4 Reasons Why I Blog

The other day, someone asked me why I write a blog. As I was thinking about a response to this question, I realized that to outsiders to the blogging world, it might be a little tough to understand. Why would I take time out of an already jam-packed day to voice my opinions to the online world (and really no one in particular)? I've compiled a list of 5 reasons why I do it:

1. I have a unique perspective - I am the Fresh Marketer. Throughout the past five years of my career, I kept hearing about my ability to bring a unique perspective to traditional marketing. I would always look to outside the box when considering how to organize a budget for the year. This unique perspective has caused me to ask a lot of questions about things that people generally don't question. And hey, what's a better place to ask these questions than an open online forum like a blog?
2. I want to take part in the online conversation - For years, I've consumed information through new media: blogs, social communities like Digg, Podcasts, etc and I wanted to provide information back to the community. This new world of social media is all about enabling conversations: between companies and their customers, between members of various groups, and of random people. It's all about exchanging information and I've got information that I can add to the conversation.
   
3. I am developing my brand - One thing that's nice about having a home online is that it helps be develop my brand. If you haven't started thinking about yourself as a brand, you had better start. The way people (coworkers, industry counterparts, etc) feel about you is your very own brand. Having this blog identifies me with the brand attributes that I hope I portray and gives me a vehicle through which to further develop the brand.
   
4. It returns power to the individual - This point could also be, "It gives me a voice." Writing for a blog lets me provide my thoughts on anything: a customer service experience that I recently had, a review of a product that I own (or want to own)...anything. By writing a blog, I'm standing out in a crowd from other customers or product owners because whatever I say is uncensored and will be online indefinitely. Not that I'm power-hungry. Promise.
   

I bring this up because if you haven't thought about writing a blog before, there's really nothing stopping you now. Blogging has definitely tipped and it becomes more apparent everyday. (Take a look at what the folks over at Businesspundit have to say about a new Blogger scholarship.) It's easy to sign up for a free blogging account and get started.

For those of you who blog, I'd love to hear why you do it. Please tell me why in the comments below.