Comparing My Blog to Others is Pointless

When connecting to a blog that is part of the Blogger network, the user can hit a tab at the screentop titled "Next Blog" and view other blogs, usually grouped with a similar theme (I keep coming up with running and biking blogs). I do this from time to time and invariably come away from the experience with an embarrassing sense of my own blog's inferiority to most others. But...

I know that this self-judgement is really unduly harsh and that I should lighten up a bit on myself. This blog of mine is well-defined and deliberately limited. I'm not going for a dazzling visual display. I am not trying to promote what a cool dude I am or what an extravagant, exciting life I'm leading (which is good, because neither applies to me). Nor am I hawking my professional expertise in an effort to attract business and income (in fact, for discretion's sake I deliberately tend to shield my professional life from this blog). And I am not blogging in connection with any particular interests in order to increase my standing among others sharing those same interests. As a matter of fact, if anything, my relative lack of expertise about anything I discuss here should make others feel pretty good about their own expertise by comparison!

And comparison is really what this is all about. What I need to do instead is keep myself focused on my primary purpose here, which is to use this blog as a personal writing discipline. I don't need a lot of people patting me on my back, but a little interaction in the form of comments (including anonymous comments) is always welcome and appreciated!

Not that there won't be times when I get a little technical and write about topics that are of a more esoteric nature. But generally speaking, my format here is intended to more closely resemble what regular newspaper columnists do: pick a topic and expound on it to a reasonable extent in a way that is easy to read and understand, agree or disagree with the message. And like newspapers, which feature columns of different types (political, sports, "living", humor, entertainment), my articles try to capture the same sense of expression. I hope at least some of that intended expression reaches you, my valued reader!