Lately I have been thinking about the proliferation of personal finance blogs. I began my blog right around when the number of pf blogs seemed to explode. While I do get a decent number of hits (I average just under 30 a day), I wonder if the pf blog community is becoming too large. There any many blogs written by people with similar experiences at similar places in life. Is the space becoming too crowded? Are experienced old voices and promising new voices getting lost in the shuffle?
I have thought about whether my own blog adds any value to the stratosphere of the web. My conclusion on the status of pf blogging is the act of blogging is therapeutic. Blogging about my finances allows me to express myself and provides me with more accountability. It's true that I have not revealed all the specific details many other bloggers share on a monthly basis. However, I still feel the need to share specific ups and downs with my readers. Thus while my blog probably adds very little actual value to the community, it provides me (and hopefully some readers) with some insights, accountability, and information.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Is there a need for so many pf blogs?
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5 comments:
I think Blogger ate my previous comment.
There are a lot of pf blogs out there. Personally, I find the wide range of perspectives one of the strengths of the pf blogging community - each day I seem to be able to find something interesting to read. There is also a certain amount of attrition as blogs fade from the scene as their authors lose motivation or interest so new blogs are a good thing - they keep the community fresh.
On personal value, like you I find it therapeutic. I also find that putting things in writing in a public forum forces me to consider things more carefully than I might otherwise. Your point about accountability is a good one - if I put something up on the web which turns out to be wrong (or incredibly stupid) there is no where to hide.
A person always has to ask themselves why they blog. If doing it for yourself isn't the number one reason, then it's probably not worth doing. There's a nice community of PFBloggers and it's a support group of folks aligned to the same goal. I think that's part of why I still enjoy PFBlogging.
Stick with it. Over time, you'll be surprised at who reads your blog and how it grows.
My pfblog is free therapy. It is an outlet for my financial frustrations. It also keeps me accountable on the things I blog about.
I blog because it gives me self accountability and if people can learn from my mistakes and my successes, then I want them to gain that knowledge. Everyone's perspective is different and you never know what will cause your writing to connect with someone who needs to hear what you say.
I think we all do have something unique to contribute. I'm sure we can each think of something about us that relates to finance that only one or two other bloggers is covering. For me, it's being unmarried and being socially conscious. And I do think a lot of my posts cover things I haven't seen others cover.
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