Why Blog?

I'm working on the last module for my new class: Blogger.

There are many videos on the topic, and I can probably explain most of it in written words, anyway. By now, folks should be accustomed to looking around the screen and reading buttons. The formatting tools aren't all that different from the formatting tools found elsewhere. The "how to" part isn't all that daunting.

But I find myself grappling with a bigger question I imagine my students asking: Why blog at all? What are you supposed to write about? And why would you want to?

There are two parts to it. First, you have to have something to say. And second, you have to believe there's someone out there who would like to hear it. Put in those terms, I suppose it is somewhat daunting. What can I possibly have to say that would be of interest to anyone else?

And yet, there are countless blogs out there on many different topics. Oftentimes, the core topic isn't strictly adhered to, and we get to know the blogger in ways we didn't necessarily expect to. If a blog becomes popular, many of the names in the comments will start to repeat. Folks will start to talk with each other as well as with the blogger. A good, strong blog can develop into a close-knit online community.

So maybe it isn't really all about the content. Maybe it's not all that important that we have something important to say.

Why blog? I suppose when it comes down to it, blogging is just another way for us to connect with other human beings.