The idea that is circulating, and usually among those who have little or no concept of blogging, is people blog to become famous. The possibility could be true in many cases, as some bloggers do set out intentionally to blog for fame. It could even be argued that business people blog for that reason. If the goal is to spread the word about their business, then at least becoming better known is the motivation.
That said, fame is not likely the main driving force for most bloggers to set fingers to keyboard. Bloggers write to express themselves, and very often to extremely limited audiences. By the way, if you are one of those unfortunates, we should talk; or at least read my blog on a more regular basis.
Anyway.
I was at a recent networking event, mainly spreading the word about business blogs. Instead of promoting myself, my business, or even my blog, I discussed how maintaining a blog could assist their business. I touched upon higher search engine rankings, creating a conversation with current and potential customers and clients, along with using a blog in their business's public relations efforts.
A few people remarked that bloggers only write to become famous, and the rest of the ideas were merely window dressing. I thought about that statement for a second and then I responded. I suggested that a business blog is more of a business relationship builder, between business person and the customer. They responded that it was only about being famous and being seen as important in their own industry, as well as in society in general.
While many bloggers do become regarded as authorities in their industry, that phenomenon predates blogging. In fact, promotion and marketing of a business has literally taken place forever. Long before the internet, computers, and even electricity were around, people were promoting and marketing their businesses and services. No business survives very long without getting the word out on the street about their products and services.
In that sense, I continued, the business blog is a marketing, public relations, and promtional tool. The blog is the means to market products and services; not the end in and of itself. They remained unconvinced, and seemed to prefer the exclusively seeking of fame interpretation.
I can see their point, sort of.
If a business wants to become well known, it has to strive for a bit of "fame", and the owners and management have to gain some degree of "celebrity". Of course, that doesn't equate precisely to the cult of celebrity spread across television, newspapers, and magazines. In fact, it celebrity could be defined as being well known simply for being well known. The phenomenon feeds upon itself.
Some bloggers are now becoming well known people in the larger community. In that sense, they are on the way to having the proverbial household name of some business leaders and journalists.
Does that mean that they started to blog to achieve that fame? In some cases, perhaps yes. For other bloggers, the answer would be a no.
Blogs and bloggers are so diversified, in their countless motivations and goals, that it's literally impossible to pigeonhole the reasons for starting a blog. With literally millions of blogs on the internet, similarity of thought and ideas went out of the window long ago. There are as many classifications of blogs, topics, and themes as there are numbers of blogs. It's a bit like counting grains of sand on a beach.
I'm sure that a search for bloggers who seek only fame, would turn up many examples. The opposite case is also true. A similar search for bloggers who go out of their way to avoid publicity for their blogs, beyond a select circle of readers, would also find large numbers.
In the end, the reasons for blogging are many as there are bloggers. The goals for blogging are countless and highly diverse.
The blog is a tool, and it can be used for many things. The blog itself is not the goal, but the means to achieving them. If fame and celebrity is your goal, then by all means, blog your way into the public eye.
And when you become famous, remember with kindness, all of us mere mortals.
On the other hand, if you are simply blogging to help your business, communicate ideas, or merely talking to friends and family, your staying out of the public limelight is equally important.
Long live variety of blogs, and the people who write them. May their voices be diverse and plentiful.
