When a close friend, Chris Cree, asks me a question, like the one at the end of this post, “Why do you blog?” I have to figure out whether to respond with my default response –a deep meaningful answer.

Some questions — “What are you doing?” — don’t ask for philosophy. I find I keep more friends, and they are happier, if I sort which questions want a deep, meaningful answer and which call for information. (Hey, in the end, you can walk away, but I’m stuck listening to me rattle like an old three-wheel bicycle.)

Gosh, . . . I might have already said more than you needed to know.

[Sorry]

Why do I blog? was the question.

I have three blogs of my own and two others that I blog on regularly. I did two interviews this weekend. Why do I blog? The answer to that has grown, but the reasons haven’t changed.

Chris, you asked for five reasons. When I look out at my blogs these are the ones I see.

1. I blog because I said I would. When I wrote my first blog post, I made a commitment to myself to write every day. With the next blog, and the blog after, I made more commitments to myself and to anyone who reads what I write. Keeping my word is important to me.
2. I blog because people need a friend. For years I gave away copies of two journal-like books by one writer. I gave them to folks I knew who needed to know they had a friend. Then those books went out of print. I wanted to make a blog that would offer a place where anyone could go to find a best friend at any hour of the day. I think people deserve a safe place.
3. I blog because I am an entrepreneur in the 21st century. Blogging is one strategy of my business. Blogging gives my service business substance and a voice. I know that any business supported solely by print and word-of-mouth relationships is isolated and insecure. Blogging directly and indirectly supports my family. It is my credibilitiy across more than 2000 blog posts.
4. I blog because I value the wealth of the blogosphere. The people, the relationships, the generosity of spirit, the joy of discovery, the learning and laughter, the humanity I experience are what bring me back day after day. Who with curiosity could be bored? We’ve set the bar with words I strive to live — authenticity, transparency, trust, respect, acceptance.
5. I blog because I believe words can change the world. How could I walk away? Blogging is not an addiction. It’s a heady way of communicating, a meeting place for ideas where they become visible — more visible than the people who have them. I cannot turn my back on the possibility of being useful.

Nothing in my life could have prepared me to be a blogger, except everything in my life.

Now I wonder, you are each unique, Lisa, Brian, David, Tony, Chris . . . Why do you blog?