Who do you blog for..? A five part quiz

In the past week or so the question 'who do you blog for?' has been recurring in my mind. Hell, who do I blog for?

I guess it began with the announcement that my good internet friend L. met with a number of my regular reads. In keeping with my comment on the blogging baby announcement of the engagement it made me wonder...

1. Do I blog to make friends with people I will eventually meet in real life?

My answer, NO.

Then one of the seminal blogs for me exploded into controversy. Blog, begot, blog, begot, blog. I started reconsidering my longstanding opinion... Oh, this is why people blog. My reason for blogging: because the medium facilitates and creates the option to mediate thoughts both individually and in connection. In other words, the medium is the message.

2. Do I blog for the sake of the B? Do we log thought organically and then, when indulged in the luxury of our new technology, do we exponentially promote our natural tendencies? Is it inevitable behaviour in our culture to create connections to participate, sustain and reinvent the weB daily and momentarily?? Mr McLuhan?.. The question, do you blog for yourself as a sanity-seeking form of journaling?

My answer, well hell yes! of course.. and also, checkout how old I am that I still use the phrase 'new technology' Ha!

But then YUCKville ensued. My centre was shaken.. It got ugly all over - the online diary/reader exchange and connectivity was not a purely pretty, happy thing. Reassess.

Then I noticed a bunch of commentary around agreement. Aye that's the rub. This is where I started getting confused last week. Great.

3. Do I blog to share my opinions with like-minded persons?

NAAAHHHHH!

And, what about readership? What about the community on our blogs? The neighbourhoods of readers which exist?

I think my sitemeter is a month old now and it has been a real trip to find out how many whack jobs from god knows are finding me and with what disturbing search strings. I think I was just as happy checkin' in on our regular commentors for the week. Not that I am getting rid of sitemeter. Nooooooo way.

Still, there seems to be reported some distinct difference between regular readers and visitors from another blogour-hood. A lot of what seemed go down on MIM's post has now been summed up in some part due to the distinctions of understanding among regular readers and drive-by's.

By the way has anyone checked out the return of the comment to dooce? I have always been, on some level, intimidated by the blog of dooce. But once I checked out the comments this week I buried all the anxiety. The readership there, uhm, really surprised me.

4. Do I blog to attract readers? Do I have an expectation of what sort of readers I will have?

We would be liars to pretend we do not write to be read around the Wo family. We don't have many readers but we have an unreserved adoration for the core of really excellent people who read our blog although we do not in anyway understand them or have expectations of the sort of people they are. It is great!

Finally, I have happened upon this... the genrefication of blogs, breaking down even the egalitarian term "parents". Thanks for the heads up Stef!! I am at times so glad p-man has joined me on the Internet front so I can effortlessly deflect this crazy argument.

5. Do I blog to distinguish myself -- or envelope myself -- in the stereotype of, I'll say, parenthood?

If you are a parent blogger did you join blogging before or after parenthood? Is it why you blog?

I must be honest. Yes, I blog because I am a parent. Blogging is a great social outlet for parents. It is an asynchronous social interaction that is completely respectful of my daughter's nap schedule, or lack of nap schedule... along with it being all sympatico with my desire to consider the lives and views of others sometime in the evenings from the comfort of my pajamas. But do I hold high my banner as mommy blogger or parent tag team, even. On that score... naaaah. I am waaaay too vapid for that! Though, I do think blogging is cool.

So to recap. Here's the Mother Woman, who do you blog for quiz:

1. Do you blog to make friends with people you will eventually meet in real life?

2. Do you blog for the sake of the B? Do you blog for yourself as a sanity-seeking form of online diary that is really neat cause it can link to all kinds of other things on the fancy Interweb?

3. Do you blog to discover people with whom you share a number of opinions about a topic?

4. Do you blog to attract readers? And, do you have an expectation of what sort of readers you have? Would you still blog if nobody read your blog?

5. Do you blog to distinguish yourself .. because you think blogging is cool and you think it makes you cool(er)?

GIVE US YOUR ANSWERS!