Everyone has something to say. Whether it’s a rant about why your team is going to win this year, the secret identity of the quiet guy on the third floor or a treatise on why chocolate is so awesome – or perhaps the latest chapter of your next bestselling novel, we don’t discriminate – people love to talk. Most people like it even better with an audience. You’ve probably shared your random thoughts and wild ideas with friends, relatives, neighbors, people in line at the grocery store… but what if you could speak your mind to thousands of people, as easily as you can type “Check out this picture of my feet?”
Fortunately, the Web is the greatest publishing platform in history. Its audience is massive, and growing every day, and people worldwide turn to it for every kind of information imaginable (and many that aren’t). But unlike the history of publishing before the digital age, you’re in control of the presses.
A brief history of blogs
Personal online publishing spans back decades, to the earliest days of the Internet, but the advent of the Web opened up amazing new possibilities, and a vast new audience. Personal Web sites sprouted like grass across this new digital prairie, alongside the corporate titans and a burgeoning community of news and entertainment sites. First seen in the late 1990s, the earliest blogs blended elements of all of these – some were little more than daily dairies, while others posted news items, photography, music, opinion, cultural criticism and more. As blogs began to catch on by the early 2000s, their publishers and readership became more diverse and sophisticated, and blogging quickly grew to rival traditional journalism with its reach, depth of content and up-to-the-second timeliness. Meanwhile, as blogs became part of the daily media diet of millions, blogging became a profession for the most popular and tireless publishers, some of whom built media empires of their own.
Today, blogs are immensely popular. A majority of Web users, hundreds of millions worldwide, read them regularly. Blogs exist for every niche and subject, and more are popping up every day. Writing and publishing online is easy, fun and rewarding, and you can get started on your lunch break.
But why should you start a blog?
Perhaps the better question is, why shouldn’t you? Yes, it’s true, there are already a million blogs out there. But there isn’t one with your unique voice – until you create it.
Blogging has plenty of benefits:
- Personal expression – Say what you really think, in your own personal forum.
- Community involvement – Writing about your passions can help you meet like-minded people online, and even become an authority within your community of interest.
- Learning – Blogging about a topic, interest or industry can help you learn more about it, through research and reader feedback.
- Professional development – Blogging can be a resume-builder, as maintaining a career-related blog shows off your knowledge and expertise.
- Fun – What more do we need to say? You’ll love it.
Take the leap. Become a blogger today!
