Why do I blog?

This meme from Strawberry Singh, via @madradish who responded to my cri de coeur:

Meme instructions: Copy and paste the following questions and answers to your post, delete my answers and input your own. Try not to swear at Berry in your head for having so many questions [14] this week and don’t forget to leave a comment in this meme’s post so others can come by and read your answers as well!

How long have you been blogging? Since June 2005 – almost eight years!

Why did you start blogging? It was because I had been assigned a project, at work, to learn all about this thing called “Web 2.0” and blogs, among other things, and I decided I didn’t want to be pooh-poohing it all as a mere fad without actually trying it for myself. I have pondered this question before, should you want to read the post. These days learning about technology is not my top priority, but I enjoy using my blog as a way to encourage myself to write more.

How many times a week do you post an entry? I have whims. At the moment I’m aiming for a post every weekday. I take a break over the weekend. This will undoubtedly change in the future.

How many different blogs do you read on a regular basis? I’m not really sure. The number has dropped over the years, but I still like to keep track of a few via RSS. I read a lot of blog posts via links posted on Twitter.

Do you comment on other people’s blogs? Yes, if and when I have something to say.

Do you keep track of how many visitors you have? I never have. I decided early on that the number of readers/visitors was not something I was going to obsess about.

Did you ever regret a post that you wrote? No.

Do you think your readers have a true sense of who you are based on your blog? I think so (am I wrong, reader?). There’s lots I don’t ever blog about, but I try to be honest with what I do post.

Do you blog under your real name? Yes.

Are there topics that you would never blog about?  Yes. Let’s see, religion, politics, sex… all the good topics, you say? With some topics (such as religion) I don’t really want to get into a debate or offend anyone. With others (such as politics) I actually feel such despair and disappointment at the things that happen, I just don’t want to think and write about them. And sex? Well, I don’t want to win a bad sex writing award 😉

What is the theme/topic of your blog? No particular theme. Just whatever I happen to be interested in.

Do you have more than one blog? If so, why? Yes. Two others – one’s a group blog, the other shared. Both are relatively inactive at the moment. Why? They are for different sorts of topics.

What have you found to be the benefits of blogging? The main benefit: it’s really been a confidence booster over the years. I think it’s the sense of creating something, looking outward, and being part of something bigger that blogging gives me. Oh, and it’s a great way to practice my writing.

So, why do you continue to blog? 1. I like having My Own Space online where I can write whatever I choose. 2. Sometimes I want to write more than 140 characters at a time. 3. Blogging lets me have a forum to post things I’ve written.

I shan’t do the traditional thing and tag other bloggers. That said, both Katrina and Clare both said they wanted to do the meme thing too – I shall also go and ping them both on Twitter.