Why do I blog? Many have asked me that question before and although I have answered, it has always been a vague response; something to the effect that I do it for fun. So vague have some of my responses been, that when I look back, I wonder if those who asked me were ever content with a one word, open-ended answer like : "Just!"
Due to the end-of- term work pressure that I am sure every teacher can relate to, I have been unable, for close to a week, to sit back and let the blogging juices flow and fuel the fingertips to whack away at the keyboard. It is because of this short but seemingly lengthy detachment from the blogosphere, that I was I led to ask myself the very question that I have been asked by others and had until now brushed aside. The more I felt the craving to write, the more I asked myself why. If at all I must justify this craving, I have to say that better a craving for blogging, than a craving for ecstacy or crack!
Why do I blog? It cannot be for the money because if it was, I would have thrown in the towel long ago. The ads on my site have earned me around a R100 since I began the Mthoko Says blog in August last year. That is by far less than what I incur in internet costs of posting on my blog on almost a daily basis, yet I have not hired professional web developers to tinker with my site and boost its revenue making capabilities
Do I do it for the fame? I have yet to receive a torrent of fan mail or a call from an obsessed and heavily breathing fan expressing undying love for my blog. I do not forsee that happening anytime this century, yet I still slave away at the keyboard and feel anxiety when I do not write for a few days.
It all has to do with the burning urge to share my thoughts, laughs, views and opinions with anyone who cares to listen. It is all about the need to say something that will cheer up someone, motivate them, give them a previously unthought of viewpoint, idea or answer to this baffling puzzle we call life. It is all in the hope that somewhere, someone will see the world in a new light, hopefully a brighter and better light. Maybe someone out there will decide to re-examine the inner-self because of one of my posts. Without a doubt, it is also about the simple love of writing. Call my reasons cliches, but that is my honest truth.
I won't lie and say that it does not boost the good old self-esteem ( or is that a euphemism for ego?) to see one's rankings go up on amatomu.com and afrigator.com. It would be equally untrue to say that it is not scintillating to check your website stastics and watch your blog post go viral within minutes of posting, attracting thousands of visitors from Brunei, the USA, Ecuador, Kenya and hundreds of other countries in the globe, some of which you have never heard of before. It gives quite an adrenaline rush to see your site appear high on search engine results. That however, beloved reader, is what I call the added bonus. Those are the results of, not reasons for my blogging. If it was all about the ego trip, I have no doubt that you would not be reading this right now because Mthoko Says would have long ceased to exist. Thank you for your continued readership of Mthoko Says...
