Who’s Your Blogging Influence?

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Everything has a reason behind it. This logic is applicable to almost anything we do, and blogging is not an exception. So what’s the reason behind your blogging? Is there someone in particular who inspired you to hitch into the blogging bandwagon? Or an inspiration from your community, perhaps? Whatever it may be, I’m sure the reason behind your passion to blog is sufficient enough to sustain you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be blogging at all and won’t be reading this article now.

Is it the Blogging Gurus?

Are the big names in the Blogosphere your influence? Is there a Brian Clark behind your drive to write your stuff? A Darren Rowse in every motivation to promote them? Or a Yaro Starak in every marketing strategy you put into your work? Whoever it may be, as long as it serves to inspire you to create quality content, it’s all good.

The big names in blogging didn’t get recognized overnight. Scotty didn’t beam them up to their current position of popularity. They worked hard for their success like any decent blogger is actually doing in the present. Looking up to them for inspiration is good. Having them as your influence is better if you’ve chosen this beaten path of blogging as your career.

Or the love for writing, maybe?

Some of us dreamed of being a journalist someday. People that has a native love for writing. I am one of those dreamers, and in fact still dreaming to be a good writer someday. I tried to pursued my love for writing early on in life. Joining my Journalism Class in Grade School and getting to be a contributor for the Features Section of our school paper - The Apostolian.

Although I never pursued it academically after grade school, and professionally after studying, my love for the pen still lingers on. My blogs are a testament to this love and the articles I write here, there, and everywhere reflects my thoughts and opinions.

My blogging influence

My first attempt to create a blog was with Blogger back in 2004. All I wanted was to have an online journal where I could write about my thoughts in everyday life. Blogger seems to be a decent platform, so I got on with it and made a blog. Well, I’ll admit that I wasn’t serious about maintaining a blog back then and I created and deleted blogs like tearing paper from a pad after a mediocre draft. I just wanted to write and I was having fun.

My first ever decent blog was Dialysis Postings. It’s a journal of my life as a Chronic Kidney Failure patient undergoing Hemodialysis Treatment. I started it with Blogger (dialysispostings dot blogspot dot com) back in April 2009 . I could say that I was a much better blogger than before. I was slowly learning the ropes, reading and stuffing myself with blogging basics. I was also starting to know and read about the names in the industry like Darren Rowse, Brian Clark, and Daniel Scocco.

It was in Daniel Scocco’s Daily Blog Tips that I first read about Satish Gandham. It was a bloggers face off article with Joost de Valk and the two being compared and so on. All that being said, I visited both the guys site and found out about Budding Bloggers on Satish’s Genius Hackers (now Techbu). It’s a program where a blogger may apply and get a free domain hosting.

Quoting Budding Bloggers:

The major problem one faces in the initial days of his/her blogging career is lack of domain name and hosting. You may have the money to buy your own domain name and hosting  but you will not have it in the form which the seller accepts.

I said to myself – this is what I’m looking for. I don’t have the money to pay for a domain and a web host, all I have is my budding passion for blogging, and that’s all I have to give. To make a long story short, I applied got accepted and transferred Dialysis Postings to a self-hosted WordPress platform.

It’s been over a year now since that significant event in my blogging career. Well, I’m not living off with my blog’s earning, for it hasn’t earned anything yet. But I did learn a lot throughout that time and I still hold Satish in high esteem until now. Many would think of helping others to build their own blogs or businesses but I think few would only go so far to extend that hand to unknown bloggers who simply wanted to blog their hearts out.

I admire Satish’s passion for blogging and even more his compassion for fellow bloggers. His one of my influence in blogging, along with the other unknown bloggers I met along the way. I’m saying this not because he has helped me to have my own blog in its own domain name. Private Corner is not under the Budding Bloggers Program and it’s my first self-owned blog. I’m saying this because he has made an impact in my blogging life and his generosity compels me to do the same to my fellow bloggers.

For me it’s something as valuable as a blog earning six figures, and money doesn’t even comes close to it.

Article by Julius Santos

A blogger and a freelance graphics artist who's undergoing dialysis treatment. Among his interests are blogging, writing, graphics design, reading books, cooking, listening to music, tinkering around, and doing research.

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Tagged as: blogger, blogging, Brian Clark, Budding Bloggers, Darren Rowse, influence, inspiration, life, problogging, ramblings, Satish Gandham, Yaro Starak