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There is not only one chain letter going round the internet. There are thousands or even millions of them.
Most of them are plain stupid and I don’t even know, why some people still fall for the Nigerian Money Digger Mafia, the Penis ‘Extensionists’, Lottery Agencies or lost daughters of Saddam Hussein or Thaksin Shinawatra who are trying to bring their fortune millions into safety – with your help of course, haha!
Some of those schemes are quite smart and in a subliminal way manage to touch someones pride, vanity or ego.
One of those is the blog meme “5 reasons why I blog”, which is around quite a while. As Justin Timberland currently squeaks with Scarlett Johansson – “What goes around comes around…” – some of those just don’t stop at your door step.
And here we are: I got tagged by Paul O’Flaherty already a while ago, but just found out now.
So what can I do?
Okay, long prelude, short fall-out. Here are my 5 reasons why I blog:
1. To keep my brain juices flowing
When you are laying the whole day on pristine beaches or just in your hang mat; things get slower and slower. Not only the pace of life, but your brain cells as well. The heat doesn’t help either. It feels like someone is pulling chewing gum out of your ear (big Hooba Booba chewing gum that is). Just to make a decision if to drink another beer or better not move at all, because it’s sooooo hot – can be a half-day long task.
3. Laziness
Over your lifetime you’ll meet a lot of interesting people. The only problem is – not all in one location. After a while all of them are scattered around the planet, so it’s quite hard to keep and catch up with them. So when family, relatives and friends ask what am I doing the whole day and if I can send them some pictures and e-mails – I can now point to a simple internet address and say: “There! Just check it out”. Reduce and simplify? Not really. Am still on the phone every now and then and the e-mails didn’t get less. Simple case of self-delusion. Haha!
3. A social thing?
I worked in Sales before. So naturally I’m used to jabber the whole day; doesn’t matter if someone is listening or if I embarrass myself. You just can’t shut me up. And I still want to find out, if not really more of us are able to quit the rat race, even though there are excuses all along the way. So I want to show some temptations and ways on how to get there. Why can’t we learn together and find out about alternative modes of life? Nobody likes the cubicle, but for most of us it’s the future? Yeah right! I believe in shared knowledge as more useful, so if you have something to say and are interested on being a guest blogger, just let me know!
4. A geek thing?
I was always a bit of a geek. Started during the 80’s with my Atari 800XL, soon followed with experiences with KC 85/2 and 85/3, Schneider Armstrad 1512DD with Digital Research’s GEM up to my own first real PC 386DX25. Did mail boxing in my youth (that thing *before* the internet with modems and giant telephone bills!) and even took up a profession in the IT industries for 14 years. So naturally there was some interest in all kinds computer related. And here I am now, sitting on an island in Asia and experimenting with PHP, HTML, SEO, Widgets, Plugins, Google Analytics and Affiliate Programs. It’s a challenge, but an interesting one. So amazing what you can learn about web design in just a few months!
5. Show me the money!
Okay, I have to admit it, that’s a reason as well. Not only am I subscribing to the idea that it takes more than one sources of income, when you want to retire early. Rent, interest, dividends can be some pillars of your retirement. But I also wanted to find out, if it’s possible to make a living online. For sure there are plenty of options, like having an online shop selling things, offering consulting or programming services, teleworking, forex or stock trading. All too stressy for me to do that daily!
So far, things are going okay. Visitors, Ads and Affiliate numbers have doubled now almost every month over the last 6 months, so slowing things are improving. Google Page rank jumped from 2 to 5 and more traffic is coming in. It’s not enough to make a living yet; but I can cover my internet and hosting costs so far and buy a coffee or a pizza once in a while.
My niche is maybe too small; should I write a blog about Raunchy Sex, celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Brad Pitt or lifestyle items like Apple iPods??? But then – in Sex I prefer the real thing not theory. Why watch celebrities when you can live your own life? Person cult died with Mao – no? And lifestyle icons – that’s what I’m trying to get away from. Consumerism, Materialism – who needs that anyway? Happiness in Life is something else not money. There you go!
Can I go now, Paul? 
I know: not before I shot the sheriff, eh I mean 5 other people. I really would love to know the reasons of the 5 people below. Let’s see how long it will take and if they even will subscribe to that Meme:
- Andy the Hobo Traveler currently in Africa
- Miss Izzy in Singapore
- James from Japan Probe in Tokyo
- Elliott Back from All About Asia in NYC
- Dodong Flores in Philippines
Don’t kill me please. Just tell us 5 reasons why you blog! :-)
or save article to your Facebook with 1 simple click:
March 13th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
LOL.. No you can’t go… ;)
March 14th, 2007 at 1:39 am
Wow, that was great…I think most of my reasons are the same, however, except for the geek thing….I leave all the geek stuff to Roberto, and it works out just fine. Also for me, I just love writing, I like to keep sharp about the things I enjoy and it is nice to point people one place to let them know what is new.
Take care and enjoy the sun, Chris!
March 14th, 2007 at 7:48 am
I am still geting used to the idea of the BLOG. I have found some useful information for me to use and alot of not so useful non-sense.
Question: If enough people BLOG over the next several decades do you think that all the words will fill up and CLOG cyber space? Hmmm?
March 15th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Agreed on pretty much all your points above. Except the money, though it would be nice to recieve money for blogging I don’t. There are some dollars from adsense but not even enough to get my first cheque yet.
I started out of curiosity and because I had time on my side living in Asia and not working (well, not in the traditional sense). I find it quite therapeutic too and somewhat addictive, often feeling that I must add my daily thought or rant for the day to be complete.
I’ve also struck up one or two friendships with people all over the world through it. I’ve also actually met some face to face who turned out to be dangerously deluded about their importance in the world.
Unlike most bloggers I’ve never shared my blog with people I know. No one I knew before I started the blog knows anything about it and all regular readers are there because they find something interesting in it.
March 17th, 2007 at 1:00 am
YOu got me, Chris. First time to write a meme… If it wasn’t you who tagged me, I couldn’t have done it…
Here’s mine anyway, http://travelogue.digitalrebel.ws/2007/03/tagged-five-reasons-why-i-blog.html.
Good luck and blog on…
March 17th, 2007 at 3:02 am
I guess I blog to connect with people outside my local context. It gets pretty boring sometimes to just know people in your immediate surroundings, so why not have a go at looking at the world on a broader perspective? That’s how I feel when I pen my words down.
March 25th, 2007 at 3:56 am
I blog, therefore I am.
My reasons?
1. An outlet to share my travel experiences and advice, partly as a way to encourage others to travel independently.
2. Stay in touch with family and friends while abroad.
3. Make a little extra income to help me on the road.
4. To help break my tv addiction.
5. I like to write, and I’m sure blogging helps strengthen my writing skills.
March 25th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
In an attempt to regenerate awareness towards the island of Bali, ABL has recently created a web-log (commonly known as blog) – http://blog.baliwww.com
The main function of this web-log is that it can be viewed daily like an on-line journal and anyone can post opinions, questions, messages and general information for the benefit of those who have business or travel interests in Bali.
In order for us to create a concise data-base about what is happening around Bali, ABL would like to invite you to submit Articles of your travel experiences, Art and culture, Music, Dance, Press Releases, Special Events regarding your property, which will then appear under each category of the web-log.
Please feel free to view the ‘blog’ at your leisure and contact us if you have any feedback on issues of how we can work together to promote and preserve Bali as a quality holiday destination.
March 30th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
One reason I blog is to start a discussion…. but so far I haven’t really had any really heated debates…yet.
March 30th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
[…] So there’s this chain-post going around where people list five reasons why they blog. When I do a quick search for “5 reasons” in my feed reader, I see that the following have written such a post: Daniel at thelostglobe.com, Dave from GoBackpacking, Stacy at Rambling Traveler, and Chris at nomad4ever. Now it’s my turn to chime-in. […]
March 30th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
[…] Daniel over at TheLostGlobe.com was kind enough to tag me with the latest 5 Reasons Why I Blog meme that’s recently been passed around here, here, and here to name a few. […]
August 1st, 2007 at 9:37 am
Congrats on having a popular blog! I blog more out of the necessity of creative urge and desire to communicate, but I envy your ability to attract readers and make some cash with your blog.
I’m an expat in Indonesia also. The blog is http://xsplat.wordpress.com
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:41 pm
[…] Besides the overwhelmingly positive responses from you Readers, this is also one of the main reasons for me to continue doing it; to keeping my brain juice flowing and learning something new every day. I know I won’t become rich from blogging, but please don’t mind the Ads, as they help to cover my hosting bills. […]
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:24 am
oh lord my baby your driving me craz. Jumana Fanni.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:05 am
5 reasons to blog:
1. Its free
2. It’s interesting
3. I have a lot to say
4. Someone will read it
5. Keeps me in touch with the world