Most times, the general idea people have of a blogger in Nigeria is either a Linda Ikeji, a lazy person, a jobless person, or one with little to do. Blogging is yet to be seen as a profession of its own by many.
Sometimes, these definitions of a blogger might be true, however, what is not true is that that is not all there is to blogging.
According to Wikipedia , a blog is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (“posts”). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page.
Most times people are confused about the difference between a blog and a website. The fact is, they can be used interchangeably, however, what distinguishes a blog from a website is that its contents are updated regularly and it allows for user engagement.
I don’t think we have many full-time bloggers in Nigeria yet (if you are one, say holla!!). Most bloggers juggle blogging with studies, career or part-time jobs.
Many bloggers start blogging as a hobby, before progressing to make money out of it and few start out with the sole aim of making money.
I started blogging in August 2015 as a hobby and I was not even sure if I could call myself a blogger then, but as the years progressed, I have gotten better and I’ve learned to take blogging more seriously.
I started blogging mainly because:
1. I wanted to contribute something positive to the world through the use of the internet. Blogging for me is a way of giving back to the society, a way of doing something positive with the internet, a way of adding value.
2. To impact lives. Yes, I have a desire to impact lives positively; either by challenging you through a blog post or through song posts or by sharing stories of people that have made it. A major aim of my blog is to add value. You definitely cannot visit my blog and leave without learning a lesson or two (and we keep getting better as the days go by *winks*).
You definitely cannot visit my blog and leave without learning a lesson or two (and we keep getting better as the days go by *winks*).
As the years progressed, blogging has become even more important to me for different reasons.
There are different categories of blogging, some of which are: Lifestyle Blogging (like what I do), Entertainment/ News/ Gossip Blogging (like what Linda Ikeji does), Music Blogging, Fashion Blogging, Health Blogging, Religious Blogging, Food Blogging, and Career Blogging.
People blog for different reasons and it will be wrong to assume that anyone blogging is doing it for a lack of something better to do.
I remember being at a conference one day and a guy engaged me in a conversation saying that he didn’t believe bloggers were serious people until he met me. I mean, you tell people you are a blogger and the next thing they think of is that you are jobless or you are trying to be like Linda Ikeji. I’m not saying this to sub Linda Ikeji, she has definitely made a name for herself in news/gossip blogging, rather I’ll like for you guys to know that blogging is more than that and that people are beginning to make a profession out of it.
Being a blogger is not a small task; it means you are a man/women of many hats.
As a blogger: you are a content creator, a social media strategist, a digital marketer (maybe), an authority in a particular field, a photographer (maybe), etc. Now imagine someone combining all this with a regular 8 – 5 job while still trying to churn out good blog posts regularly (you can imagine right). It is not an easy task.
My first aim of writing this post was to ask bloggers that have a regular 8-5 job how they manage their office work and still churn out good posts regularly, but then the post scope widened as I wrote it (not bad right?).
To wrap up this post then, I’ll like to ask a few questions.
To my fellow bloggers generally: how do manage to stay on top of your game without running out of ideas on what to blog about?
To my fellow bloggers who have a regular 8-5 job: how do you manage your office work and still churn out good posts regularly?
To my readers in general: can you guys please share with me who you normally thought a blogger is (that is before you read through this post) and what you think now that you’ve read through my post.
I hope you’ve learned a thing or two from this post. I hope to do a series on how to start a blog in commemoration of my blog clocking two years soon(but hey, I’m not promising yet o).
Thanks for sticking through to the end of the post, see you in the comment section. Make sure to drop a comment.
Cheers!!!