Blogging to nobody

Not so long ago, I discovered I really like blogging. I also discovered I have a lot of work to do if I want anyone to read my blog. A focus would help - something topical, maybe, or newsy and unique (I did have moderate success with wikileads.net, in part because I was one of only two people blogging about Wikileaks, and Wikileaks is damn interesting).

Marketing could help, too: I could Tweet or Digg my posts, or advertise them in my GChat status message.

But blogging, I think, is not all about audience. It’s just as much about practice and pleasure, and writing for writing’s sake. For now I am quite content blogging to nobody, writing to the void, putting my words out there for no one to read. Maybe people will read them later, when I’ve found a focus and an audience, or while I’m having my five minutes of fame. (I totally want my five minutes someday ).

I was thinking about this because I read, via Jay Rosen on Twitter, this blog post about the “nobody syndrome,” which blogger Ernst-Jan Pfauth says is “a big obstacle for a lot of potential great bloggers out there.”

He’s right. It’s a huge obstacle! Why blog if you’re a nobody? Or if you doubt your own knowledge and intuition? Who will read your words? Who will care what a nobody has to say? I used to think that way, especially before going to journalism school. It’s hard to put yourself out there. The Internet is full of critical people. Some of them are mean. Many of them are anonymous. That makes them even meaner.

So, again, why blog?

My answer, after limited experience with the format: Because we can’t comprehend the power of our words. We don’t know who we’ll affect, or how, or when. You could change someone’s day.

I often find myself perusing the ‘Net, reading random words written by random people about random topics I’d never thought about before. And, sometimes, those people and their words inspire me. It could be something small - a giggle, or an unexpected thought - but whatever the breadth, it becomes part of the fabric of me. It’s kinda neat. I’d like to spread that type of love.

Also, blogging is empowering! It teaches good habits and encourages people to write. It allows amateurs to experiment with writing, photography or video consistently and in a public forum. People with no connections or professional background can become instant stars or, better, to hone their craft over time and eventually become important voices in the great cultural quagmire that is the Internet.

So that’s my justification, or mission statement, or whatever. It’s my soapbox and I’m staying on it, for better or worse, whether or not anyone cares to listen.