From Hillary Johnson on Why I Read Business Blogs in Inc.:
When I tell people that I read blogs, they usually say something vaguely condescending to the effect that "it must be nice to have so much free time."...
The truth is that I recently quit my day job to start a company of my own and have absolutely no free time. The business blogs I read aren't written by, or for, fools. Reading them is something I consider part--granted, an entertaining part--of my "job."
I was recently pretty much stunned to run into a similar "Why do you read blogs?" attitude among some pretty tech-savvy folks. Not to beat a dead horse, but this reminds me of one of the reasons why I tried to declare the term "blog" obsolete in the first place--because I say "blogs," and some people still hear "teen diaries," or "black helicopter rants," or "cat pictures," instead of "simple, discoverable, linkable, archivable web publishing that allows incredibly smart and creative people who share personal and/or professional interests to find each other and exchange ideas."
Blogs are now my most important means of professional education and networking. I can't imagine how I could have learned so much and met so many intriguing, far-flung people who share my interests over the last seven months without the blogosphere. (Yeah, I hate that word too, but find me a better one.)
And it's not just the breadth and scope of these interactions that I find compelling--it's the depth. I think of my fellow bloggers as such richly interesting people because the medium encourages a blending of the professional and personal, and allows us to share so much of ourselves. (Yes, there are plenty of people who could use a few lessons in boundaries, but we're still working the kinks out.) Hillary Johnson again:
The blogosphere is a vast, anonymous, and surprisingly intimate place inhabited by all manner of exotic creatures--or is it just that blogging brings out the exotic in people? From [David] Hornik's official bio I know that he has a degree in computer music from Stanford and another in criminology from Cambridge, and earned his J.D. from Harvard, magna cum laude. But from his blog posts I know that he has a thing for sumo wrestling, and that his 9-year-old dressed up as Danny Zuko from Grease for Halloween.
In an age when everyone is talking about information overload, this may seem like more than one wants or needs to know about any total stranger, but I find quite the opposite: This is exactly the kind of information that helps me decide whom I really want to listen to...
And as I've noted before, plenty of us aren't just intermingling the personal and the professional, we're writing extensively on many different aspects of our lives, allowing friends, family, colleagues and strangers to get acquainted with our varied interests and areas of expertise. That helps to deepen existing relationships, forge new ties, suggest creative possibilities, and it just makes the working day a hell of a lot more interesting and fun. And if that don't grab your attention, then it's back to the cubicle for you!
