it's great to have a creative hobby.  I can quite easily kill an evening off watching TV or failing to complete a video game, but making something, be it a video or a blog post, makes me all warm inside.

Or is that the cognac that does that?

And I feel guilty if I'm not creating something.  It's a difficult balance - you need to absorb experiences, be they going out and doing something, or reading a book/watching a movie/listening to music etc etc, to give yourself source material to create from.

A note about guest blogging - I spend a lot of time looking at other blogs.  The vast majority I read.  Many of them I comment on.  But only a very very small amount do I consider asking if I could submit a guest blog to.

As an example, I'm writing this after about 90 minutes of reading blogs.  These have included:
http://daydreamersthoughts.co.uk/
http://www.nh-design.co.uk/blog/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog
http://kristinandkayla.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.thefword.org.uk
http://startmeoff.wordpress.com/
http://nickbaines.wordpress.com
http://toddsieling.com/slowblog/
http://rodrik.typepad.com
http://adifferentview-amy.blogspot.co.uk
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/
http://deevybee.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/
http://secretdead.blogspot.co.uk/
http://herfirstyear.co.uk/
http://www.blackpitts.co.uk/blog/
http://joidesresolution.org/blog
http://www.blogactionday.org/
http://anyapeters.wordpress.com/
http://zachholman.com/
http://blog.wolfire.com/
http://whythatsdelightful.wordpress.com/
http://waiterrant.net/

(Apologies for not attaching descriptions to all of these, but they're all worth visiting for one reason or another!)

As part of this internet blog journey I've congratulated a Professor at Harvard on being offered a new job.  I've agreed with a Bishop.  I've thanked someone for mentioning a download from the cbeebies website that might be good for my son.  I've signed up to a mass blogging movement that will, on October 16th, talk about human rights.  And I've put forward my thoughts on remote working.  I've touched (albeit in an extremely small and irrelevant way) lives of people across the world, people that I've never met and am unlikely to.

None of these blogs I consider suitable for me to guest post on, because:
a) They're too big for me to be a suitable 'guest' blogger
b) I don't know enough about their niche to write a good post
c) I wouldn't be suitable for their audience

But that doesn't mean that I haven't enjoyed reading and commenting on their blogs.  Readers, likes and comments are what makes blogging worthwhile.  And of course in many cases when you post a comment, the blog asks you to provide your email address and website - it may be that some of those bloggers visit my blog, and if they do I hope they enjoy it!

Thanks for reading :)