Why?

Whilst I was having my mid-afternoon-I’m-not-feeling-motivated-to-do-any-work-even-though-I’ve-got-loads-to-do-lull this afternoon (they usually happen between 2 and 3, and I’m having real trouble shifting them at the moment), I read this interview with Heather Armstrong, creator of Dooce (with thanks to Marty for the reminder of the link, I used to read it a while ago when she lost her job, but had forgotten about it). Somehow, although I now can’t work out how (and therefore can’t link to it), those links also led me to an article in an American business magazine about the reasons why people blog, and some basic thoughts and principles behind blogs (eg unless there is absolutely no one you can think of who you DON’T want to read what you say, don’t say it, because people will always find things on the web these days).

It really got me thinking about the reasons for blogging, and whether by creating a blog and exposing my thoughts to the outside world, I was really doing myself, or anyone else, any good or if those thoughts should actually be confined to the mad washing machine spin cycle churn effect that is my brain these days.

The main reason for me setting up a blog was to see if I could do it (although Blogger is pretty elementary I have had to learn some new skills and a few bits of code to make it work like this), to keep in touch with friends who I don’t necessarily see very often and let them know what I’ve been up to, and to tie in with a Flickr site (which I haven’t actually got round to sorting out yet, but then as I haven’t got round to buying a digital camera yet either, the whole project isn’t quite ready yet, and the blogging has advanced without it!)

It’s part of a coping mechanism too. (I’m brewing a longer and separate post about that, but it’s not ready for public consumption yet). I used to keep a diary regularly, but I don’t any more, I stopped in my final year at Uni, although I’m not totally sure why, I just did. I’ve always found writing about what’s on my mind soothing, and despite following the ‘don’t say it if you don’t want people to read it rule,’ and therefore restricting what I say somewhat, I’m finding the blogging has the same effect.

It’s also giving me a chance to write and test whether I can retell the funny experiences which my drunken, accident prone life tends to generate in a humorous way. That seems to be going ok so far (I think!)

Now, I’m off to make that Flickr site I think… and decide which camera I’m going to spend my hard earned pennies on.

UPDATE: An hour later, I now have a Flickr site. You can find it here. The photos on there at the moment are kindly borrowed from Pete and Helen, and they are of our legendary trip to Dublin in May this year (where I earned more nicknames than I've ever had, including Get Em Out Griffiths and Gravity Griffiths).