Why is Blogging Even a Thing?

Blogging is an older form of media. It's being shadowed more and more by the more "hip" and "fresh" media forms like Facebook and YouTube. Yet still, you- dear reader- came here; and you're reading this. Why is that?

Maybe you came here because of my YouTube channel (shameless plug to the White Xocolate channel). If you did, then I guess the first paragraph caught your attention enough for you to keep reading. So why is it? For me, the writer, I find it quite relaxing, therapeutic, almost. I'm sitting here, writing away my thoughts on whatever topic I feel like discussing. The making of blog posts could also have to do with an inherent need a lot of us have. We all want attention. We all want to be good at something, and we all want recognition for it. If you're at home writing away on your diary, journal, or hell, even on a napkin, nobody else will see it. If that's what you're in to, then have at it, less competition for me. But for most people, we want to do something that's public. Blogs provide that opportunity.

Now that we understand why are blogs made, we can ask the real question: why are they read? I mean, reading about some dude's life, pop culture, or about why are blogs written (kudos if you're reading the last one from that list) doesn't seem too exciting. So why is it? I think it's because some people just like reading better. And I'm talking about real reading- not some 20th century Tweet, post, or BuzzFeed article. I'm talking about actually sitting down in front of your computer, or printed paper, and reading a post. That's an experience that YouTube, Vine, or anything else just can't replace. Much like writing blogs, reading them can be very relaxing to some.

But if writers write for relaxation and publicity, and readers read to replace other forms of media, then why don't we all just use books? I'll tell you why not. For one, books take time. You have to write them, edit them, give them to an editor to re-edit them and nag you for your grammar. On the other hand, a blog just takes hours, minutes maybe... seconds if you're feeling spicy. It's a lot less time consuming. Speaking about time consumption, my other reason for blogging over books is that it's more timely. Blogs are often about something that doesn't last forever, a sports game, a new trend (duck face anyone?), whatever it is. You can't write a book about something like this. By the time your book is published, everyone's long forgotten your book's topic and moved on to something new. Then, there's also the politics surrounding books, but I don't want to get too into them (yet). In brief, mostly anyone can write a blog, all you need is a keyboard really; but a book, that requires a publisher, an editor, possibly time and money. Don't get me wrong, I'm not poo-pooing books, all I'm saying is blogs are better for those who don't have a whole bunch of time and want to write something current.

So there you have it, friends, a bit of a meta blog. five paragraphs of me talking about why blogs are written, read, and not replaced. I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you have a damn wonderful day.