Sunday Seven #396

Why, after nine years, do I still blog? Obviously, it wasn’t just a phase I was going through, but I also get something out of blogging when you get something out of my content.

Craig McBreen recently published a list of 21 Great Reasons to Keep Blogging. I thought that might be a great list to use for Sunday Seven fodder, considering that I’m in my tenth year of this “hobby.”

So I’ll post my list, then I hope you’ll check out Craig’s article and post a list of your own reasons for blogging, whether they’re on his list or items you’ve come up with on your own. One of the nice things about the Sunday Seven is that it can serve as a fantastic writing prompt if you’re coming up short on blog ideas; you don’t have to play on Sunday…you can play any time the mood strikes you. If you’d like to do so on your own blog, all I ask is that you link to me in your post, then comment here with a link to your post.

So here are my top seven reasons that keep me blogging.

My Top 7 Reasons to Keep on Blogging

1. The practice of blogging makes you a better writer.

I’ve made an income from my writing for 20 years now, but blogging definitely helps me continue to refine my writing skills.

2. It improves your debating skills

In some cases, this is the number one reason I blog. I was raised to be a critical thinker. Sometimes, I over-analyze things a bit too much. (I don’t think over-analyzing things is automatically bad, but there’s a reasonable limit for anything.) Blogging allows people to challenge your point of view with alternate ones, and as long as that dialog happens with mutual respect, you can learn a lot about how people think and why your position may not even be the right one.

3. You develop thick skin.

Sooner or later, someone will disagree with you. And sooner or later, he won’t always do it in a kind way. If you stick with blogging, you have to get used to it.

4. It improves your grammar.

Amen! Especially when you’re pretty good at it already, you decide to devote a portion of your posts on grammar and you have an audience who’ll call you on any grammatical bloopers!

5. It helps you break out of your shell.

To a point, yes, I agree with this. Although I’ll say it’s a lot easier to break out of your shell online than it is in person. Blogging can only help the latter so much.

6. You Listen like never before.

If you treat commenters with respect, you have to learn how to listen so that you can then learn how to respond. This is what keeps conversations alive.

7. It fine-tunes your communication skills.

It’s a great training ground for effective communication, because though you may have a “target audience”&nbsp in mind, you have to be able to communicate with anyone, because you never know who’ll end up on your blog.
Those are my picks. What are yours? Leave me a comment or play along on your own blog and leave a link to it in a comment!