To Blog or not to Blog? What was the Question?

Interesting dialog in the comments after this post from Chris Pratley...

Second Thoughts...

It's been two weeks since I last wrote an entry here. I've been pondering what it is that makes people write blogs. As I wrote in my first post, I am not naturally someone who feels an urge to communicate unless I am having a dialog with someone (answering a question, etc.). I started a blog to experiment with the medium and to try to understand it.

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[Chris Pratley's blog]

I related to this post, and to the comment below in particular with respect to how i am starting to feel about my own blog...

Feed: CommentFeed for "Second thoughts"
Title: re: Second thoughts Author: Kartik Agaram

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My personal perspective is to treat weblogs as an extension of journals. There are other reasons and roles for blogs, but they sound too much like work.

I've had to deal with this question several times in my life: why keep a journal? After several attempts (all but the last abortive) I have found the biggest reason to do so is this: I have a poor memory, and I change dramatically with time. A journal is my crutch against an otherwise perpetually foggy universe. The journal comes in handy when I think about a decision I made (often at work, sometimes not) and ask myself, "What was I *thinking*?" Hindsight is 20-20, and a journal keeps me from forgetting what it was like 'in the heat of the moment'. Write for yourself. If you are maintaining your weblog for others you will have trouble keeping it up. Don't force yourself to write everyday or anything. Some people write more frequently than others. That is ok. By definition you will write about what is important enough to you to be worth remembering. I have heard dissenting opinions on every one of these. Perhaps one needs to give up a few times before finding one's style. Once you do it's like a floodgate opens up within you. Referring to your journal becomes second nature. The degree of privacy one gives to one's journal is, of course, a personal matter.

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