(This post is part of the A to Z Challenge. I am writing this month on activities that keep me refreshed during these depressing days. It's Day 2 today.)
There are so many social media platforms -- from Facebook and Twitter to TikTok and Reddit, besides a relatively closed social media in the form of WhatsApp.
A forerunner of all these is the blog -- a term that evolved from 'web log' and 'we blog'. It was the beginning of the democratisation of publishing, or in other words, blogs gave us the freedom to put out information in the public domain, which hitherto was limited only to established publishing and other media institutions.
Here are some reasons why I have been blogging since 2004. The current blogging challenge has come at the right time: when I need a good distraction.
A blog post has no limitation of word count. It allows me to be very brief or very elaborate. I can put up texts, images, videos, besides providing hyperlinks to other web pages. It allows readers to interact with me via the comment option. My posts are not going to compete for people's attention on their timeline. Readers choose their own ways of following my posts.
I find reading blog posts more enjoyable and engaging compared to reading posts on other social media platforms. I also find it easier and more comfortable to relate to them. I have a list of bloggers whom I follow, and that list is slowly growing as I chance upon newer and newer blogs. This A to Z Challenge is giving me opportunities to discover more blogs and bloggers.
In short, blogs are a more well-grounded and therefore a more dependable social media platform.
A forerunner of all these is the blog -- a term that evolved from 'web log' and 'we blog'. It was the beginning of the democratisation of publishing, or in other words, blogs gave us the freedom to put out information in the public domain, which hitherto was limited only to established publishing and other media institutions.
Here are some reasons why I have been blogging since 2004. The current blogging challenge has come at the right time: when I need a good distraction.
A blog post has no limitation of word count. It allows me to be very brief or very elaborate. I can put up texts, images, videos, besides providing hyperlinks to other web pages. It allows readers to interact with me via the comment option. My posts are not going to compete for people's attention on their timeline. Readers choose their own ways of following my posts.
I find reading blog posts more enjoyable and engaging compared to reading posts on other social media platforms. I also find it easier and more comfortable to relate to them. I have a list of bloggers whom I follow, and that list is slowly growing as I chance upon newer and newer blogs. This A to Z Challenge is giving me opportunities to discover more blogs and bloggers.
In short, blogs are a more well-grounded and therefore a more dependable social media platform.
I agree! Platefroms like Instagram are great to just show a photo, but Iif you want real contents, blogs are better ;)
ReplyDeleteQuilting Patchwork & Appliqué
Completely agree! Very aptly brought forward.
ReplyDeleteHi Jyoti - Thanks for dropping by.
DeleteWow! You have been blogging since 2004!! That's super cool. I started in 2009. Agree with you that blogging is a more dependable social media platform and it has evolved so much over the last few years. I like that it is a wonderful creative vent for me and a record of the times that we are living in too.
ReplyDeleteHi Shilpa - Blogging has survived in the wake of a flurry of other social media platforms coming up.
DeleteThanks.
Hi Pradeep - I, too, didn't realise you'd been blogging since 2004 - amazing ... I thought I'd been going a decent time ... now into my 12th year. Ah well ... but a few blogging friends have said it's the best thing that's happened to them in this crisis.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the A-Z ... I opted out this year - take care - Hilary
Blogs like books are of varied kinds.Some are rich and rewarding,
ReplyDeletesome pleasant to read and lightening the mood,some espousing a cause and some experimental ground to practice the art of writing.The choice of what and how you wish to write in blog and the choice of readers what to read and encourage is what that invests the blog world its unique charm.There is the incidental benefit of knowing
many.I must say that I find your blog interesting, informative and concise.
Thank you, KP, for those comments.
DeleteI always look forward to read your blog posts. I have learned a lot.
ReplyDeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteBingo!!! Blogging is the orignal and the Best as far as I am concerned. I do use Instagram (very recent addition), but very small-scale. Blogging has given me connections all over the globe and I have had great fortune in meeting several blogpals - AND gaining some solid friendships from it. YAM xx
Hi Yamini - I am on Instagram, but I hardly put up anything there. I am mostly on Twitter and Facebook. But I hardly post anything personal there.
DeleteI too have been fortunate to know some good bloggers.
Thanks.
I sure enjoy our interactions. ~nods~ Happy Blogging!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Darla.
DeleteI agree. People tend to be more open on their blogs than on social media. Social media posts are often so fake
ReplyDeleteThanks, Backpack, for dropping by.
DeleteBlogs also can be fake, but I am sure they are far fewer than the social media sites.
There's certainly a lot more free time for blogging these days. I enjoy blogging, too. Blog posts have more depth to them than other media.
ReplyDeleteIs blogging the oldest social media thing? Probably not, but it sometimes feels like it.
ReplyDelete