This is the first post of this blog, but not my first time blogging.

Is a Blog an Extension of Oneself?

In the past, I’ve blogged in various places, both on hosted platforms and self-built sites. The longest I’ve maintained was for several dozen days, but most were abandoned halfway. I don’t know if this time marks a new beginning or just another prelude to an eventual fade-out.

Most people I observe, even when switching between platforms, carry their articles with them. So while domains and blog themes may change, reading their blogs still feels like the same blog, the same person. This represents continuity, which I lack.

McLuhan said that media is an extension of man. The root cause is that I’ve never truly seen blogging as an extension of myself.

Is Writing for Oneself Painful?

I’ve read many articles about blogging. During its heyday, people talked about sharing, though that’s now been replaced by short-form content. Today’s bloggers almost unanimously claim that blogging is about writing for oneself.

I can’t say whether I agree with this view, but for someone like me who can’t persist long-term, it’s nothing but painful. Such perspectives view writing as a tool for self-improvement. Thus, writing becomes the means, and self-improvement the end. As we all know, self-improvement is painful, which makes blogging painful by association.

So Why Publish?

I feel lonely, and I openly acknowledge my loneliness here. I crave recognition and hope someone will read my words.

When increasingly more “knowledge” becomes monetized and AI can produce content efficiently, I hope to offer some perspectives, some emotions. I don’t know if there’s any value in this.

I find it hard to go to the gym three days a week, so my rule is I go every day. I do not feel like going to the gym every day. In fact, some days I hate it. I also know it’s easier to follow my rule than to break it. When it comes to the gym, going every day is easier than going some days.