Why blog?

This morning's paper featured a story about a 20 year old college student who committed to blog about his life every two hours for a year. You can find Nathan at www.livelifestory.com. I checked out the site and sure enough, every two hours there is a post, even through the night. And it isn't anything too exciting either. I read a few posts about him having lunch, feeling tired and deciding what to do with his day. Yet, he has thousands of loyal readers.

In the 'mommy blogosphere' there are lots of regular bloggers who have devoted readers. Most notably is Heather Armstrong at www.dooce.com whose blog is so popular that her husband quit his job to manage the site's advertising revenue which now supports her entire family.

I was speaking at a conference a few months ago and one of the speakers suggested that all SAHM's should have a blog if they ever want to return to work. No, she didn't promote blogging about how many diapers you've changed in order to secure your next job. Rather, she suggested you write a professional blog related to your chosen field to keep yourself up to date in that area.

While I started my blog in order to help promote my book, I've continued it because I enjoy it. I am drawn to issues related to family friendly work and I suspect my friends and family get tired of hearing about it. Through the blog, I have a chance to share the news, ideas and information I come across. Writing the blog also motivates me to stay on the look out for news and research relating to the topic, forcing me to stay up-to-date.

Is it worth my time? I think so. But for Nathan's goal of blogging every two hours he said "I worry that when it's all over I'll look back and think that I wasted a whole year of my life."