What is a blog and why blog?

I was going to start this by saying a good friend wrote me about a question and asked if all was OK as it has been a while without any update… Then go into the purpose and reasons for a blog, as I see it… But thought before I posted a bunch of rambling, how about a short life summary…

MRI results show a torn rotator cuff with the most prominent issue being a Bicep Tendon tear. The “long head” of the bicep. Now I have to decide what to do about it. So many say they had no luck with surgery. Others say it helped but never was the same. Others say Physical Therapy is the best first choice? I still have pain, 7 weeks later. Not near as much. I only wake at night if I roll hard onto it. I can now ride bike with a small backpack. But I will see. I am leaning toward Physical Therapy.

I am riding and that is nice. I see the Doc in 11 days about the knee, but the way it feels, I know I am not ready for running. I am walking, but if I go a few miles, it hurts a little. So I am thankful I get to bike as that at least has made the weight gain stop, but not losing any either… 35 pounds more than when I tried the first ST 100 in 2007… Ouch!

So back to what I started writing about. What is a blog and what use is it. To me, it's a journal about ones life and interests. Some use it for their journey to run 100 miles, others to fight cancer, others for weight loss… But what I have found, it is also a way to have friends… I thought many I would classify as good friends who now have limited blog entries or vowed to quit. Like my friend Steve quick who had taken on a Superman task and had to quit a race after already surpassing things beyond my imagination… and now wants to quit his blog…

I have grown to know Steve, as a friend, more from the blog than face-to-face meetings. Another person many of us think we know as a friend is Julie Berg, but I have probably said less than 100 words to her over the years, but feel like she is a good friend. I love the way she puts so much “life” out there. Makes her real. Diane Farmer, who has posted her up’s and downs through house changes, job changes, renters, and so on, gives a real life feel to me about her, even though we have never spend much time together. Now I miss a post from her. I was excited about a post she had recently only to find it was a malicious attack on her blog (or e-mail). Diane, we miss our friend…

Recently, my friend Wayne started to post pictures from his phone, notes about the motorcycle and his job locations as well as running. I learned more about him as an individual, and consider him a friend. Same goes for Helen (Love reading about he trips to the homeland and more), Beth (love that she juggle the life and family and does so well!), Karen (shared her deepest sorrow and fears with the loss of her sister and much more), Mike (brings me back to the 80’s occasionally… Thanks), Pastor Don, Keith (five fingers best promo and much more), Matt (Beer man, job challenges and all), Mark (training struggles, Garmin issues and etc…), Carl (cancer survivor, father, husband), Don (makes me hungry every time I look at the post… Love the 100 things, really feel like I know him and never met him!), Kel (I really feel her ups and downs as she shares them and love the research tests see completed), Steve G (I add him to my prayers often as they have had hard times, but he is up and smiles and perseveres!) and so many others. (SORRY IF I MISSED YOU BUT THIS IS TO LONG OF A POST NOW!)

Reading the bogs helps me know there are real people out there, like me, who have struggles but continue to pursue the passion, not matter what it is. It gives me something many people long for… many great people I can call friends… And when a friend disappears, it creates a hole. Kind of like when Adam limited posts, I felt like I lost a friend… And Steve Quick's blog has opened my reading (as far as interesting topics) greatly with his great knowledge of non-mainstream facts… Steve, don’t quit. You are a friend to so many!

So I was thinking, what is the purpose of a blog anyway?

There is still confusion on and off the Internet about the definition and purpose of a blog. Even though several explanations and definitions of why a blog exists, many people still don’t have a very good understanding of its purpose and its nature. I found a reference that said there are over 60 million bogs which are updated at least once a week…

One definition I found was “A blog is personal site, an online log containing publication of content sorted in chronological order, with the most recent entry (newest post) at the top of the page. Individual entries (logs) are usually always dated and time-stamped and generates an archive of all previous post including the recent post at the top of the page. The archive is usually found in the sidebar but can be found in some blog at the bottom of the site or by a link in the top navigation bar of the site. Older entries are archived by month and year or by week and year with a static webpage address (burl address) for each individual entry (posts).”

But to me, blogs facilitate communication between the reader and the owner of the site. The author writes about whatever is interesting to them in any writing style that suits their interests. I have found blogs fall in different subject categories based on their content or niche. Blog content varies greatly and can cover a large subject area too numerous to mention here. But what I notice is blogs evolve, much like we as humans evolve. That keeps them interesting… Blogs can take a personal or professional approach. Blogs can represent the personality of the author; their personal experiences, views and hobbies. Topics can include politics, pets, comics, celebrity gossip, personal diary etc. etc.

And this is what I love about many of my friends. I get to know them and feel comfortable with them as humans. Even when I see them very little.

So if you read this far… Thanks for blogging and reading my rambles. I feel like have so many friends in this fast paced world and Blogs help me “keep in touch” on my schedule… and when friends schedules make for actual human interaction, it makes that time so much more rewarding! And just because we do not comment... I read and love the fact you are being human and sharing your life with me... my friends.

So Blog on… and Carry on…