My 5 reasons to blog

I was in the pub and having a conversation about blogging and was asked: well what’s the point; writing is work, the audience is often small and how do you have the time do it when you have a full time job and an active social life to contend with.

These are the five reasons that I gave as an answer to my cynical friend.

1. Writing it down brings clarity

I am learning stuff on a daily basis and I find that if I write a quick blog post it clarifies my thoughts and this is useful when I come to make presentations or write articles in my work.

2. Hell I have something to say

A blog is a good place to spread opinion and be heard.  It offers an opportunity to connect with others in my field and learn from each other.  If we don’t agree then let’s argue it out in the comments and everyone benefits.

3. Future career opportunities

I don’t think for a minute that I am ever going to retire having made my fortune as a blogger. But establishing a blog that has regularly postings gives me a place to point future employers.  It shows I am thinking about the issues and challenges around my area of work and trying to connect with others in my field.  All plus points when it comes to interview time.

4. The love you take is equal to the love you make

I feel that only by giving something can I legitimately expect to receive something. I need my finger on the pulse of what's happening and I think while I learn from others it is only right that I give something back so they can learn from me.

5. It’s Fun

Social media shouldn’t be a drag and I find writing a quick blog post and then looking at the stats and replying to comments far more rewarding than watching yet another episode of Big Brother.

These are the reason why I plug away and like anything the more effort you put in the more you get back.

The hardest part is making the initial decision to pull yourself off the sofa, switch off the telly and start.  Once you have done this it just gets easier and easier.

So do let me know the reasons why you blog or are thinking about it.

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Why only tumble or poste when you can do both

Just been considering the merits of the mini blogging platforms Posterous and Tumblr which inhabit a space somewhere between Twitter and Wordpress. Both of these platforms aim to make it as easy as possible to share several types of rich media content and are useful for short spurts of consciousness as well as more considered posts.

The nitty gritty:

• Registration - Posterous makes it simple and easy to register, no wait... you just need to post to post@posterous.com to get started. Tumblr has a registration form, but it doesn't match for Posterous' registration-free service. Winner: Posterous
• Posting - Posterous has only one content type (no offence to Posterous). Tumblr has a lot of content types. But do you need all these diffrent content types? Simplicity is best.
• You can post by email through a simple email address, while Tumblr makes up an email address that you might forget. Winner: Posterous (email)/Tumblr (flexiblity)
• Themes - Tumblr and Posterous both have good themes but as the more established platform Tumblr has more and better quality themes. Winner Tumblr.
• Focus - Tumblr is very much like your lifestream, while Posterous acts as your email version of ping.fm.
• Comments - Posterous has built-in comments. Tumblr requires you to use Disqus as your comment system. Tumblr doesn't have built in commenting. Winner: Posterous.

Tumblr has a great iPhone App and better themes but for sheer ease of use Posterous is my winner.

I would recommend using both platforms and linking them together. Posterous makes it so easy to share content through email that I have linked both my Tumblr and Blogger sites so any email I send with blogger+tumblr@posterous.com pings the content to both.

Surely the more spaces you can get your content on the better and Posterous allows such easy posting that why choose when you can use both for free.

PS - Posted with an email to Posterous to my:

• Blogger site
• Posterous site
• and Tumblr site

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