Building a Better Blog... Or Not

There has been a lot of talk around the blogosphere as of late about building a better blog. The information has been useful, but in some ways, I think it's causing a bit of a blogging identity crisis for me.

Does my blog really need to be bigger? Better? Do I need a larger following?

In large part, I write to become a better writer. This hashing of words here in this space is great practice for the greater writing that I dream of, think of, hope for. But I also write for an audience, with the hope that someone, somewhere might benefit from what I have to say, from my perspective, from me. And, I write for an audience because it feels good to have people comment, to know that people read, to feel validated in this that I do everyday.

But. BUT.

All the self promoting, twittering tweeting, following, follow me, facebooking that goes on simply makes my head spin. Others do it. They grow their blogs with effort and hard work. For some, I think this diminishes the value of what they have to say - all the trying to be bigger. But not always. I know of blogs that are big, BIG, that deserve every single reader, every single comment because they are real and true and beautiful. Could it be that perhaps those blogs are big, BECAUSE they are real and true and beautiful? 

So where do I fit? Where do I want to fit? When I think about publishing, about the potential of one day selling my very own words, I think of how beneficial a well networked, well read blog could be. But then I think about the effort, the keeping up, the becoming great, and it makes me want to slam the laptop shut and go take a nap.

At the end of the day, I think the best I can do is what I'm doing. I am after all, many other things before I am a blogger. So grow, little blog, grow. In your own time, in your way, become whatever it is you are meant to become.

In the meantime, I'll just be over here taking a nap.