Whipup has a very good piece on Starting a craft blog . Craft blogs are commenced for a number of different reasons and their piece has made me consider why I keep a blog.

I see blogs as being more than a diary or a journal. To keep a blog is not a self indulgent self reflective activity. Blogs are not like traditional paper based diaries. Blogs look outward towards a community not inward towards the self. As a result blogs both reflect and build a community online. They form networks through which conversations can flow. However as a genre they are in part a new type of life writing – they are not autobiography or diary but they do document aspects of a lived life - a lived social life part of a network.

Linking is important to this network of conversations. As I have said before each little link is like a stitch on a knitting needle. Each individual stitch has a role to play as from the combination of stitches the structure of the garment is revealed. Every time a blogger writes about what they are making, links to another, provides a side bar of links to other blogs, leaves a comment, joins a flickr group or participates in an activity, it builds a community. The more it is done the stronger the community

This social aspect blogging is often mentioned but very few nuts and bolts practical tips on how to actually handle and build online relationships are given out. The key lesson I have learnt is to Blog unto others as you would be blogged. Give credit where credit is due and always reference and link to your sources. I like comments and I leave comments. If I think something is a good idea I link to it.

In the Whip up piece that has provoked these morning musings, there is an interesting series of comments on the etiquette of comments. I respond to comments in the comments field as it allows everyone to read the answer and keeps a conversation open but others respond via email. Comments are also moderated meaning that a comment is not immediately published but sits in a que until I click OK This keeps the spammers at bay. All recent comments are in my sidebar so you can see them and my answers to them.

As a genre blogs are also incredibly useful as they keep craft skills alive. Every time a blogger writes about how they are making something, what they have purchased to do it, offers a tip, and documents the process they are going through in order to create it, they are in effect providing good solid ‘how to’ information to readers who might like to try a particular craft activity. This is useful. The information is picked up by search engines, such as Google or Yahoo, and people new to the craft find it. Unlike the information and tips found on discussion lists, which remain behind subscriber walls, blogs put it out there for search engines and therefore people to find.

Blogs become useful resources to others that are built inch by inch. Since starting this blog I am amazed at the number of emails I receive from younger women who are wanting to try out either embroidery or crazy quilting. We are no longer in a world where skills are handed down mother to daughter so I see blogs as keeping skills alive.

Many studio based artists have found that a blog can assist them in promoting what they make. I think this happened more by accident than design. In other words artists did not start a blog in order to market themselves but found along the way that it did no harm! If studio based artists have blogs, which become a successful marketing tool, as a genre they undermine cultural gatekeepers such as galleries and educational institutions etc. I think those gatekeepers will always exist and have a role but perhaps in the future the power they hold over an artists ability to earn a living from their work might not be as strong. Blogs might be part of a practice that contributes to enabling artists to earn a living. Via a blog an artist can establish a relationship with their patrons and as a result a different and perhaps healthier arts industry might develop at a grass roots level. Not quite art ‘for the people by the people’ but almost.

The market is also global. Until the internet a key problem for studio artists is that because they make one off kind items or have very small production runs they could only sell via local outlets so their market was confined to the number of people who lived locally. Now if you are in huge city that can be OK but if you are in small town it’s a problem. Now studio artists have the opportunity to sell their work globally if they wish.

For me however is that a blog keeps me focused. I find that because I go through the process of documenting something and writing about it I am more inclined to keep on track. The process notches the project higher on my priorities just slightly and as a result means it gets done that much more quicker. I find I don’t faff about quite so much and settle to something as I want to blog it. I think it is useful to keep the UFO’s (Un-Finished Objects) in control.

The public nature of blogs are a useful creative tool at all stages of the creative process. Something seen in a blog can act as a catalyst and stimulate ideas for a project. A blog can assist research as if you don’t know how to do something you can ask. Blogs also help people to stay focused, and the support of others in the network helps to get what ever the project is done too.

A blog also highlights to me what I have done. Sometimes I feel as if I get little done but then when I look back at this I see I have achieved many finishes. A blog can document an activity that can be measured. It’s a list of strikes through a to do list which bolsters a sense of achievement simply because you can look back and visibly see what has been done.

Well that is my thoughts over morning coffee today. It is time I settled to doing some more work for the upcoming online lessons I will offering at joggles.com.

Why do you keep a blog? What are the advantages to those in any of the creative arts?