Blogging as Therapy

Writing is turning one's worst moments into money. ~ J. P. Donleavy

The writer must write what he has to say, not speak it. ~ Ernest Hemingway

I think with my right hand. ~ Edmund Wilson

One of the most notorious bloggers on the Internet turned a red paper clip into home ownership. Kyle MacDonald started on July 12, 2005 and after fourteen trades a year later owns a house in Kipling, Saskatchewan. Not bad for blogging about your desperate straits. Also he has earned a spot in the Guiness Book of Records under 'The Most Successful Internet Trade.' Over 7 million people have visited his web site and blog, and he offers his book for sale for $8.

Kyle is not alone in writing about his personal odyssey. A Globe and Mail article refers to Jennette Fulda who blogged about her dramatic weight loss on her website pastaqueen. "The more I wrote about my fat issues, the more confident I became." Her weight has gone from 372 pounds to 180. Her site started with a few visitors. Now she gets about 50,000 a month. She has also just come out with a book, Halfassed, documenting her weight loss. It sells for $11.

Vancouver resident Krystal 25 found it uncomfortable discussing her money problems with friends. Instead she created a blog in February titled Give Me Back My Five Bucks and disclosed her personal finances. After three months of writing about her mission to get out of a $17,000 debt she reached her goal. "If I set goals for myself and I write it on the Internet and everyone's reading it, I'd be embarrassed and really down on myself if I didn't achieve that goal," she said.

Sounds like blogging is the new ticket to successful personal therapy and riches....for some.