To blog or not to blog?

What is blogging?

The word ‘blog’ is short for ‘web log’. It’s a form of self-publishing on the web which gives individuals a platform from which to broadcast their thoughts to family, friends and complete strangers. It’s difficult to put an exact figure on how many people blog, but think millions, with more and more people launching their own blog each day.  A growing number of those who blog are ‘Mummy Bloggers’ (a term that encompasses Daddies too!), who frequently share their thoughts on the joys and frustrations of parenthood and family life.

Why blog?

Blogging can be a way of recording and remembering important moments (something your child says, time with friends…), as well as providing a space in which to think and reflect. It can feel cathartic and liberating to put thoughts and feelings into words, knowing that other people will read them and knowing that you are contributing to a community of voices.

To the uninitiated, blogging can look like someone keeping a diary which is then made available to anyone with access to the internet. But blogging is less about someone writing something, and lots of people reading it, and more like hosting a kind of party.

Most people, who read blogs, are bloggers themselves and each blog entry has a space underneath for comments. This facility to comment means that the blogosphere (the world that bloggers inhabit) is really a great big network of conversations, ideas, support, crossed-wires and laughs between people, most of whom are writing (via their own blogs and via comments) as well as reading.         

Blogging is essentially another form of ‘social networking’, and it’s this, particularly as you get to ‘know’ other bloggers, which can make it both rewarding and potentially addictive.    

Favourite blogs

What makes blogs so compelling is the way that they chronicle a person’s life and thoughts in ‘real-time’ (it’s difficult to ‘get it’ by reading one post - you have to ‘follow’ a blog to really understand).

Two blogs that are very interesting are, Momma Sunshine and I used to have hair. They are written by two single parents who met via each others’ blogs and who are now involved in a long-distance relationship.

Other blogs One Space enjoys are: Jo Beaufoix, Ian at Single Parent Dad, Moments from Suburbia, Rosie Scribble and Dulwich Divorcee.      

Liking a blog (just as in liking friends) is quite a personal thing. If you are looking for inspiration, take a look at the Tots 100 list compiled by Who’s the mummy?    

Can your blog make money?

A handful of high profile bloggers including Wife in the NorthCharlotte Moerman  and Single Mum on the Verge have sold books based on their blogs for significant advances. (Viking Penguin are reported to have paid Judith O’Reiily, £70,000 for Wife in the North).     

Although getting an offer to turn a blog into a book isn’t going to happen to most of us, many people use their blog as an outlet for their creativity and to develop their writing skills. Blogs can become a kind of shop window, either for someone’s skills (in writing, journalism, marketing or reviewing say) or more literally if they are running a small business (and sell things via their blog).        

Many blogs carry advertisements for products and services. This is simple to set up via Google Ad Sense, or Amazon Associates.   If your visitors click on the ads and make a purchase, you earn a small percentage. It’s difficult to get a sense of how much money Mummy Bloggers are making this way, but Susanna A Modern Mother, a very popular and ‘media savvy’ blog, reckons it’s difficult to earn much more than the cost of the coffee she drinks.

There are a few mum bloggers - most famously Dooce an American mum - who earn enough via their blog ads (and related projects) to keep themselves and their families – but this is rare.

Another way in which bloggers get some kind of return on their time blogging, is by reviewing goods or services on their blogs. British Mummy Bloggers, an online community for parent bloggers that’s free to join, has a ‘Parent Reviewers’ discussion group (also free to join). PR companies frequently offer members ‘freebies’ - eco-cleaning products, ready meals, books, music toys and trips – in return for a review.

There is lots of debate amongst the blogging community at the moment about the pros and cons of reviewing products on blogs (have a look here for more on this). The arguments against are that; blog readers don’t necessarily want to read ‘reviews’  (particularly if the blogger has been widely enthusiastic in order to butter-up a PR company that might give them more ‘freebies’); reviews can undermine the trust that people have in a blog, it changes the relationship that the blogger has with the ‘reader’ (because then the ‘reader’ becomes a potential ‘customer’); ‘Mummy Bloggers’ are being exploited as they are testing and reviewing a product for no pay (you can bet the people in the PR company are well paid.

If you want to start your own blog read How to Blog. 

If you would like your blog to appear on One Space please email info@onespace.org.uk

To read our favourite bloggers visit Your Talk blogs.