Saturday 7 April 2012

Bothering to Blog

I followed a link to another blog the other day, and what I read really made me stop and thing . . . Why do I blog?  It started for me as a record of what I've made, and somewhere to record HOW I made something, so I don't have to re-invent it if I decide to make it again.

My best friend, Jackie, (a flight away) and my mum (90 minute drive away) would visit regularly to see what I'd been up to, and then a few more people joined - and now I have 62 followers.  While this is a huge boost to my ego, it was never the point.  Sometimes I blog when I don't really feel like it, sometimes I acknowledge people's comments only because it's polite to do so, and sometimes I comment on other people's blogs because I feel I ought to . .  but is that really the point?

I found one blog where the writer had TURNED OFF THE COMMENTS facility!  How brave is that?  I'm not sure that I can do that, as I do love to get comments  (down, ego, down) but I have decided to join the Blogging Without Obligation movement.  If you click on the logo (to the right, and below) you can go to Tiffini's explanation.


So - I will still be making stuff, and  I will still be blogging about it, and about other stuff, but I have released myself from . . .
  • Feeling I should make something just to blog about it
  • Feeling I should apologise if I haven't blogged for a while
  • Feeling I should comment on someone else's blog just because they blogged about something
  • Feeling despondent if no-one comments on a post

And released myself to enjoy blogging when I have the time and the inclination, and to enjoy reading other people's posts, and to comment when I get the urge, and respect that others do the same

Phew :-)

12 comments:

  1. Good for you! I enjoy blogging to share with a small group of people too - but I've always been a no-pressure kind of blogger, which does make it easier! happy stitching!

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  2. Well said :-) Enjoy it otherwise what's the point!

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  3. it is supposed to be FUN xx hope it can return to being this for you again xx

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  4. Benta - brave girl - yes there really is a pressure - glad you have solved it for you. xx

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  5. Sounds like a great philosophy to embrace :o)

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  6. I agree with you. It is so easy to get caught up with stats etc rather than just saying what you want to say and moving on.

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  7. I too feel the same way but I go with what I feel, if I don't feel like blogging or have nothing to say then I don't do it. So I guess I joined the Blogging without Obligations from the start.

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  8. It is meant to be fun for you too and not just us! So please stop putting yourself under pressure>

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  9. I completely endorse your sentiments here. I wonder where the sense of obligation comes from. Having been away for a week, I do feel moved be catching up with people's blogs and responding to comments and I think there is a positive side to that which is linked to how much I enjoy feeling part of a community of people who also find sewing makes them happy. It's also partly because I find blogland a wonderful learning resource and I appreciate the way people make their ideas and experiences available so we don't all have to keep reinventing the wheel all the time. There is also a downside though in that I sometimes I feel I driven to keep up with blogs and spend more time and energy doing that than sewing...When I started my blog I signed up to the quilting without obligation pledge but reading your post makes me think that reflecting on and evaluating how and why we are blogging probably needs to be an ongoing activity.

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  10. With you on this! For all the same reasons really...
    except for one thing, well two...due to mental healt, and physical health problems I often find myself confined to barracks for stretches of time and (to my initial surprise) I discovered that through blogging I was able to cope better. Secondly, one daughter has developed a life altering medical condition and when I blogged about it and the distress (as a mom) a whole community of supporters with similar problems appeared and again I find it easier to cope.

    Guess what I mean is, there is a LOT of kindness in the ethersphere and I am very grateful to it so it altered my thinking a bit!

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  11. Well done Benta, I completely agree. went cold turkey a few weeks because I was busy with the family, and now did 2 posts. I don't feel my blog is an obligation, it should be a pleasure.

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