A lucky few can answer the question with, “I do it for money”. A majority of others have to make do with,” I blog because I like to.”

I am sure you like to blog; I am sure because I do too. But, in addition to that, there are some practical reasons why a person should blog. Here I am going to list four of them:

1. To improve your communication skills: To communicate is a human being’s most basic need. Whether it is happiness, or joy, or just a general state of  ennui, it has to be shared. Writing is an important means of sharing, and one that you have to resort to often – both in your personal as well as official life. I have seen many people who can accomplish the most difficult tasks in a jiffy, but they break a heavy sweat when they have to write something.

If you blog, however, sooner or later, you begin to love writing, and though there may be times when you want to stop, there are other times when you just can’t wait to get your hands on to a computer so that you can post. Also, when you have been blogging for any length of time, you will see a marked improvement in your writing skills.

Blogging also helps in arranging your thoughts in a manner that they become coherent and presentable.

Have you ever read something really impressive and thought to yourself, “Hey, wait a minute, I had exactly this thought a few days back!” You must have, except you did not realise it at that time. Blogging will help you pen down that thought before anyone else does.

2. To make friends: The rise of blogging is most importantly because of it being an interactive medium. When you write something, you quickly get feedback from the readers. Some of these readers will like your blog, begin to visit your blog regulalry, and even you might begin to visit theirs, if they have one. Then, before you realise it, you find that you share more things in common than you orignally thought, and you become great friends.

Ask any blogger you know and, I am sure, he will have a story to tell you about how he made great friends through his blog. Who doesn’t need a good friend in these days and times?

3. To become an expert: Maybe you are not interested in improving your communication skills, and neither are you interested in making friends. Should you still blog?

The answer is a vehement yes!

When you blog, one fine morning you will find that you have run out of things to say. You have said all you knew. The proverbial pen has run dry of the ink. What do you do? You refill the ink, right?

This is to say that you begin to explore and learn more about the subjects that interest you. There is a source of infinite knowledge – the Internet – at your disposal, and you begin to use it. Soon, before even you realise it, you have more knowledge about the subjects than your peers. If you keep at it, you even run the risk of becoming an expert.

4. To become an early adopter: This one is hard to explain, but due to a variety of side effects of blogging like spending more time on the Internet, trying to spread the word about your blog, having more smart friends, etc. you will find that you become more aware of the latest trends that are taking the world by storm. Not only do you become aware, but you also  want to experience these changes first hand ( maybe because you want to blog about them before anyone else does). So, you go on from being a laggard to an early adopter.

So, are you going to start blogging now? If you already do, what is your reason for blogging?