Why blog?

By nature, I am not a self-indulgent person. Blogging, like other online social interactions, takes a degree of openness, which I have been accused of not always possessing. It requires exposing your thoughts about the past, your interests in the future and an array of other topics that might come across as either trite or fascinating, depending on your audience and the subject of the day. Blogging requires thinking what you have to say is of some importance to someone. It's an act that some call a waste of time while others paint it as essential in a technological society where new ways of connecting with each other keep us from becoming too isolated.

I began blogging for several practical reasons. I was looking for a job and getting involved in various social and professional networking sites as a way of expanding my search. Blogging was just another way of having an online presence so that employers would see that I am competent on digital platforms. I used digital tools in my years at USA Today. I can write and create visuals. So blogging seemed like a natural fit. It keeps me in the game, sort of speak. It's fun to see comments come in and for followers to join the blog. Being a journalist, it's almost mandatory to have a blog, regardless of what the blog is about. These are all good reasons, I suppose, to blog.

The downside to blogging is that it makes me feel too self-absorbed. My tendency would be to blog about heavy, meaningful topics that seek change, but I know no one would want to read those too often. Most people want to read happy stuff or be entertained or informed in some amusing manner. In general, they don't want to read about what I think Thomas Jefferson was saying when he spoke of the dangers of corporations.

I meander around on here, trying to hone my online-writing skills and looking for ways to broaden my audience in order to justify the time spent writing these posts. In a digital world, these aren't bad goals to have. All kinds of businesses are trying to tap into the powers of the web. There are opportunities for those who embrace online technologies. Information is power. Doors open for those who use these tools.

Still, with that said, it's a fine line for someone like me to walk. On one hand, a blog is what it sounds like. A crude stream of throw-away thoughts. On the other hand, to not blog or interact on Facebook is to limit one's exposure to various new opportunities. When someone "Googles" your name, it's important that something (preferably something good) comes up so that potential employers can get a sense of you and your willingness to take advantage of digital venues. I maintain my old band's YouTube site so that other musicians might get a glance into what sort of band I might want to form in the future. Again, it's a tool.

I suppose people have different reasons for blogging. Mine are to remain a player. To learn a few things along the way about posting video or creating polls. To tap into ideas and innovations. I dislike the feelings of being self-centered but recognize that those feelings go with the territory.