Why write blogs? Why write publicly at all?

Recently, a friend, Zosia, told me I should focus on Instagram because nobody reads blogs anymore.

I explained I have other motivations to write than chasing an “instant” dopamine hit.

I write my thoughts:

• because I simply like to write

• to analyze what I was thinking in the past

• for my kids, for when they are grown and interested

• to leave some intellectual legacy, no matter how small

• because I want to write books, and remembering little facts from the past is crucial

• I train a personal AI bot, "AIKO", in my specific way of thinking

Could I use private Google Docs, Obsidian, a notebook, or a fountain pen?

Not really. I’ve tried them all.

Private records get forgotten. And then, forever lost. I have piles of notebooks that will no doubt join my funeral pyre, and I have countless digital documents that will never see the light of day.

Blogger.com has been my friend. It works well enough for me. Yes, I fear Google may discontinue it someday, but that’s true of any platform.

Books survive the longest. That’s the ultimate goal. But it might have to wait until I retire.

Zosia’s question got me thinking more deeply about the reasons for blogging.

Take leaving a historical record, for example.

I recently chatted with my cousin Anna about our ancestry. Hardly anyone in the family can recall more than a few generations. I had a similar conversation with my aunt, Maryna.

We need to know where we came from and learn about our ancestors’ customs and ideas. Nobody wants to be forgotten.

Just this morning, I was talking with Zina about her writing.

She spoke of her life in a Soviet kołchoz (колхоз), the collapse of the ruble, the 10 years she spent in Italy, her work with Alzheimer’s patients, and her Moldovan and Italian cooking. That would be a vital record to leave for my kids once they’re old enough to care.

Another motivation? Residual income.

A solid benchmark for monetizing a blog is around 10,000 monthly pageviews. That opens the door to sponsored posts—sometimes worth a few hundred dollars each. Blogs with 100,000 views or more can command over $1,000 per post.

I never cared about traffic, but lately, my blog has been receiving 10,000 pageviews per month. That’s worth exploring.