Is blogging just attention-seeking?

Another blog about the oh so exciting life of a person who wants to impress everyone? That’s what I used to think about other people’s blogs not long ago. I regarded blogging as a narcissistic self-celebration and had never thought that I would consider blogging one day myself. But here we are.

I cannot remember when – and why – I began thinking about starting a blog. But the idea probably partly resulted from my constantly increasing irritation by people’s permanent posturing on facebook and other ‘social media’. Every day, you are bombarded with a massive amount of photographs, ads, thoughts, opinions and ideas. And although I love to follow what my friends are doing and where in the world they live at the moment, it is hard to extract this information from this giant bunch of posts. I also like using facebook to communicate with friends from all over the world, but this doesn’t work without the side-effects either.

A blog, at least in my (new) view, is a more discreet form of self-portrayal. Of course, every blogger wants to get as many followers and likes as possible, and certainly everyone who starts a blog considers his pictures and writing pieces worth to be read by others, even strangers. But the difference to other social networks is that people have a choice: Unlike your friends on facebook, people don’t have to pay attention to what you’re up to. They won’t even necessarily know about new posts on your blog. If you run a blog open to the public, people can just have a look at it from time to time, without being connected in any way. If you have a private blog, most people won’t even know about it or be bothered. And if people decide to follow your blog, they will get information straightforward.

My blog is simply meant to bring some aesthetics into daily life. You can just have a look at beautiful places, impressing architecture, cool street art, and you can get ideas where to go for your next holidays. But if you want to, you could also follow my latest field trips, personal experiences and thoughts. And of course I am happy if you like what you see and read. I just don’t think that this is more egocentric than anyone posturing on facebook where all their friends will immediately see it. And: blogging is a case of give and take; within the blogger community, people read and comment on each other’s blogs. Blogging is highly reciprocal; you will not just receive applause for your brilliancy without paying attention to the works of others.

Since I started blogging myself, I have also stumbled across many very impressive blogs – impressive in the way people open their innermost being, describe intense feelings and experiences they had been ashamed of before they took the courage to share them online. For some people, blogging is a way to free themselves from pressures and fears. How can this be wrong?

Do you blog yourself? If yes, what does blogging mean to you? Why do you enjoy it and what are your personal hopes on blogging? What do you think of the ’social media‘? Have you ever been accused of being full of yourself as a blogger?