Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder who why people blog

58 replies

Nevertooearlyforcake · 27/03/2012 13:08

And who reads them? I know noone is forced to read them and I can completely understand it when people are living aboard and want to keep friends and family in touch with their lives. But the "I wearing these shoes" today ones - why? I've clicked on a couple of links fron time to time and it just felt a bit narcissistic to me - am I missing something?

OP posts:
bibbityisaporker · 27/03/2012 13:09

I agree.

NiniLegsInTheAir · 27/03/2012 13:11

I feel exactly the same about twitter. No-one's lives are THAT interesting.

Original poster
Nevertooearlyforcake · 27/03/2012 13:13

Thank fuck I don't have a blog, I appear to be unable to string a coherent sentence together

OP posts:
SpringHeeledJack · 27/03/2012 13:13

at least twitter forces brevity on you

I can read and write any old nonsense if it's only 140 characters worth

MyNameIsntFUCKINGWarren · 27/03/2012 13:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LeBOF · 27/03/2012 13:17

I don't blog, but I imagine that it gives you a feeling of LizJonesdom which would be like crack.

Nixea · 27/03/2012 13:20

I often forget about keep two blogs. One is just to post pictures of my daughter as we have family all over the world. The other is probably mundane to most people but we home educate and it's one way of sharing ideas between families. Not only that but it acts as a record of what we've done and where we've been should anyone ever enquire.

Bucharest · 27/03/2012 13:20

Some are excellent, some are one big facebookesque status.

Just because everyone can write, doesn't mean they should.

And I agree fervently that the absolute worst culprits are the mummyblogs. (for whom it would obviously come as a dreadful shock that they aren't ever the first person to have done what they insist on trying to tell half the world about)

Tee2072 · 27/03/2012 13:28

I blog. I have blogged for over 4 years, since January 2008.

I am not a mummy blogger or a fashion blogger or a food blogger. I just write.

Sometimes I write about my son. Sometimes I write about cooking. Sometimes I write about what I have bought in the shops.

I blog for 2 reasons: -

  1. It's my journal that keeps track of my life. It's just public instead of private. I can't write with a pen for long periods due to severe arthritis in my hands, but I can type until the cows come home and beyond.
  2. I'm an American in Belfast. It keeps my family up to date with my life in one easy location.

I don't expect anyone to read it and am amazed that anyone does.

dexter73 · 27/03/2012 13:30

YANBU!!

KnittingNovice · 27/03/2012 13:32

I blog as therapy as I had a pretty horrific summer last year as I was diagnosed with cancer, then had 6 months of.chemo. My blog was a way of telling people what was going on and what its like. And I have friends and family slatted globally who could keep up to date

SigmundFraude · 27/03/2012 14:58

I blog, it's my therapy. I've no idea who reads it, I just know they do!

fabulousdarling · 27/03/2012 15:06

I'm with you, but sometimes blogs are an excellent way of just getting a peak into someone's real life. I'd much rather read a blog because I know what I'm seeing is real at least 70% of the time, than watch some fake storyline on TV.

Say for instance I had a child with a grave illness, reading someones blog who is going through something similar would be amazingly helpful. I like to craft and craft blogs are awesome. I could read them all day. Yes it's narcissistic, but also inspiring, and helpful.

Mummy blogs are only yuck when you're not a new mum. when you're a new mum it's like all friends together IFYSWIM

Also pretty mandatory for online businesses too these days unfortunately. Imagine being forced to blog just for marketing purposes? Horrible!

lesley33 · 27/03/2012 15:13

I used to blog about a particular issue that annoyed me - I can't really say what without outing myself in rl. But it used to have a pretty decent following from other people who were annoyed, but couldn't be bothered finding out info themselves or keeping up to date with developing news.

I think unless you are pretty self centered, you have to have a reason to blog i.e. something you feel strongly about that you want to share. Like many bloggers I gave up eventually - after about 2.5 years. Just got bored of it tbh, although periodically I think of restarting it.

lesley33 · 27/03/2012 15:13

And my blog still gets quite a lot of hits.

wordfactory · 27/03/2012 18:04

I blog.
Some of my blogs are for profit, some are for PR purposes.

WorraLiberty · 27/03/2012 18:07

I've never understood it

Actually, I find it a bit arrogant for people to assume others will be interested in what feels like 'reading their diary'

But having said that, obviously some people are interested so I really don't get it.

msbuggywinkle · 27/03/2012 18:24

I blog to keep in touch with other Home ed families and it is a good way to keep records, I can print off a load of blog posts to present to the LA.

There are lots of geographically dispersed groups who follow each others' blogs if they don't know many knitters/people with SN children/Eco warrior types/insert interest here in real life.

emsyj · 27/03/2012 18:58

I write a blog and don't really enjoy it, but I earn advertising revenue from it so I keep doing it for the cash. I find it a bit of a bind and wish I'd never started to be honest, but there you go.

AttillaTheMum · 27/03/2012 19:06

I blog and use twitter, but it is business related Smile

BsshBossh · 27/03/2012 20:26

I really enjoy reading blogs about things that interest me eg knitting blogs, writing, running, cooking... My favourite ones inspire me. I blog too around my interests and have built up quite a community of "online friends" through it. Shared interests. Simple.

Whatmeworry · 27/03/2012 20:49

Actually, I find it a bit arrogant for people to assume others will be interested in what feels like 'reading their diary'

Write, and they will come....

I really enjoy reading blogs about things that interest me eg knitting blogs, writing, running, cooking

Me too, IMO those are the ones that grab you

Original poster
Nevertooearlyforcake · 27/03/2012 20:55

Thanks for all your replies, really interesting. I was really just thinking of blogs which appear to be along the theme of "I've walked the dog today and I love my new jumper". If the the person was a relative of mine then, yes, I'd love to know that but if the intended audience are strangers then I'm a bit bewildered by them.

Knittingnovice, I would have found a blog like yours very helpful when my dad was sick, hope you are feeling better.

OP posts:
CaptainKirk · 27/03/2012 21:05

My wife has a sewing and quilting blog and has manages to parley that into a fairly successful sewing eZine and has a craft book coming out in May. She started because there is a huge online sewing community and it has turned into a nice second job for her.

strawberry17 · 27/03/2012 21:52

I blog, I originally started it as a private log for myself of my progress trying to taper off antidepressant medication back in 2008, but then DH told me I ought to make more of it and other people could learn from my experiences, so I went public. Obviously it's only of interest to others in the same boat with the same ishoos but I get a lot of correspondence so I know it was worth doing.