Blogging is Good for the Soul, 10 reasons blogging works for me

Who knew I would love to blog? I used to think that blogging was like much of twitter, quasi- communication, spelling challenged with little or no meaning. For sure I have had to come to terms with why I would do this, especially when you consider that most bloggers have only a handful of followers. Wendy James talks about the number of lurkers (people who read blogs but don't ever contribute on their own blog nor do they leave comments). I couldn't see participating at that level as I have this innate need to share what I learn.

In the book "Here Comes Everybody" (Howe), the author edited a wikipedia article that was written in complex and awkward language. The edit improved the article even though his knowledge of the topic was limited. His edit stood the test of time as well. Howe talked about how good it felt to be part of something important. It was fun for him. It is fun for me; it gives me a sense of belonging.

Here are my top ten reasons to blog:

1. it feels good to be part of something larger than yourself (community)
2. gives me a reason to read and learn
3. the way I learn has always been to read and then tell people about it, even if they don't want to hear
4. adding to the body of knowledge in my particular area of interest
5. cements my thoughts around an issue
6. creates a longitudinal record of my personal growth, ideas and learning
7. there is power in knowing that your opinion/work may make a difference, as others blog writing makes a difference to you
8. establish an on-line professional presence
9. fun to take a stand on issues
10. modelling 21st century learning for my students and colleagues

I would love to expand my personal learning network, to increase the number of blogs I follow and to increase the number of people who follow me. In the meantime, it has been very fun for me. Not for you? You'll never know if you don't give it a try.