Why Do People Blog?

I was having a conversation at lunch today with my friend, housemate, and potential blogger about why people blog. Tim said that in a conversation he had with someone recently, they trashed the idea of blogging. We didn't get into a lot of the reasoning behind why this guy hates blogs, but it got me thinking about the concept of blogging and why people do it, and why people read them.

In today's world, everyone has a chance to be heard, and a lot of people like to take advantage of this opportunity. People in their twenties, like myself, have been raised in a world in which twitter, facebook, blogs, and a 24/7 media cycle are an integral part of our daily lives. Newspapers are virtually obsolete because by the time the morning paper comes (if anyone actually still had newspapers delivered to them), we have already processed the news and read it from various media outlets on the internet, and have gauged the reactions of our friends on facebook and twitter.

We are used to a world in which, if people have an opinion on a certain topic, they can express it instantly through a variety of avenues. Ten or fifteen years ago, when a controversial issue arose, you would discuss it with your friends, your family, your co-workers or classmates over the course of a few days. Now? Write a blog post about it, pose a question on your facebook status, or tweet it. Then check back every 15 minutes to read others' comments. You can have the entire discussion with everyone in your social circle without actually seeing them face to face or having at least a phone conversation.

Steering back to the question of why people blog, I think part of it is because so many people do it, that we want to try our hand at it. It is so easy to set up and get people to read, why not give it a shot? After all, everyone and their mother are voicing their opinions online these days, aren't we worthy of being heard as well? I don't think it's so much "Hey, look at me, I have great things to say, this blog will change your entire perspective on blah blah blah," but rather "Hey, if this schmuck from my class or my office has a blog and people read it, why shouldn't I have one?"

I'm sure that is oversimplifying the reasons for blogging, and probably only applies to a portion of the bloggers out there, but I think it has some merit. I'm not really sure why I have this blog, expect for the fact that a few of my friends have one, and I think I'm just as capable as them of keeping an interesting blog. That's kind of a dumb reason, though, so if I can't come up with better motivation to keep this blog going, it might be over before it ever really began.