Every time I bring up the topic of “blogging” with non-bloggers, I always seem to get interesting reactions out of them.

“Blog? Sabi ng ate ko pangit daw yun e.”

“E parang diary lang yun, diba?”

“Mas maganda pa Friendster dun.”

“Puro sulat lang naman ang ginagawa doon, e.”

Based on these reactions we could easily see that people have a lot of misconceptions about blogging which prevent them from seeing its greatness and are keeping them from trying it out.

But why do they have these misconceptions? That is because they are misinformed about the true concepts of blogging. Again, our lack of promotion is the cause of this.

I have compiled a list of the common misconceptions on blogging and have included some explanations and clarifications in hopes of clearing their false impressions.

Blogging is just an online diary where you only talk about yourself

Though it is true that blogging started out as an online journal/diary (See history of blogging), blogs nowadays cover almost any topic conceivable – from personal stuffs, current events, interests, and even topics like showbiz and pets.

There are also those blogs that are focused on a single topic alone which are called niche blogs. There are blogs that are only about technology (BrownThoughts), food or eating (Kitchen Cow), travel (Vista Pinas), photography (PhotoJunkie) and even about blogging and SEO (SEOPinoy).

In Blogging, all you’ll do is write

Not everyone loves to write - this is a well-known truth. This is also the reason why people tend to avoid blogging. They think that blogging would only just be about writing and nothing more. When in reality, there are other stuffs that bloggers can do on their blogs.

Artists and photographers could use their blogs as portfolios. Others could upload their collections such as videos, music, and pictures to share with friends. You can even make a podcast or vidcast and showcase your talents to other people!

One must be a good writer in order to blog

This is another reason why many people are afraid to engage into blogging. They think that if their writing skills are not at par with the likes of BobOng or Jessica Zafra, they have no future in blogging.

Having good writing skills is essential but it is not really a requirement in having and maintaining a blog, that is, as long as you can express feelings and ideas through written form.

If you are not really good with grammars or sentence constructions, don’t worry, there will come a time that your writing skills will improve as your blog progresses and grows.

A good example of improvement in writing is Sustines Laplana from SELaplana.com. He started out struggling with his words and grammar, ended up being criticized and labeled as an “idiot blogger”, but it didn’t stop him from blogging and expressing himself. He continued to blog until he has improved the way he writes.

Blogs are difficult to build and manage

Some of my readers pointed out that one possible reason why only a few Pinoys engage into blogging is because they think that blogging is difficult to build and manage.

It is true that it takes a little more effort when building and managing a blog but thanks to the frequently-improved blog platforms, blogging has never been more user-friendly than before.

Signing up for a blog is made easy thanks to the like of Wordpress.com and Blogger.com. With only a few steps, you’re ready to write and play around with your very own blog! Customizing the look of a blog would only take a quick search on Google and a quick installation. While bloggers can easily add a number of features on their sidebars with the use plugins and widgets!

Blogging is stressful

I bet that this misconception was spurred by the idea that blogs should be updated everyday. Though it is good to have frequent updates, daily updates are not really necessary. In addition, one good thing about blogging is that bloggers are their own bosses. We are in control of our own schedules. That is why, blogging would only be stressful if you would allow it to be.

Blogging is not worth the time and effort

Some would say that blogging is just a waste of effort and time that it is better to concentrate on other things that are more worthwhile (My girlfriend seems to be a firm believer of this). However, compared to other activities, there are great things that could be gained from blogging. Aside from the privilege to be able to express oneself, one could also get friends, fame, and even money just by blogging.

Batjay got a chance to publish a book based on his blog, Paengster gained a lot of fans, while blogging actually bought Yuga a new car . Now, who says blogging isn’t worthwhile?

Blogging is only for the high society

This is the same as the false impression that only the poor eat fishballs. A lot of people have the impression that blogging is exclusively for the members of the high class (I also had the same thought during my first few weeks of blogging). This may be the case during the early days of blogging, but not anymore. Thanks to the increasing availability of web access for the average Pinoy, anyone can now blog regardless of social status.

Do you have any misconceptions about blogging the first time you have heard of it? Were all your first-impressions corrected? Why not share them here so that I could up them up.

Happy blogging!

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