Should you start a blog?
“Should” is a word I’m not too fond of. It’s not always a bad word, but in contexts such as “I should really keep trying to make this dead-end job work,” it’s a counterproductive guilt word.
Don’t weasel around with “should.” Make a decision. Act. (Or evaluate and decide not to act.)
Some people find it very easy to blog, and many do not. Personally, I find the questions of audience and purpose the most challenging.
“Why do I want to write about X in a public way?” is a question that outlasts any particular answer I give it. I ask myself that question frequently.
Sometimes, I come up with an answer that prods me forward into posting. Other times, I discover that my initial inclination to post really doesn’t have a compelling, true-ringing reason, and I do something else instead of posting. Still other times, my response to the question is simply, “why not?” and I go ahead and post.
In his blog, Michael Bloch has a post that might help you decide whether or not to start your own blog. His point? The act of starting a blog brings with it an implied promise to your blog’s readers: if someone takes the time to come read your blog, if they open themselves to a dependence on my blog (however mild), then you owe it to them not to leave them in the lurch.
Starting a blog is great. Not starting a blog is fine, too. Starting a blog and then petering out with your posting after people have become readers of your blog is something to try to avoid.