Why I Have a Blog
It’s been a few years now since I started writing Of Playthings and Puppets, and more than once I’ve been asked, “Why do you write a blog?” while simultaneously shrugging off others who merely quipped, “Who writes blogs anymore?” and “Blogs are so 2002.”
They said these things because, just as so many fads and memes have faded into our past, making things only a few weeks old merit a “You haven’t seen that yet?!?” from our closest friends, blogs are no longer in the limelight as they once were.
Because people don’t read anymore.
It’s a simple product of our current level of technology. As we’ve grown accustomed to viewing pictures and videos while on the go, it was inevitable traffic to more time-consuming and less flippant media would wane (as has, apparently, the desire to learn new information outside of Grumpy Cat’s reaction to the latest YouTube sensation).
I digress.
There’s a very simple reason I write a blog. And that reason is not you. Yes, you, my reader. Although I humbly appreciate you and all others who drop by on a weekly (or bi-weekly, which is even lovelier!) basis, if that were truly the case I would have monetized this site long ago. As it stands, I’ve virtually made no profit from this exercise, though I’ve written nearly a book’s worth of content. Some may argue the ads for Sanity’s Flaw and The Nobodies count as monetization, but all I need do is show you clickthroughs for the last few years to show that simply isn’t the case, either.
No, the true reason I write this blog is simple. It’s me. I’m writing this to prove I can maintain a weekly schedule writing about things I personally care about, that I’m capable of finding the time to perform such a task, and to, on at least a weekly basis, tear myself from writing book-length epics to shift brainwaves toward something simpler and more succinct.
That’s it in a nutshell. Truly, if I had no audience (which, thankfully, isn’t the case!), I would continue to write and publish these entries. Who knows, perhaps it will actually pay off somewhere down the line. If anything, it demonstrates my consistency, motivation, and ability to juggle multiple projects at any given moment.
They said these things because, just as so many fads and memes have faded into our past, making things only a few weeks old merit a “You haven’t seen that yet?!?” from our closest friends, blogs are no longer in the limelight as they once were.
Because people don’t read anymore.
It’s a simple product of our current level of technology. As we’ve grown accustomed to viewing pictures and videos while on the go, it was inevitable traffic to more time-consuming and less flippant media would wane (as has, apparently, the desire to learn new information outside of Grumpy Cat’s reaction to the latest YouTube sensation).
I digress.
There’s a very simple reason I write a blog. And that reason is not you. Yes, you, my reader. Although I humbly appreciate you and all others who drop by on a weekly (or bi-weekly, which is even lovelier!) basis, if that were truly the case I would have monetized this site long ago. As it stands, I’ve virtually made no profit from this exercise, though I’ve written nearly a book’s worth of content. Some may argue the ads for Sanity’s Flaw and The Nobodies count as monetization, but all I need do is show you clickthroughs for the last few years to show that simply isn’t the case, either.
No, the true reason I write this blog is simple. It’s me. I’m writing this to prove I can maintain a weekly schedule writing about things I personally care about, that I’m capable of finding the time to perform such a task, and to, on at least a weekly basis, tear myself from writing book-length epics to shift brainwaves toward something simpler and more succinct.
That’s it in a nutshell. Truly, if I had no audience (which, thankfully, isn’t the case!), I would continue to write and publish these entries. Who knows, perhaps it will actually pay off somewhere down the line. If anything, it demonstrates my consistency, motivation, and ability to juggle multiple projects at any given moment.
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