Fourteenth Hour

"It's your blog".

That's what G. said when I asked him a few minutes ago if it was time for another blog. The sharp response provoke the following topic.

Does one write posts for an audience or oneself? That's an extremely common question many bloggers ask themselves and even their readers. Who (or is it whom?) is one writing for? Since I write blog posts for pay, I'm in an interesting position to see both sides of the question.

And my opinion? It's both, naturally. I consider blog posts similar to short stories, novels, comic books, and any other auditory/visual medium (e.g., paper, webpage, podcasts, etc.) where an author tells/writes their thoughts so others can experience it. Posts, on the one hand, can be read by almost anyone depending on the permissions given (or how skilled is the hacker). If the blogger truly wanted to keep things for themselves, they wouldn't be publishing their posts.

On the other hand, bloggers need a source to tap for their topic and that's themselves. Yes, one can give a blogger a subject matter to write about, but their viewpoint, writing style, etc., is theirs -- and theirs alone. The blogger decides how much of themselves they're willing to bare not only to their readers, but themselves as well. As G. above recently said, he hates re-reading his reviews, something he shares with all writers. That's understandable, for every time one writes their thoughts down, they give something of their thoughts and hearts, which is not always pleasant to look in the stark light of reality.


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Carpe Diem (seize the day)