To Blog or not to Blog, that is the question...

As a member of an Internet startup company I am constantly monitoring the ways of the World Wide Web. What is new? What is undergoing resurgence? How are people using technology? What new uses have they found for existing technologies... etc. etc. etc.

Generally speaking I want to know what people are doing, why, when and how!

Blogging has been around since the early 1990's and although I have often looked at peoples blogs, it has usually been specifically as a detailed resource to answer some all consuming question I have just Googled, however until recently I had not 'subscribed' to the concept of blogging, or any specific blog.

Reading someone else's diary has somehow never really appealed, I mean 'Adrian Mole' and 'Are You There God It's Me Margaret' might have been educational to that naive young girl I once was, but Bridget Jones' cringe-worthy self obsessed drivel (loved by the world over it seems) was enough to put me off reading other people's diaries’ for life. This, combined with the horrific thought of someone else reading my own personal dairy has been deterrent enough to keep me from the blogging world... at least, until now that is!

But why do people blog? Sharing opinions, exchange of ideas, social contribution, love of writing, thrill, exposure, personal growth and development, money, or maybe just because everyone else is doing it!

Having thought about this and examined the blogs of a number of people, all with wildly differing profiles, it appears that there is generally a Primary and Secondary motivation for blogging. Often this is boils down to, (a) what you want your blog to offer others and (b) what you hope to get out of it in return.

And why do people read blogs? I suspect there are two main reasons, firstly for entertainment purposes and secondly as an information resource. If the subject matter is of interest to the reader and the content is relevant, informative and entertaining then they will become a loyal and dedicated audience.

My Blog:

My primary motivation and my objective is to share, exchange and validate my ideas, processes and experiences of working with a web startup company. I envisage that my blog will become a conversation with my readers, where I can receive feedback and insights, that are often difficult to obtain when working in the close-knit environment of a small business.

My secondary motivation is more selfish, it is my hope that blogging will help to raise my profile within the technology industry and open up new opportunities for myself and the startup company I am currently working with. My blog will present a record of my experiences and I hope it will help to spread the word about the current activity of our organization.

I intend to be clear on what my blog can offer my readers, but since this is my first time blogging I expect to learn some lessons along the way, that may mean that I need to review and refine the direction of my blog in order to ensure I accomplish my objectives.

I would like to try and keep the focus of the blog relatively narrow as I am aware that too much information can be overwhelming, however I also intend to allow the more relevant aspects of my personality and lifestyle to come across in the content of the blog... so consider yourself warned!

This could be FUN :-)