Since you’re reading this, you know that I blog. I blog a lot: everyday for several years now. You might wonder why. Anyone who’s tried it knows that blogging is hard and involves a lot of work. Irreal isn’t monetized but even if it were, it’s unlikely that it would pay me more than a nickel and hour. So why do it?
Every blogger, I’m sure, has their own reasons. Danny Guo certainly does and he’s chosen to share his. It’s an interesting read and if you’re looking for reasons to get started blogging, you may find his post useful.
Writing is a skill and like any other skill the only way to get good at it is to practice. Blogging is ideal for this. Blogging is hardly ever long-form writing so writing posts is a good way to practice in bite-sized chunks. A side benefit of writing is that it’s a necessary component to being a good thinker and writing, as Paul Graham says, is a precursor to thinking. Guo agrees with this and also notes that writing helps him clarify his thinking.
He gives several other reasons to blog including
- Sharing knowledge
- Learning things
- Learning how he’s wrong
and many others.
He also gives some minimal advice on how to get started and mentions some of the various blogging platforms. Unlike Irreal, he doesn’t publish everyday demonstrating the commitment can be as large or as small as you like. If you’re interested in blogging the important thing is to get started. Irreal’s first year or so had only a few (sometimes no) posts per month. Guo says he works on some posts for a year or more.
My advice is to try it. You might find you like it.