Why I Started a Blog

In November 2020 I registered the domain thechrismear.com and built this website. I had thought about starting a blog or having an internet presence for a while but there were some key triggers to making the decision stick. In this article I will be discussing some of those triggers and where to go if you need convincing to start a blog.

The first of these triggers was Ali Abdaal. I have been a big fan of Ali's for a couple of years now and one thing he regularly says in his videos and podcasts is "Everyone should start a blog". In fact he's often spoken about how is old housemate used to get irritated by how often he suggested it to her. Amongst his recommendations he suggested reading Show Your Work!. I write more about this book and its influences in this Bookshelf Article and below.

My second influence to starting a blog was this Nat Eliason video. In the past I have started blogs using Wordpress for my A Level studies but found the process quite frustrating rather than enjoyable and I like to live my life only doing things I enjoy doing (within reason). Due to these previous experiences I have always put off starting a blog but after watching Nat's video I realised quite how simple it could be to have a blog that was functional, included what I wanted it to have and look good (make your own judgements on the last one). Almost immediately after watching this video I started searching for a domain to register and found thechrismear.com which matched my twitter and instagram handles. I registered the domain and started working in Webflow to build a site I was happy with starting from a template made available by Nat.

Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon was the third influence and this was more of an influence on what content will appear on my site. I read this book the week after I registered the domain but the website wasn't published. Below are some of the key take aways that led to me writing this article and will lead to many other articles in the future. For more notes check out this book article.

"They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing, and a second time... when somebody says your name for the last time" This very common quote, credited to Banksy on GoodReads pop straight into my head when I read the section where Austin says "in this day and age, if your work isn't online, it doesn't exist." The idea of your work not existing is frightening and I think it is human nature to want to leave behind a legacy and therefore your 'second death' should be way way into the future, hopefully after everyone you currently know has their 'first death'. By having an internet community that you belong to and a place where all your work lives 'forever' you are extending your lifespan as you aren't just going to be known by your friends, family and colleagues, you are going to be known by people all over the world, from different communities who will continue to consume your content for many years (hopefully).

I'm a rambler, once I start talking about something I'm passionate about you will really struggle to stop me talking. Having a blog where I can document these ramblings and point people towards them sounds ideal because then they can choose whether to read it or not and then come back to me and have a discussion. Austin recommends for people to "Share what you love and the people who love the same things will find you." This perfectly ties in with my 'ideal' of documenting my ramblings and having people find me through them.

I love meeting new people but often struggle to find new circles. By opening myself up to the internet I hope to be able to find communities that I would otherwise have never found. All my life I've heard the phrase "life is all about who you know" but after reading this book I've realised that the people you know are known to you because of what you do and who you already know. Nine times out of ten you aren't going to meet new people by continuing to do the same thing and meeting within the same circles. I hope to communicate with as many of my blog readers as possible and build a base of people that I would consider to be friends. I also want to be that for other bloggers and Internet personalities, Austin says "If you want fans, you have to be a fan first." I want to be a mutual fan with as many bloggers as I can.

It's easy! Kind of! I feel like I'm in a very privileged position right now. I have just started the blog, this is my first article and I'm currently off work due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the furlough scheme put in place by the UK Government. This has left me with a lot of free time where I've been able to read and watch all the content I could possibly wish to about a range of subjects, some I didn't even know existed until this year. With all of this in mind, at the moment blogging seems 'easy'. I can review things I have watched, read or experienced and find links between them and formulate it in such a way that I find interesting without needing to worry too much about how much time it takes out of my day. I feel this may change in the coming weeks as I return to full time work but ultimately "All you have to do is show your work."