Why Do You Blog?

I recently read a post written by a fellow Innit user

a.k.a Nuffnang Glitterati member from Singapore.


Click to enlarge.

Typically, I'd link the person up right here, right now but... there's this whole super-linking controversy going on where he pens his thoughts so I think I'm just gonna stay out of it. I've already got enough drama in my life, thankyouverymuch.

But at least I screen captured the post
for you, right? See, I so nice. =)

I don't really have a problem with most parts of his post. And sure, the dude may have a valid case when it comes to his complaints. (I said "may" because I don't know for sure. I find it difficult to ascertain if Malaysian bloggers are actually being served more ads than our Singaporean counterparts based on blog-surfing alone. *shrugs* Who knows? I may not be visiting the right blogs.) ANYHEW, this *points below* was what got my blogger spidey sense tingling.

Direct your eyeballs to that last part between
the comma and the exclamation mark.

Wah, liddat also can? As a wannabe purist-idealist when things of blogging are of concern, I have to say that I'm very much against the thought of monetary rewards as morale boost to blog. Seriously lah. I just feel that it kills the "Blogging Spirit" (if there was one to begin with) and drags its invisible backside through the dust.

That's why I kasi balik my thoughts.




And then came his reply.

I think that the fella was pretty nice with his explanation – I'll give him that. But I still think that he's contradicting himself. I think he started off well but his second paragraph just totally killed it for me. I don't buy his argument. (Wah, I think a lot hor? Haha.)


I quote: "If i m blogging becuz of money, i would be like Xiaxue or Dawn, whose full time job is blogging, which I totally cannot afford to, at this point of time. Haha... I wish!"


My take on this? I don't think that people with "Blogger" listed as their full-time jobs qualify as people who blog because of money. They just happen to make it big as bloggers so they can stop working for a living and proceed to do what they're passionate about and live off its rewards. (Too bad if their priority and passion changes after stardom though.) Heck, I also can enjoy blogging and eventually earn enough to stop working wat. (A girl can always dream, okay.) That doesn't mean that I blog BECAUSE of money. Just cos I'm richly rewarded for it doesn't make it my reason for blogging.

Understand or not? Big diff leh.

Personally, I blog because I WANT to blog. I blog because it's an outlet for me to release my stress. It helps me clear my head. It helps when I feel like reflecting on life. And it comes in real handy when I'm looking up the Memory Department cos I use it to jot down things I wanna remember. Like you would in a personal journal. I write of things that make me laugh. Things I'm fond of. Things that make me happy. The feelings I feel at different points in my life. You know? That kinda stuff. Plus, I like it when I find that what I say matter to people. When I get to make a difference in somebody's life because I'm saying something they also feel deep inside. And when my readers and comment-leavers show me that I'm not alone, no matter what.

So that's what blogging is to me. It's not everything it is (cos that would probably be a post on its own considering how much I enjoy going on and on about the same old stuff) but that paragraph pretty much sums it up.

And the money that comes with it? Well, I have to say that it's good. And I like it. (Who dun like buta money, I ask you???) So, yeah. Why not make the most of it while somebody's actually offering it in the form of a nice, juicy, ker-ching carrot? But that's about all the money means to me.


Blogging as a means to earn money isn't my kinda thing. And I don't see it ever happening that way for me, actually. If I continue blogging and eventually find that what I earn from blogging feeds and clothes me, then all's well and good. I'd smile and think, "Hey, look at that! What I say matters enough to my readers for them to keep coming back! And thanks to their devotion to my writing, I'm being rewarded for... DOING NOTHING! Wheee!" (o_O So many exclamation marks. Haiyo.)


But I wouldn't blog and blog and blog so that it will eventually feed and clothe me. You see the difference or not? One, there's no motivation except the want to write. The other, the motivation is money. And sure, both ways, I'll be earning enough to survive on blog advertising income alone. But to me, the end does not justify the means. Money isn't everything. And when it comes to my writing, money sure as hell doesn't cut it.

I think I'm rambling. Am I rambling?
Shit, I think I'm rambling. Damn it, I'm rambling!

And there's this other thing that's rubbing me the wrong way. That super-linking thing. I don't get it. How can you link a person whose blog you don't bother going into except to check if they've covered their end of the deal and linked you before you linked them??? So weird!


I'm not a link-exchange person to begin with lah, of course. I think that if people like what they see on your page, they'll link you. If they know you, they'll link you. If they just feel like linking you, they'll link you. You don't need to force them or guilt-manipulate them into doing it, and neither do you have to link them just cos you feel the need to grow your link list.

But that's just me. Heh.

So to me, I think that a comment like this is just plain weird. (Note: You might wanna click that link cos it's what started me writing this post in the first place.) But I understand that it came as a result of what he already spoke about in his super-linking post. So it's not the comment that's wrong. It's the whole super-linking concept that's whacked.

To me, this is the simplest way to find out
if you're blogging for the right reasons:

A) I'll pay you RM1 million EVERY MONTH... but the condition is that you're not allowed to blog. Would you take me up on my offer?

B) I'll drive 20,000 readers into your blog EVERY DAY... but the condition is that you get zero blog advertising income.

C) I'll give you RM1000 PER CPM AD, PER WEEK... but the condition is that you can only have 2 readers a day.

Which would offer would you take up?

Obviously, A is the Money-or-Nothing blogger lah. And B is the Purist-Idealist blogger. *cough cough* While C dangles somewhere in the I-Want Money-But-I-Also-Wanna-Blog-For-Myself blogger zone.


I'm definitely not an A because I e-n-j-o-y blogging. (And it Zen's me on my bad days.) So, saying "goodbye" to it is definitely a no-no.


And I'm not a C because as I said before, it matters to me that I make a difference and I do enjoy having my readers relate to what I say. Plus, I tend to need their help every once in awhile so... not having anybody "talk" and respond to me via Tinki Talks is going to be a problem. Haha.


Finally, I'd like to say I'd choose B in a heartbeat (Purist-Idealist and all that, remember?) but... with blog advertising becoming as rewarding as it is, I know I'd also be looking longingly at C while checking the B box. Tough decision to make but, oh well... I'll survive.

So maybe that makes me a hypocrite
who's no better than he is, huh? Hmmm.
Food for thought. Maybe I'll write again.

p/s: Marc, I know you'll stop by so I'm gonna say this: You know I don't hate you, right? And no, if you were wondering, this is not what my idea of "flaming" is. =p Haha. Just take my word for it and trust me when I say that. It's just my thoughts on the matter, alright? Cheers.

p/s 2: WHOOPS! Did I just let something slip?!