As a blogger, I often get asked ‘should I blog?’  I can testify as to why I blog and the benefits that blogging provides for me, but I also don’t think that blogging is for everyone. Blogging is work. Even with inspiration a single blog post can take 1-2 hours to write. If you aren’t a writer, then the act of blogging can be difficult (heck, even if you are a writer it can be difficult).

One of the benefits of blogging versus writing for other mediums is that you have complete flexibility. You don’t have a requirement to write every day or every week. You can write whenever you are inspired. That being said, if you don’t write regularly, then your readership will fall off – people will worry about you – because they use your blog as a way to gauge how you are doing.

As a cancer blogger, one of the benefits I’ve experienced is that I only need to write things once. Anyone who cares about it can choose to read my updates. There is no need for people to read every detail of my experience, but those who want to know the details can choose to read about it on my blog. I don’t have to type endless emails with the same information.

If you aren’t typically a public person, there are private blogging options. You can create a private blog on WordPress or Blogger, where only those you invite can see it. A better choice might be Caring Bridge. Caring Bridge let’s you setup a website where you post updates but it provides a way to coordinate what you need. You give access to your friends and family and they can use that as a way to figure out how to help you. I may yet need to set this up, as I go into chemo – we may need local help with food – not sure yet as I don’t understand the implications of chemo. I usually prepare the meals – but does chemo mean that I cannot cook for Scott for the first 48-hours? I don’t know yet. It isn’t just about a desire to not cook, there is a real health concern regarding passing on the chemo drugs to your care givers.

So when people ask me ‘should I blog?’ I first tell them to think really hard about it. How public do they want to be? How much do they like writing? Why do they want to blog? And then I offer to help – if you want to blog, I’m happy to help you get started. It is the least that I could do!