Cheri Baker, a published author, has a personal blog hosted on micro.blog called Hypertext Monster. Cheri’s blog has been around since 2018. She’s written over 500 posts and more than 40,000 words. And she writes well. I love her posts.
In 2021, Cheri asked herself why she blogs. This is an excerpt of her insightful response:
Lately, I’ve struggled with why I’m blogging. Am I merely an attention-seeker in a different venue? Might it be emotionally healthier to disappear entirely, to take up full residence in the flesh-and-blood world, to keep my damn thoughts to myself?
Writing is how I think. These essays turn a vague swirl of emotions and opinions into something I can work with. And why share? I tell myself it’s because I want to be useful.
Every writer wants to be read. Every writer feels a little thrill when something they wrote plucks someone else’s heart or mind like a guitar string. But where do I draw the line between the various types of sharing? Is it all the same? Am I a narcissist?
I don’t think sharing makes someone a narcissist. We’re just people being people. And I like people! Absent toxic manipulations, the blogosphere can be an extension of the real world. I so enjoy posts by my fellow micro bloggers. Yes, even donut photos.
Still, I remain leery of my own motives. I am harder on myself than on others.
You can see how others have answered the same question here.