Why your Blog benefits your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

That you have a cat is one thing. That you have a cat with a deep appreciation for 60's style blaxploitation films is another. The former is not blog worthy, the latter most definitely is. Even if it is really you writing from the cat's perspective, you should be writing a blog.

Everyone is passionate about something and the blog is a great place to share that passion with the world. If you are in business, blogging is an important part of your public facade. It used to be that a select few "experts" would be given space in public journals to write about their passions and the credibility that those written pieces bestowed upon the writers and publishers was immense. Just think of Randolph Hurst and Conrad Black for instance.

To score a newspaper column or to publish a best selling handbook is a goal worth reaching for, but sometimes not accessible. Two things come to mind immediately. The blog has the recurring structure of a column and has the space to contain all the information you need in a handbook. Second, a blog is credible - so long as it is not about your cat.

If you have twitter and facebook but no blog, you are missing a central feature of your online existence. Facebook and twitter are the extension of a blog and all the activity there should gently coax people to your blog. There you can share in more detail and one on one.

Blogs have a terrific shelf-life - more so than a newsletter or a tweet or an facebook post. You can update your blog at any time from any where and edit content that becomes outdated or (hopefully) raises a fuss.

The software is usually free and easy to use when you start and fees are nominal when you decide to bring a blog under a domain name. For small businesses, a blog is easier than keeping a website up to date and your frequent updates will drive positive traffic.

Finally, people expect something for nothing in our highly connected world. A blog satisfies the consumers’ expectation for free information and helpful tips, while providing you with the credibility to be the one-to-call when it's time to get down to business.