Why Blog?

A questioner has asked why I blog when I prefer more direct means of communication. I blog because I like to write. It's entertaining to watch the streams of thought spilling out into a series of words dancing across the screen or page to flesh out the ideas in my head. Sometimes a post is silly. Sometimes it contains some small nugget of philosophical or theological truth. Most of the time it is simply a chronicle of my responses to life in general.
It's something of a diary and a public forum coming together. Initially, I sent out links to people I knew in "real life" thinking it would be a way to keep in touch and up-to-date, but most of those folks fell away quickly because they can have in-person updates or are simply not "computer people". My initial foray into the blogosphere has grown to a dozen blogs I read regularly, and a batch that I visit whenever the writers leave a comment somewhere that draws me to further peep into their worlds. Blogging allows a mild sense of community, the opportunity for writers of varying ability to share what they produce, and can be part of one's support system through the comment feature and the option to e-mail. I read and peruse for the artistry in some posts, tales of lives I either identify with or cannot even imagine living, parenting tips and trials, to consider others' perspectives and editorializing, find recipes, enjoy photos and poetry, and because I just get a kick out of the personalities that come through in some of the material.
Words are a window to the soul. Written words require a reader who intimately knows the tone of the writer to truly bring them to life as intended rather than a creative interpretation. Yet the interpretation is open to personalization when one writes so that the reader may participate in the adventure however vicariously.