I’ve been seeing more and more of this topic lately around the web, and I thought I’d throw my "2 cents" in.

Many people (specifically "bloggers") think there is a distinction between "blogging" and "writing."

I don’t see any distinction between "blogging" and "writing", and it aggravates me to read people discussing this over and over.

There is no disctinction. "Blogging" is a made-up term, to describe an exercise to express words in a public forum called the web.

When you sit down to write, type, whatever - no matter where, how, or when - you are writing. Period.

I understand that "blogging" may be a much more "loose" form of writing - but it is still writing.

I can’t explain it any better than this random blog comment.

I’ll copy it here for clarity:

Can throwing stones at neighborhood cats make you a better baseball pitcher? Can whittling shavings from a stick make you a better carver? The process of simply dumping consecutive words onto paper or screen does not make one a writer. It’s missing the whole awareness/feedback cognitive cycle.

What makes daily writing a growth experience for an aspiring writer is the engagement in that self-critical, mental process - not the physical text scribing act itself.

For anyone who is trying to become a better writer, and, moreover, is also willing to pay attention to their words and reflect upon their effectiveness, any act of language composition is a self-improvement exercise. Without that closure, it’s just the textual equivalent of urinating in public.

Also related: Wired News article.