Why Should You Blog?

I thought this video had some great points on why you should blog. It’s of Seth Godin and Tom Peters at some kind of Entrepreneur Conference (h/t ParishGeeks.com):

When I started my personal blog, it was precisely with these sentiments in mind. I wanted to articulate my thoughts. Pick them out of the swirling clouds in my head, write them out and find some order in them. I suppose it’s the same concept of keeping a journal or a diary, which are very effective tools for helping make sense of our lives.

But I didn’t just want to articulate my thoughts. I wanted to articulate them and then test them. I wanted feedback. I didn’t want to simply keep them closed off in some private, isolated thought bubble. I wanted to air them out for others to read and react to. Not to convince and change the world, but to convince and change myself.

The great thing about a blog (for better and sometimes worse) is that others get to read it…and comment. You get feedback from people. Some will agree with and encourage you. Others will attack you. Maybe you’ll defend your ideas. Maybe you’ll find out that you can’t. Either way, you learn. And your pursuit of truth takes one step closer to its end.

A blog is a place for ideas to rub up against each other. To be fueled or squelched. It’s a place to be an honest student. And an honest student is often also a very good teacher.

I believe in blogging with purpose. It might be to change the world. Or it might be to change yourself. Hopefully a little bit of both.