Why Blog?

I did a google search on "why should I start blogging?" a few days back. All I came up with were "how to start blogging" articles.

Does that mean that nobody wonders about the reasons for having a blog? Is blogging already so overhyped that no-one questions the reasons for a blogs existance?

I started another blog once, and used to post rather seriously. I thought, I might ultimately monetize it and earn some revenue. That was the motivating factor which got me started. Since I was working the corporate life back then, I thought I'd try to help people starting out in that environment.
Within a while, I felt like I didn't have anything useful to contribute. Honestly speaking, I didn't like my job that much; I was planning to quit and go to Australia for my Masters degree. I don't want to say too many negative things, but suffice to say that I was disilluisoned with my corporate life. I didn't feel like promoting that life anymore.

Blogging as a way of earning income has been popularized recently, especially by such six-figure-writers as Steve Pavlina and Darren Rowse. But earning money should not be the sole motivating factor for starting a blog: it's easier to just get a job, or to work harder at an existing one.

I think you should only start a blog if you have something useful to contribute. Don't just link to other sites. And don't write on something that you're not passionate about.

One of my favorite sites, BusinessPundit has quite a few posts on the mediocrity of the masses. Ultimately, when we need high-quality information, we seek out the experts. The majority of bloggers are not experts, even if they are very good. So blog only if you're an expert, or if you can channel wisdom from other experts.

In short, you should blog if:

1. You really love your chosen topic
2. You're an expert on your topic, or can otherwise provide unique, useful content
3. If you have the time and energy to do all this

Blogging isn't easy, and that's why the majority of blogs die out pretty soon.

So why did I start this particular blog? Well, I have the time for this now. But more importantly, I wanted a blog which would make its readers feel happy, and make me feel happy. I wanted to create the sort of blog which would light up its readers' day. In a way, this would be sort of like a personal Happiness Project for me.