Entry #1 Some Thoughts On Blogging

When I was but a wee lad, I along with my younger brother and sister decided to make a newspaper that told of the events that took place around our house—it’s strange what boredom and childhood imagination can conjure up. We called our paper “The Daily News” and would force all of our other family members to buy it for a dollar. Stories ranged from the mundane to the made up and everything in-between. I remember one article was titled, “Mr. Bowflex Gets New Diggs,” it was a story about our pet hamster and how through his hard work and perseverance he was able to purchase a new home…Another was titled, “Mom’s Amazing Spaghetti, How Does She Do It?” We then interviewed my mom for the article. It was so much fun trying to come up with stories and engage our “audience.” We would write about whatever our imaginations could conjure up. I can’t quite recall when or why we stopped making it, probably got bored of it I guess. But I had never had as much fun writing as I did then, that is, until I started blogging.

In all honesty, while I enjoy reading blogs, I never thought I would enjoy writing one. It just seems like something that would take up a lot of time that could be spent on more enjoyable activities. But after starting my first blog, For the Widely Curious and Dabbling, I was reminded of just how free, relaxing and fun writing could be. In a blog you can write about whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want. It allows you to organize your thoughts, and to share what you know or think about a topic. And, if you so desire, it can be used as a tool to help develop your writing abilities.

Yes, blogging is all that and more. That’s why it has quickly become one of my favorite hobbies. So, if you have been thinking about starting a blog, I strongly encourage you to do so. While it might feel a little more difficult at first, like most worthwhile hobbies, eventually it will just come naturally. You will soon find yourself wanting to blog more and more.

But until then, maybe you need a little inspiration to get your creative thoughts flowing—I know I did. So how about we look at a few blogs (besides mine), that can maybe give an idea of what blogging is all about.

A lot of bloggers will simply blog about their favorite hobby. They will often tell stories about their hobby and give advice and tips to fellow hobbyists. One such blog that I have been enjoying lately is called 3D-PrintingBlog.com. Yeah, the name says it all, it’s a blog about 3D printing. I have recently gotten into 3D printing and have found this blog to be invaluable in my learning about this exciting, new technology. What’s great about this blog is that it is well organized and full of the author’s  hands-on experience presented in an understandable fashion. I also love that it’s searchable by keywords and categories.

3D PRINTING BLOG

WE ARE LEARNING 3D PRINTING THROUGH OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE…

And who doesn’t enjoy hearing other people’s opinions? Alright, so maybe you think everybody’s stinks but yours; however, I know I have been very grateful for the opinions that are given on TheMovieBlog.com. Their well thought out and supported opinions have helped me to avoid a number of cinematic disasters. They always delve deep into the movie and give pretty good analysis without getting too draggy.






Then there is the lame side of blogging. Sadly, the example I am about to give of one such blog is connected to my favorite webcomic. Poorlydrawnlines.com/blog is an example of a blog being used solely for advertising. Every post on their blog is about their books being on sale or listed for half price. Not only that, but there are just not very many posts. I just don’t find very much use in this blog and it’s more for selling things than anything else.

On that note, I would just like to say that no matter how you decide to work your blog, the choice is yours. Look around, see what inspires you, and just have fun with it.