What’s Less Than Five And More Than 600?

Answer:  My Blog.

And now, four-and-a-half years and 601 posts later:

Why Did I Start a Blog?

In 2017, when I started thinking about doing a blog, I ran the idea by a few people and got some strong reactions, like this:

“You’re going to go on Facebook and Twitter and other sites to promote your blog, right?  What’s the point of having a blog if you don’t promote it and have millions of followers?”

Well…no…

And this:

“You’re going to monetize it, right?  What’s the point of having a blog if you don’t make money off it?

Well…no…

The third person I mentioned this to said, in his most scornful voice,

“Any fool can start a blog.”

Well…yes…

And that’s what this fool did.

My first blog post went live on May 5, 2017.

Here I am, 601 posts later.

I’ve never promoted my blog, and never made money off it.

So back to the question:

Why did I start a blog?

And here’s my – I think, good – answer:

Because it’s fun.

In 2017 I’d never read a blog, and never had a desire to do one.  Never even thought about blogging.

Then a coworker told me she had a blog.  Not at all curious (but just to be polite), I asked her for the URL.  As I spent some time reading a few of her posts (just to be polite), I had a revelation:

My coworker was having fun with her blog.

She wrote in the first person, was free with her opinions, was funny, included pictures, and I thought…

Maybe I could do that. 

I can write in the first person, I can be free with my opinions, I’m sometimes funny – I’m told – and I have pictures…

I could do that.

Then, that evening, I read this in a fortune cookie. And as we all know, fortune cookies are always accurate:

My future as a blogger was assurred.

The next day I complimented my coworker on her blog (and I wasn’t just being polite), and asked what platform she used.  “Wordpress,” she said.

A few days later – despite the above-mentioned opinions – I was off and running.

And with every post I’ve written, I’ve had fun.

Sometimes I write about what I know.  More often, what I’m writing requires research – sometimes a lot of research.  I learn a lot, and I like that.

The beauty of a blog – if you’re not trying to promote it or monetize it – is the freedom to write about anything I want. 

And, important:  To not worry about what anyone thinks, about me, or about what I’ve written.

Think about that – writing not to please a boss or a client or the public, not thinking about pleasing anyone but myself.

So…

I know my blog will never appear on this list…

Or this one…

Or this one…

So…

When I started blogging back in 2017, I would never have predicted I’d still be at it after four+ years and more than 600 posts.

But I can predict how long I’ll continue:

As long as I’m…