Reason 1: the social side. Whether we like it or not, we’re social creatures. Even the most reclusive of hermits must grudgingly admit that deep within us all is a drive to communicate, to share, to belong. Blogging is a means to developing social cohesion in a virtual environment. We blog because we want to belong – to find an audience to share our lives with and hopefully receive contact in return. Blogging reaches out, saying “This is me” hoping to find a receptive readership who will respond in kind.

Reason 2: A passionate message: not only are we born to communicate, but many of us feel strongly that we have something that is of value to share – in fact it burns within us with an evangelical fervour: whether it’s our conviction on the best way to teach children or our affiliation to a school of political thought – we have a message that will not let us rest until it is effectively shared with the world. Writing a blog is a means to that end.

To me, this blog allows me to do two things. To share what I’ve learned and – once established – to improve my craft. By talking about what I do, and discussing it, it allows me to observe my performance critically and determine if I could improve.

On the way, I’ll look at case studies of successful bloggers – although what ‘success’ actually means will differ from one to another. But more about that in a later post.

I’ll look at the technical side of blogging – reviewing tools and discussing techniques to blog more effectively.

But most of sll, it’s all about doing something I enjoy.