Why Blog? Blog Post #1538

What do you do with an extra hour?

I started blogging the night of the time change November 2007.

My poet friends had encouraged me to blog, and so that November night I decided to check it out to see if it was useful for me and for my college students.

Art Predator was born,  and in one month, I will celebrate my seventh bloggoversary! Right now I have published 1537 posts with nearly 560,000 page views, and with a one day high of almost 3,000. I have over 250 subscribers.   (Are you a subscriber? Won’t you please join us? It’s easy–just put your email in the window on the right!) For years I averaged around 300 page views a day, but I have slacked off, and I have more than one blog! In January 2008, I started Whisper Down The Write Alley directed to college students …and any one else interested in writing and ideas.

Not long after that, on the urging of professionals in wine, marketing, and tech,  I started Wine Predator  and now I receive a case or so of wine samples a month and attend Wine Bloggers Conferences (so far eight in three countries–US, Canada and Portugal– and three states–CA, WA and OR!). Plus twitter, industry, and consumer tastings in LA and beyond and other opportunities.

Next I started a blog for my bicycle activism, Bikergo Gal, then in 2010 one for social media business writing, and Compassionate Rebel, named after Guan Yin. I also have one for our Burning Man theme camp (2014, and one just called Gwendolyn Alley (2014).

In March of 2012, I had an opportunity to talk with Seth Godin. His advice? Get my students blogging! Which was great to hear because I’d already been doing that.

In fact I consider blogging an important form of civic engagement and service learning.

Why should we all blog–even if you’re NOT a writer–or maybe even a college student? Jeff Goins has a new blog post on that topic: Why You Should Start a Blog (Even If You’re Not a Writer) In his article, Goins says there are three reasons:

1. Blogging teaches you discipline.
2. Blogging teaches you introspection.
3. Blogging gives you a voice.

What I discovered about blogging, what I love about blogging, and what was most freeing for me as a writer by blogging, is that for most people on their personal blogs there is no editor–you really are free to write what and how you want. The only editor is the one that is inside your head. And it is really easy to edit and change your writing–even after it is published! (In fact, I just added this last sentence!)

Blogging is like unconditional love.

Blogging is like the puppy waiting for you to come home, the kitten who loves to play and be scratched and purr, the friends that are happy to see you when you join them at the table.

So let’s do it! Let’s get blogging!

Go to WordPress.Com. It’s easy! It’s FREE!

What will you call your blog or your next post? What will your blog be about? Please leave a link to your blog below and I will go check it out and say hi!

Once you join the ranks of bloggers everywhere, will you participate in Blog Action Day? Every year since 2007, thousands of bloggers have come together for one day to talk about one important issue, like Poverty, Climate Change and Human Rights amongst others; this year it’s “inequality.” Anyone can participate: Bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, photographers, graphic designers, cartoonish, data geeks, and tumblers. Register so they can list your blog on the participants page and you can have access to their info and content on the theme, and get tips and reminders. Find out more about Blog Action Day.

PS Curious about where the name “Art Predator” came from? Read here for part one and here for part two: How I became Art Predator.