Starting a Blog: Deciding on your purpose may take some time, but it's worth the effort

Starting a blog is an idea that always excites a budding or would-be writer. We all have that basic urge to leave our thoughts inscribed somewhere for posterity, an instinct akin to the one that also drives the sexual libido - at least in part, - the primordial necessity to procreate. Having an audience of any kind is of paramount importance as a writer whether newbie, old-timer, or one who is still craving the 'writer's experience' -- even if the audience is only one member - the blogger himself. Several commenters and other bloggers have mentioned that they write first and foremost for themselves, and often solely of themselves. I think keeping up a blog –regularly enough to create a following audience - may very well depend on getting some kind of audience initially, or even just the possibility that a few people actually can find and are reading it.

 For the dozen or so blogs, in my case [if you can actually call them that], I use JustusBoys (sometimes) and Blogger (less now that Goggle is deleted what it calls 'spam' blogs), but more and
more frequently I am using Goggle's Blogger, JustUsBoys (personal pages), Tumblr, and Tribe.net, but not solely because Typepad and Wordpress (no porn / adult content allowed on the Wordpress hosted version) are useful, too.

Wordpress hosted on the company's own servers does not allow pornographic material so that kind of limits what gay content can be published there. I actually think of those blogs as either my memory banks (places to store stuff I want to retrieve later, or 'semen deposits' - places where I store photos, stories and stuff that excited me when I saw it.

 Consequently, not ever so-called blog post is even text or image intended for a real audience. However, some people are definitely only likely to continue writing if they can get some type of feedback about their efforts and the content (albeit, self-focused stories). Therefore , I recommend that first time bloggers start out by making blog-type posts inside another social networking site (Not Facebook!). Obviously, JustUsBoys is a good candidate. As you can see, they have recently upgraded both their members profiles, the forums (discussion boards) and their blog (although I really do wish they had included the capacity to insert HTML (Blogger, Typepad and Posterous all have the function).

 Even Xtube has a blog function, also so does, Tribe.net, which is a good place to get a few people to notice and comment on your blogs -- whether they be literary narratives, simple diaries, opinionated essays, or just sharing a sexual adventure or romance, or some new realization about life, or something interesting or attractive that you've found in the real world or the virtual one, and even the odd rant or rage sometime. JustUsboys.com is also a widely known porn-focused site, but dit allows members to interact in forums and create a blog (now with some enhanced features). Tribe.net was actually the original Facebook-like social network -- at least conceptually, and it still has a great following of alternative eggheads and potheads, along with some other truly great people, some of whom also write. It is mainly composed of many sexually liberated people who freely mix explicit sexual content along with their contemporary sentiments and sensibilities found so abundantly in our chaotic world(s)... Smile.

 I sometimes have the notion that not everyone on Tribe is from the planet Earth, me included (sly grin). Perhaps others can name some other (similar or not) places where newbie bloggers can find a niche and a sympathetic audience (sometimes by default).

JustusBoys is firmly grounded in commercial sales and marketing of gay media (porn) and products. Therefore, its 'services' for social networking have a decidedly "down-to-earth", and 'back to business' tone. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the free (so far) services that JUB does provide. I've said it often to my (imaginary) readers, and privately to dozen of non-blogging members of those sites above: The best way to write is find a topic that you care about and then respond. From that response (usually yours and others' comments to the poster/blogger and the reactions that ensue) may come the crystal of a idea that can easily turn into a valuable blogpost. At least in your own mind, it will have value and be worth repeating, i.e, posting elsewhere.

Sometimes, it a matter of self-confidence, and also a realization that real writers are never actually born as great manipulators of word and thought. In fact, they just develop themselves into that self-definition, and are shaped and reshaped by the nature of their work as writers (communicators), and by the perceived feedback (enjoyment, useful, sympathy, empathy, and exhilaration (sexual and/or emotional) of their audience) This blog post actually started out as a comment (response) to another person's blog post, and the ideas that it generated in me.

It has now become the seed (or the whole peach) of a posting on several of my personal narrative blogs. It took on again a new life and was subsequently revised and lengthened in response to a new development: the debut of JUB's improved blogging tools. I separate my various blogs (nearly two dozen of them) into different functions to serve my own dichotomies of thought and interests: sexual (gay, straight and bisexual or non-sexual) , social, political, emotional and spiritual. It's not necessary to do that for most people, but I find that I tend to follow those bloggers who usually stick to a theme,

or at least, who have a thematic core to their message, instead of constantly changing from one mundane topic to another as if the events of life direct their consciousness instead of the other way around.

 Unfortunately, quite a few of the 'blogs' here on JustUsBoys do exactly that: skip around randomly and also fail to cover the issue/topic/event thoroughly. Most are far too short to be useful. (OK.. you can also argue that some (like mine) are too long to appeal to the average readers/members. Quality is something that requires a sense of discipline as a writer/thinker AND as a reader. It helps when there is an appreciative audience. So when I do manage to find one blog entry on JUB (or elsewhere) that's entertaining, useful or otherwise, meaningful, I try to give the writer more than 'thumbs up'

sign. 'Liking' a post is good and better than no response at all, but it is ultimately not very instructive or reflective of what the person (reader) actually got from a blog post or other writing/photo work.

OK.... I may not have convinced you to begin a blog. It's not such an easy thing to do - or to do well... particularly when one has high standards of journalistic writing. Still, I hope many more people (gay, bi and curious men here on JUB) will attempt it. My wish is that many others will enjoy the fruits of those efforts (as readers and responders), and let the authors know that their writing is appreciated, that it has improved (or positive critique), or whatever. Be grateful for it, even if it provokes anger or disagreement. Go with blog and be good at doing it. Ciao,

Kelly (sunbuns99 or sunbuns) :rb: (P.S. I am currently a bit fixated on some erotic experiences I have recently experienced with male masseurs and physical therapists, thus, the porn pic at the top. Secondly, as I live in Japan and surrounded by men in my daily live 98% of whom are Japanese, so that accounts for the second photo. )