Bloggers and their motivation—What drives us
In the previous week's blog article, I addressed the question, "Why do I blog?" At first, I thought that would be the answer to today's question, and the article would be accordingly short ☺️. But I dug a little deeper.
Motivation and the Why
Out of curiosity, I browsed the Blog Weekly Directory of other bloggers' articles. I found myself reflecting on some of the texts (C0d1 Online or Timmer's Blog). With this help, I could better explore "What drives me?" I realized I had a good answer to why, but I hadn't thought about my motivation.
Discovering and Learning
With the blog, I reflect on what I do every day. At the very least, I write about things that, in my opinion, provide relevant insights. At first, I saw the advantage in organizing my thoughts when writing them down, which helps me internalize my insights better.
Over time, I've noticed that I uncover more insights because I take a more investigative view of the world. I ask myself more questions, question things in general, and don't just accept them. This allows me to discover and learn more. And precisely this satisfaction of my thirst for knowledge is a motivator.
Collecting and sharing knowledge
The blog offers the perfect place for my new insights. I aggregate my knowledge and can connect it. By linking it to social media (cross posting to LinkedIn, Mastodon, and Bluesky), I enable my network to participate.
Sharing thoughts with the world
One focus of the blog is the topic of "thought journeys." This includes articles in which something moves me that doesn't fall into other issues, such as book reviews, software engineering, weekly reviews, and newsletters. Before the blog, these thoughts fizzled out into nothingness, without any effect. Among them are my thoughts on the question: How to deal with unsolvable challenges? I recommend running away or mess up. You can find more on my blog.
Feedback
Some bloggers wrote that the exchange and feedback motivate them. I've received little feedback in the form of comments so far. And I don't know if I even want that. Concern about trolls resonates with this topic. Long-time bloggers have assured me credibly that haters are active on social media and don't usually vent their anger in the comments of a blog.
Comments and feedback contain appreciation and recognition. Therefore, I suspect that I secretly hope for that. And I don't want to admit that this motivates me.
Conclusion
I write for myself and leave a digital legacy. Anyone who is eager to learn about me can do so perfectly on my website. Only in my diary or through personal interaction would there be a chance to get a better impression of me.
Thanks to this article, I realize that besides being mindful and questioning things, I write for discovery, learning, and sharing my thoughts.
#BlogWochen2025
