I started my Web Development Blog back when I was a Webmaster at Case Western Reserve Univ. as a way to communicate policies, ideas and best practices with the various Web maintainers on campus. Over time I saw that it was also a good customer service tool. If I posted how-to tips on various procedures, visitors could learn how to do things themselves at times when I might not be available to help. As time went by, my audience grew to those outside the university. I then broadened my topics to appeal to a wider range of people who might be interested in Web dev, HTML, marketing, SEO, social media, writing, etc. Basically, the main thrust is to help people make and market better Web sites, one long-winded idea at a time.

This year I left the university to go out on my own and moved the blog to my own domain. (Old posts also remain on the original site for university users to access.) I continued blogging in the same vein. My audience now includes some of the same people from academia as well as others involved in building Web sites be they peers, beginners or potential clients.
The editorial mission remains the same, though I'm now cognizant of the fact that the blog is also a marketing tool for me and my services.

So I blog to educate. But I also blog to share ideas, gain new insights from readers and because I just feel compelled to write. Before I blogged I wrote short stories that I distributed to a list of 100+ friends via e-mail. As I blogged more I wrote less of those, but I think that's mostly due to limitations of time. Blogging is also a different mindset than fiction, but the compulsion to write is the same. Somehow I have to get the ideas out, no matter what those ideas may be. Blogging also helps me learn more about my field. When I write a blog post explaining X or Y, I have to research it thoroughly and find ways to explain it that will make sense to readers coming from various levels of experience. This process really helps to clarify the thoughts in my own mind, so that I learn as much as any of my readers might. If I thought about it more, I'm sure I'd find dozens more reasons, but the bottom line is that blogging serves a number of needs, both personally and professionally.

I blog to prove to myself that I'm a smart person. I'm not a writer, so when I finally get around to updating my blog there's a lot of time put into each post. The other question that this usually goes hand in hand with is "who do you blog for" and the answer to that is myself, 24 hours ago. I wind up blogging mostly about things I've learned or little epiphanies I've had recently, so if I could have helped me yesterday, I'm sure other people are in the same boat.

I love the "who do you blog for?" question. Perhaps that's another post for me sometime later. I have started so many blogs over the last decade and, often times, I end up deleting them because of that question of "Who?" When I find myself writing for someone other than myself - I let the blog go (often deleting them...which was before I understood the fact that maintaining a blog for a long time could be a beneficial thing).

Thanks Rob for commenting and great hanging with you in Vegas.

Truth be told, I blog for money and for interaction. I've always been a stay at home mom and while my husband brings home the bacon,sharing it willingly, I still want my own money--money that I can spend whenever on whatever. In the past, I always cooked for the ranches or had my own ebay store that brought in extra cash. I needed a different way because those other ways were not available to me. I found blogging. As much as I love money, it's not what drives me. I'd give it up in a heartbeat if I thought it interfered with family/friends.

Interaction is the other half of my reason for blogging. I love watching, listening, helping, and learning from others. Because i live out the middle of nowhere, I have nobody really to chat with which leads to absolutely no social interaction whatsoever. Blogging has given that to me. It's given me new friendships, support, motivation, and encouragement and I hope I give that back to others as well.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with blogging for money. It's a business and, after all, I basically get paid to do it too.

The interaction part is what comes up over and over again - and that's what I love. Building a community, making new friends that span miles - it's a beautiful thing.

I starting blogging to vent my frustrations with being a sahm and adding a fourth child to our family. It was hard on me especially since the baby was a Unhappy baby 24/7. Constantly crying. I was on the verge to loosing my sanity. Blogging not only helped me work through my frustrations but helped me find some great new friends. I needed interaction with people and the connections I get from other bloggers is as close as it gets to friendships that can bloom when others care and offer advice. gotta go baby is crying AGAIN!

I blog to spread the love of music, it's fairly non-offensive and it's a way that I can be encouraging to the development of artists in all stages. I think more people should see more live music and hopefully my voice only adds to the little push people feel to get out there and do something to support music.

That's a great reason to blog!

I started my blog as a record of my (then only) kid's life. Baby books just don't give you the kind of space you might want or need and I hadn't kept mine up at all. It then developed into a record of our house renos plus my own viewpoints on things happening.

I find it cathartic and a way to let off some steam plus I like getting feedback or help with a problem so I love it when people read it. I know I don't have a following of very many people...maybe someday I'll break into mainstream blogging

I agree on the cathartic part. Sometimes, I just need to write something down and I'm fine after that. Sometimes I just need to get a thought that I have a curiousity about out of my head so it doesn't torment me. Blogging for me is so necessary. Thanks so much for commenting!

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