Strip away the words, the jpeg visuals and fancy html, at the end of the day blogs fulfil the basic human need for a) self expression and b) to be heard and have an audience (no matter how transient the listeners or short-lived the attention span). At a raw level it fulfills a psychological narcissistic need to be appreciated.

With respect to personal/impersonal content, much is in the eye of the beholder. Obvious commercial content aside, a blog post can easily migrate from personal to impersonal (and vice versa) in the space of a few lines, but that would not necessarily be a bad thing. I, you or anybody else could write about subjects of which we have no direct personal experience of but a reader could find interesting nevertheless. I think the key is to adopt a style of writing expression which complements the topic being discussed and keeps things interesting and lively. :) Blogs which are too personal can be a turn-off as well as blogs written as if they belong in some archaic academic journal.

There are examples of successful “community blogs” where readers do the talking, and that is something beautiful, but it isn’t available on every blog.

Blogging, and following a blog, is ultimately a matter of choice. No obligations, no strings attached, just the merry spirit of self-expression.

Glad you enjoy the writing, stay tuned for more :)

I don’t know if this comment addresses what you had in mind for this entry, but this whole issue is something that has been weighing heavily on my mind recently.

Oh, and if you were to create a blog saluting sushi, I would definitely be a regular visitor… :-)

Really enjoy your writing! Keep it up!