Why do you blog?
Why Do I Blog?
Let me get this out of the way right from the start: I love to talk. I always have. As a child, I loved it so much that teachers often had to check me when I went above and beyond what they expected — especially when they didn’t want us talking at all.
It wasn’t just talking for the sake of noise. I loved telling stories. Not fabricating them, but sharing what I had seen, experienced, and learned. I’ve always believed there’s a lesson in everything we do, and I loved sharing those lessons with others.
As I got older, I leaned into what people called my “gift of gab” (just ask Steve — he officially named me that). Every time there was an opportunity to write — whether it was a book report, an essay, or even just a journal entry — I was putting something in print for others to read. And you know what? I loved it. I loved seeing the looks on my teachers’ and classmates’ faces when they heard my words. It gave me joy to know I had something to say that mattered.
With time, writing became second nature. I wrote short stories, longer journal entries, and eventually learned to tweak and tailor my words in a way that drew people in. Not just to have them listen once, but to have them ask for more. I’m even working on a project that’s taken entirely too long. The perfectionist in me just wants to get it right, and I think that’s my curse in creating for anyone and everyone: I want you to have my absolute best.
Then came Facebook Notes. Suddenly I had the freedom to write short stories — one page at a time — and people ate it up. Childhood friends loved the nostalgia, while new friends from Instagram and Twitter got a window into my world beyond the limits of a tweet. Their feedback was simple and powerful: “You need to blog.”
I resisted at first. I thought it would take too much time, money, and behind-the-scenes work. But Tonya Johnson — a friend who has known me since college — never let me off the hook. “Kenny, you have a voice,” she’d tell me. “People love hearing what you have to say. You’re doing yourself and them a disservice if you don’t put it in print. Immortalize your thoughts.” Thank you, Tonya. You were the inspiration for it all. I wish I had begun sooner, but thank you for putting the idea in my head and never giving up.
She wasn’t alone. A friend of mine in Kampala, Uganda (thank you, Siima. You got me off the ground, and I will forever be indebted. If I am the father of this blog, you are definitely the mother. Thank you for helping me give birth to one incredibly beautiful child) — a writer, radio personality, and eventually a magazine editor — echoed Tonya’s words. After reading her blogs, I realized that blogging could be anything I wanted it to be: sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes informative, but always real.
So I tried it. I started with Blogger, and right out of the gate it was a success. People loved hearing my stories again at length. I wrote about photography, funny adventures, back history, and everything in between. Eventually, I moved on to WordPress (now Jetpack), where my blog — Kenny’s Camera, Cooking & Crazy Confessions — continues today.
And what do I blog about? Everything. African American history and people today. Movie and music reviews. Funny listicles. Davis family adventures. Growing up with my father. My beautiful grandchildren in the “Cookie Capers” series. Dates gone wrong. Church tales. My “For a Day” series where I try on different personalities and professions for laughs.
Some people say I’d have a bigger audience if I focused on a single niche. Maybe they’re right. But that’s not me. I like to blog the way I talk: about everything.
Sure, sometimes you’ll find a post that’s exactly what you were looking for. Other times, it might not be your cup of tea. But that’s the beauty of it — just like a radio, you can always change the station or turn it off (nod to the late, great George Carlin).
I don’t just talk to fill silence. I talk because there’s meaning in the experience.
And that, my friends, is why I blog.
(And yes, Jetpack, I know your “Why Do I Blog?” prompt wasn’t expecting all this — but when you ask me a question like that, you’d better believe you’re getting the full story.) And for anyone else who’s come across this and thought this was longer than expected, I warned you in the beginning. Obviously, you didn’t listen. LOL.
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