Blogging: A Hobby Or A Passion by Chicky Kadambari

Blogging isn’t a new concept. People have been doing it for centuries – writing in journals or maintaining their personal diaries. Even scrapbooks are a form of blogs actually. So are all those photo albums in our house. The only difference between then and now is that today, we do it digitally on the internet.

Some people blog to make a living out of it. Some just do it as a hobby. And some start as a hobby, and end up making money out of it, directly or indirectly! Here are some reasons why blogging as an activity, starts as a pastime for some, but then turns into a passion.

Meet People Who Share the Same Interests

I spent all my growing-up years in Kanpur. After completing college, my family moved to Patna. It was really difficult for me to meet like-minded people of my age group in Patna… people on the same mental wavelength, you know. That’s where blogging helped. It helped fill the void that was created when I had to leave all my old friends behind in Kanpur. I met people online with whom I could be myself, people who shared same interests and were passionate about similar things in life.

Express Yourself

Blogging gives us a platform to express ourselves… be it in writing or photography or cartoons or even voice/video recording. We can share our world… the way we see it and experience it… with the entire rest of the world! Current affairs, art, beauty of nature, pet antics, a most lip-smacking recipe, new pair of shoes that take our fancy, the most idiotic movie we saw recently, our irritating housemaid, all those ‘ah-ha’ and ‘off-fo’ moments in our marriage… the list goes on. There is no limit to what we can express through blogging! And also to *how* we can express it!

Find Your Creative Bone

“Most people die with the music still in them.” This is a very famous quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes. And it is so true. Most of us never realize how creative we are. We never get to know the extent of our full potential. When I started blogging 5.5 years ago, I used to write only personal or philosophical stuff. Eventually, I tried my hand at fiction & poetry too. Then I discovered that I was pretty good with expressing myself through Photoshop as well. Oh and I also developed a knack for tweaking blog designs through HTML, CSS & JavaScript. All these self discoveries happened through blogging. In fact, quite a few bloggers have even gone on to become published writers. Blogging helps us explore our talents and find new ones hidden deep inside us somewhere.

Become an Entrepreneur

Vatsap, one of my blog buddies, who is probably among the pioneers in the Indian blogging arena, apparently had a passion for creating cartoons. ‘Shitoons’ – his own brand of cartoons – was one of the most popular sections of his blog. Eventually, he started making cartoon portraits for his blog readers on request. (In fact, the caricature used in my blog header was also done by him long ago!) Next thing you know, he’s in business with his caricatures! There is this whole range of products based on the concept of cartoon portraits made by him! And there is Monika Manchanda, who loved to bake. She used to blog about her passion, which was so well-received that she eventually ended up starting her own made-to-order patisserie business from home.

Reasons can be any, but the fact remains that blogging is the new form of communication today, in a world where people spend more time with their computers than their families and friends. Home décor, gardening, tips for buying new/used cars, deciding your next holiday spot, product reviews, embroidery patterns, recipes, Java tutorials, weight loss, beauty care, there are blogs on practically everything today! Whatever you are passionate about, you can blog about it!

Author Bio –   Chicky Kadambari, a.k.a. Kaddu, a self-proclaimed member of the A.F.A.E.A. (Alien Federation Aiding Earth’s Ascension), is the author of the blog – ‘miss_teerious‘. She endears herself to her readers with her quick wit and simple logic, in her lucid, straight-forward write-ups, peppered with humorous anecdotes from her own life. “Witty. Humorous. Thought provoking. Oozing positivity. A little sweet & a little spicy.” That is her own *signature note*. When she’s not blogging, she’s either busy being a homemaker, or doing some freelance writing & web-designing.

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