5 Things I Love About Blogging

If my memory serves me correctly, I have blogged since 2006 when Multiply was a famous platform among bloggers. I didn’t know a lot about blogging back then except writing and posting nearly anything I had wanted to materialize in words. That simple. No blogwalking, no act of promoting my posts in other media. Social network sites weren’t as popular as we know them today. To be frank, I haven’t amassed substantial knowledge on blogging until today that my blog has not exceeded my own expectations. There’re literally ample resources available on the web, but I myself have tended to laze around instead of working on blog optimization. More to the point, I should be committed to updating this blog regularly in order to develop.

While things need serious melioration, I have been thrilled to find this blog growing in both traffic and readers. I still am very passionate about blogging as this is now one of source of income to me. WordPress team has always been really helpful and the platform itself offers ease and attractive simplicity. To me blogging serves as an anti-stress therapy while also generating valuable contentment. I can at least name five things I love about blogging.

1 – Practice writing

One major effect I have discovered owing to blogging is a continual development of my writing style. I don’t dare call myself a writer in terms of those who are prominent in their work. Still, anyone who produces any written text is technically a writer. As I constantly write online on my blog, I am therefore a writer. Blogging has been a precious experience as it allows me to practice more and more in writing. I have found a significant progress in how to express thoughts in writing which was previously difficult if I haven’t been a blogger myself.

In addition to habitual practice, blog posts by other fellow bloggers have contributed to enrich the way I write. Different bloggers demonstrate different styles of writing due to their personal affinity or professional background. Reading other posts do enrich mine. In fact, every post has its own energy to advance my blogging experience.

2 – Anti-stress therapy

I said earlier that blogging has always been able to canalize stress and abrupt tension in daily life. Writing a post, however trivial it may be, delivers considerable relief. It is even more solacing when what I write has come to readers with beneficial effects. I can’t afford to meet a consultant to whom I can talk freely. Blogging can so far release stress and serve very well in acknowledging my curhats anytime I need to spill them out.

3 – Valuable benefit

One scorching day an email arrived at my box. It was one of my readers who might have chosen to be silent. The guy shares similar experience of an illness I have posted on my blog. The medical condition we were talking about is normally associated with women and both of us are two lucky guys to have them. We finally communicated via WhatsApp Messenger for further talk conveniently. This new friend is a lecturer and has found the symptoms very troubling especially during teaching in the class. The instant urge of micturating resulting from this sickness is nothing but very upsetting. Your focus and concentration on a particular subject is likely corrupted and physical effort is ruined. In some cases, the pain may be so severe that we decide to lie down and rest.

He couldn’t hide his mere excitement when meeting a friend to talk to. A little chit-chat has proven effective to relieve our burden of being a man the head of family. I too am very happy to share what I have experienced with the only man suffering from the same condition. Unlike me who is already married, he is currently engaged and going to be married soon. We have become friends ever since. In this regard, I have gained self confidence to be a valuable person.

4 – Productive contests

Another reason I love blogging is the rewards I reap from writing contest. Blogging contest is a productive way to practice writing and to gain material profit at the same time. By material I mean valuable products and money as well. Since 2013 I have won a small laptop and five units of smartphone. Blogging competitions have never ceased to exist. One comes when another ends. Oftentimes some big contests are even held nearly simultaneously that requires blogger to set a scale of priority. Priority results in productivity.

A friend from Kebumen Central Java won a 10 million rupiah prize last month and another fellow blogger from Surabaya was granted a new Toyota Ayla back in April.  Not only does a blogging contest offer amazing prizes but also potential readers or subscribers to our blog. Our participation in a blogging contest normally generate new friendship from other participants from whom we can learn many things.

5 – Bloggership

“Salam persohiblogan!” is a popular exclamation to refer to special relationship established among bloggers. The phrase is usually placed in the end of a comment or a post to remind readers that all bloggers are virtually friends. Salam means greeting and persohiblogan signifies Bloggership—that’s the way I put it. Persohiblogan consists of two principal words: sohib (best friend) and blog. The pe – an affix enables the two words to form a single noun—even stronger. This bloggership occurs not only on blog but in social media as well. One of my experience confirms that bloggers are completely friends though they have not had any physical meeting before.

Since I am a member of Warung Blogger (literally means blogger stall) on Facebook, I once posted a medical question in the group. Some members of the group immediately responded to my question by suggesting a specific drug name while some others recommended natural medication. I was interested to take both. As for the natural medication (specific type of bark), one of the members offered to send me the bark subsequent to my failure to acquire it in the nearest traditional market. The immense attention simply tells me the power of bloggership.

I later realized that blogger is an enigma as well as an anomaly. Most of what they do seem to be opposite to what I see in my everyday life that tends to be egotistic and self-aggrandizement. I have been made ‘apprehensive’ as the actions are against what’s normally happening in the real life. As an anomaly, bloggers develop an existential deviation that penetrates partition and social division of values acclaimed by people of opportunism.

It is also prevalent that bloggers help each other when one is afflicted with misfortune. Either it is a permanent sickness or an unexpected calamity, donation and contribution are voluntarily made to alleviate those affected. We have seemed to know each other long enough that the bloggership is cordial and trustful. The beauty of blogging lies in the power of sharing. It is an exceptional quality that we all share in the blogosphere.

As a final point, blogging is fundamentally about creating value and benefiting for others. It is not about winning a contest or the prestige of speaking on a prestigious event. It is not about fame when writing a book or profitable popularity as a celeblog. It is what we do that matters—to spread happiness as much as we can. To build progressive community that will be productive in the long run. It is what we believe; it is what we live for.