Ask HN: What do you find most beneficial about blogging?

- Like any writing, it (assuming you're not Doing It Right) forces you to think through your premises, gather references, and think about the details

- Due to the above, it helps you understand the topic you're writing about better

- It can help find other like-minded individuals

- For business blogging, it can help you find potential collaborators/partners, and maybe just as important, the existence of competitors. As might already be obvious, it can help drive traffic to other things you might care about (your startup, favorite causes, whatever.)

- Based on the feedback you get, you can refine (or rethink) your arguments

- It can help establish you as someone knowledgeable about the topics at hand. Due to this, you may receive inquiries for your thoughts on some aspect of the subject, related ones, recent news about the subject, etc.

HTH

More often than not, we just assume that we know something. When we try to explain it, we realize that we don't exactly know all the fundamentals. So blogging helps me go back to the basics and understand everything from the ground up. I end up learning more about something.

I often struggle to have a strong inner voice and remain apathetic about events and things going on around me. I think blogging and writing in general to a public audience helps me define my own values and thoughts.

The groupies.