The Advantages and Disadvantages of Blogging
If you follow a collection of blogs online -- or perhaps just one blogger in particular -- you may find yourself saying, "I can do that." While anyone with the proper tools has the ability to blog, dedicating yourself to blogging may be harder than you think. Before staring a blog, make sure to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages to make sure it's something you want to invest time into.
Other People Are Reading
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Expression
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The main advantage to blogging is it allows you to share your voice with anyone interested in listening. When it comes to blogging, no topic is off limits. If you're a sports fan, you can blog about your favorite team -- or its archrival. If you're a movie fan, you can blog about the summer blockbusters, Oscar contenders and every film in between. Even if no one is actually reading your blog, you can still practice your writing skills on a daily or weekly basis, depending on how often you blog. Like any form of creative writing, blogging will help you develop a unique voice that may generate an audience down the line.
Time And Money
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Unless you are already an established writer who is going to be paid to blog her opinions on a website -- or have advertisers set up which will be paying you -- making good money from blogging is not a realistic goal in the beginning. Over time, your voice may strike a chord with enough readers that you will get a paid writing job, but this is no guarantee. Before starting to write a blog, keep in mind the amount of time you'll need to keep it updated. If your blog is taking time away from your job, blogging on a regular basis may not be the wisest idea.
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Critics
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If you have a blog you should be prepared to face criticism. After all, the whole point of a blog is to share an opinion, and thinking that everyone is going to share the same opinion as you is unrealistic. How you handle criticism will help you determine if blogging is for you. If you have thin skin and find yourself getting stressed out or angry when others don't agree with you, you may be setting yourself up for unwanted headaches by creating a blog. However, if you enjoy a good debate and keep a calm head about it, blogging -- and responding to your critics -- can be quite enjoyable.
Competition
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Since anyone with a computer, Internet access and a voice can be a blogger, the competition factor is high. Many subjects you wish to blog about have already been blogged about countless times. Since there are so many blogs on the Web already, it may be hard to find an audience outside of your friends and family who will actually read yours. However, the world of screenwriting, acting, dancing, film making and other creative fields is also competitive, but people do still find an audience. The key to blogging is not so much what you're writing about, but the voice behind it. If you can find a unique voice, word of mouth can help your blog reach a larger audience.
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References
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