Blogging vs. Facebook

In chatting with a dear and close friend about her return to blogging, I quickly became excited about setting up my own blog. With getting started only a couple of hours ago, I admit my page looks rather sparse and primitive. While I could have done a little more "fussing" with the layout, I thought it time to get to work on my first blog entry. It then occurred to me, not only did I not know what to write; I wasn't sure what the practical aspect of me having a blog would be. Sure, many in my writing group (Toronto Romance Writers) have a blog and they use their blogs to promote their books and appearances. Seeing that I've yet to get any of my work published, there will be relatively little self-promotion going on here, at least for the time being. And with that, there will be no noteworthy appearances or any signings on my part.

The reality of which brought me back to the question of "Why am I here?"

After all, I now and again post some of my daily goings on in Facebook (I even have a Twitter account, though I do little with it) so why would I need to spend time updating another form of social media?

However, in giving it some thought, I realized that while Facebook is a great tool for sharing quick blurbs and posting pictures, a blog gives one a greater opportunity to share deeper thought(s). It gives one a greater opportunity to give readers a much deeper insight as to what is going in one’s life. And it gives one a greater opportunity to share with others, in greater depth, their feelings about those events that shape one’s days, weeks, months, years.....

and lives.

In drawing similarities between social media outlets and network broadcasting, Facebook is akin to a news flash, a "Bulletin", while a blog can be like a detailed editorial where the sharing of opinion and insight into an event  (personal or otherwise) is given in detail.

In addition, while I may not have anything (at least at the moment) worth discussing with regards to my writing, I would consider this blog to be most worthwhile and rewarding if I could use it as a vehicle to promote the work my brethren writers. Promoting not by simply (blindly? Lemming like?) clicking a "Like" icon, but promoting by sharing a few words about an author and their work.

OK. Now that I've answered my own question of "Why am I here?" and seeing that I’ve laid out a blueprint of what I hope to do with and achieve with my blog, I look forward to getting down to the business of not merely "posting" to this blog. Rather, I hope to, at least a couple of times a week, share incite, opinions and feelings that are born out of formulated thought.

I welcome you to climb aboard. I hope you enjoy the ride.