SHOULD YOU BLOG IN ENGLISH?

In what language should you blog? This question raised in my mind when my friend Loic pointed the issue in a note where he rightly stands that blogging in a language that is not your mother tongue is not easy but worth the investment. I am french leaving in Israel, but speak also fluently spanish, hebrew and a little italian: So in which language shall i blog?

More generally, assuming you speak english, spanish chinese or any wide spokken language out of your mother tongue: should you blog in your own native language, restricting your blog to a specific audience, or would you prefer to blog (also) in english and open your blog to others, whatever the origin?

My personnal view is that blog is all about sharing. So how far do you wish to share? How far do you think your ideas/ items will interest non-“your language” speaking people? In order to find the right answer i would suggest 3 key to help your decision: time availability, social ambition and universality scale.

• time availability: blogging on a regular basis requires a little time investment. if you feel you don t have too much, then you have to make a choice; either to blog in one language only or be selective about the elements you wish to translate yourself in another language. As far as i am concerned, given my country location and time occupation, i chose to blog in one language only: english. Actually i added a little trick a place a google translation link in french (you can also do it easily). Although it is not perfect it will give non english speaking readers some keys to understand what you are blogging about.
• Social ambition: How far do you wish to develop you networking and how far is it important to you connect with other people wherever they are from. To me, no doubt: blogs are maybe the first true opportunity (out of online dating) to meet easlily on the web people from anywhere and therefore because english is the most spoken language i know best, i prefer to blog in english. I often receive emails from americans, chinese, people that would not get to me if my blog was in french only.
• Universality scale: how much do you think your ideas will interest people that are not from your country? How “universal” your thoughts can be? it is important to try to answer that. If your are blogging on ipod or on p2p then you have an international topic worth talking about in english. If you like to blog about what happen in the underground of your city in south of Lyon : then it is not likely to interest too many people in Canada.

I also totally agree about Nir’s analysis on why should one blog in english: it improves your recognition status, networking and conversation. Finally i would say: if you don t feel it, don t do it! keep it simple and blog in the language you believe will best speaks about you and your ideas. If this language is english, then good for you!

Comments

[Nuno Morgadinho]

This question is like a loop in my head that arises every now and then. I think and write clearly and quicker in my mother tongue that in English, but for me, entering a site in a language I don't understand is one of the worse experiences I can get on the web.

So its really as you say: an investment. Its all about how deep in the rabit hole you want to go.

I would say: go english unless you really don't have any other option than to write in your mother tongue.

Nuno

[Alain]

I agree that one should write in english im order to convey his ideas and message to a large scale audience ,to generate more traffic and to reach the whole world.
But there is something you forget to adress:the pleasure of writing.
Blogging is not only about information sharing.It also about ideas,creation ,inspiration and even sometimes litterature.
I believe I can surely blog in english but I will never really enjoy it the way I do it in my mother language,french.