Why We Blog?

The article analyzes the motivations behind blogging. Since the question they are trying to answer is not specific, they didn't limit the study sample in one gender or a small age range. According to the article, there are 5 major motivations for blogging: to archive one's life, presenting opinions through making comments, to demonstrate emotions, to communicate ideas by putting them into words and to keep the community forums going. 

The first case in the first category is quite interesting. Don says blogging is “logging your being”. As he takes over his wife's blog and documents her process in her illness, the only way he could communicate and share something was blogging. Arthur, a professor, thinks that blogging is a better alternative of communication than e-mail since it is easier to just put something on the blog and make it public. He also draws attention to an important point: when people get an e-mail, they feel forced to read it, but when it comes to blogging, people are free to read whatever they like. 

The second motivation is mostly about presenting people's point of view. Sometimes people are afraid of expressing their opinions because others might ignore them. However, blogging enable people to comment on things they are interested in more freely. 

Third motivation is about giving voice to emotions. Sometimes it is hard to express feelings and to find someone who is willing to listen. Blogging helps people realize their problems and talk about it, so it is a place for relieving. 

Fourth motivation, I think, is the most important reason for blogging. It is basically about practicing writing to think more deeply about the issues and ideas. It helps bloggers becoming more professional at expressing their opinions. 

The last one is about creating a space for a specific community to share opinions with one another. It could be for academic purposes, for a specific interest – like poetry bloggers- and so on. 

Personally, I follow many blogs focusing on specific interests and I really enjoy it. Rather than reading movie reviews in forums, for example, I follow some bloggers whose ideas are interesting to me. For me, the authenticity of blogs helps to feel having a personal conversation with someone, so this keeps me interested in reading them.