A Reason to Blog

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Even though I have published a few posts but even now I run into doubts as a new topic crosses my mind. The first reaction is excitement and a mental rundown of what I want to write but soon after I start questioning its value. Is it really worthwhile to write and share? Is it convincing? 

I started my technical blog recently and all these concerns were even more pronounced as I was not just resuming but initiating something. There are so many blogs, papers and information on the web written by leaders of the fields, what would my write-up offer? Should I be spending my time somewhere else instead rather than blogging? 

But then I decided to stay with the idea and start a blog. With this post, I intend to share the answers I have discovered while reflecting on these questions. If any of you are also considering to start or resume a blog and your mind pulls you back with some of the questions I have listed above, I hope my post here helps in overcoming them. 

1. Clarity on why you are interested in blogging: There can be different reasons - build a brand, share your knowledge, and/or improve your writing skills? All these are valid reasons and most likely you will have all three in a certain ratio. Your push to start or continue a blog will vary based on the weight you offer to these different categories. I would suggest that if you are new to blogging, tuning your mind to focus on the second and third can be more liberating and can let you focus on your writing rather than getting impacted by the visibility your posts are receiving. 

2. Do not compare and rate your work against other writers in your field: Use the works of other people as an inspiration, identify things they did well that you can pick up next time. But do not judge your work as inferior or less impactful based on the number of likes/comments you receive on your posts and this is especially true when you are starting new. Use your response to #1 above to get back on track. 

3. Think about the different variations of the same idea/product that are out there in the market, think of the multiple online articles or books written on the same subject/topic. While they share some commonalities but they also bring their own way of presenting the idea each with its own set of audience. So, when you question the value of addressing a topic that has been discussed hundreds of times before, remember that your blog is your expression. 

These are the few things I have decided to keep in mind, anytime I re-run into concerns around the time investment or value that my writings can offer. 

For those of you who are active writers, or anyone here who has considered blogging but has not either started or not being regular, what's your story? What are your driving factors for blogging? What keeps you going? 

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