We Should Live - Ben Bateman

Every day, millions of people spend countless hours writing in their blogs. The overwhelming majority are unpaid and largely unread. And they must pay for the privilege.

Blogging is risky, too. The blogger bares his soul to God-knows-whom. Any random idiot can mock your most cherished beliefs, scare off the few readers you attract, or hijack your site with spam. And you’re lucky if it’s a stranger.

An ill-advised blog post can hurt even more if read by a friend, family member, or employer. There are already many stories of people losing their jobs over blogs. It seems a safe bet that there are many more stories of employment applications refused, friendships ended, and even divorce—all over blogs.
So why would anyone do this? It’s no plusses and all minuses. Heaps of risk and no reward. What kind of person would take that deal?

That’s not a rhetorical question. I really don’t know the answer. Probably many are exhibitionists, looking for parental love they should have received but didn’t. Perhaps the possibility for fame, prestige, or even money lures others. For others, maybe it’s just trendy, or an easy way to communicate with family and friends.

Self-psychoanalysis is notoriously unreliable, but here are some reasons I’m starting this blog:
Writing Volume: I’m a student of the art of prose. As with any art, you must practice to maintain your skill. So here’s my practice.

Writing Accumulation: I’ve been posting on others’ blogs for nearly two years now. It has been like renting an apartment: It’s convenient, as you can flit here and there without too much trouble. But you have nothing long-term to show for it. So now I’m buying my own house, as it were, instead of sleeping on the sofas of others.

Emotional Satisfaction. People write on blogs because they want to be heard. We’re social primates, after all. Not so long ago we lived in extended families: hugging, kissing, singing, dancing. We bound ourselves up in communities with social rituals, and at some level I think we miss it. Blogs let us push back against the twentieth century’s social atomization. They let us form new communities. That so many would put so much effort into blogs, despite the risks, shows the depth and power of our instinctual social needs.

I could list out the topics I plan to write about, but there’s no point. By the time you read this, you’ll already have read a half-dozen later posts that show what I’m actually going to write about, instead of what I think I’m going to write about.

So welcome to my little corner of the new universe. Comments are welcome. Let’s chat.