Why On Earth Do I Blog?

I was tagged the other day by Liz Strauss over at Successful Blog with the question… Why on earth Do You Blog? This is an important question as I spend quite a few hours a week in the blog-o-sphere reading, writing, and exchanging ideas. Blogging to me is about community and communication. It’s listening to others, forming my own opinions and communicating my thoughts with others.

I think a great blog post is like a great speech. It should have four components to communicate properly… Head, Heart, Hands, and Humor. Think about the following items and you’ll see what I mean..

1. Head: A great post should make you think. This can be some new ideas or a compelling story. Regurgitated facts and figures don’t work well here. The ideas may be controversial, contentious, or even down right crazy. But they make you think, and that’s what draws people in.

2. Heart: When you add feeling to the equation you add heart. A compelling blog post may leave you feeling happy, sad, or even mad. You may not agree at all with the author or be drawn in with overwhelming emotion. If there is no passion in the post, you’ll quickly click elsewhere.

3. Hands: Does the post ask you to do something… to take action? A great post always closes the sale. The action may be to donate money, write a letter, or click a link. It may come in the form of changing your thinking or taking action to solve a problem. If a post is truly powerful it will ask to to make a difference and act.

4. Humor: A little humor goes a long ways. If we take ourselves too seriously we risk alienation. Is there a sentence or two in a post that brings a smile? Can we take the serious and lighten it up with some levity? Adding some wit, comedy, or even a little absurdity will make even the toughest pill easier to take.

I know of five blogs that exemplify these ideals. So Kim, Marco, Dwayne, Dave, and Deb, I would like to know why you blog?