Why we like blogging

Over at Librarian's Place is a post about why Seth (of Seth's blog) likes self-experimentation. He applies the same logic to blogging:

"Recently, though, the rise of blogging, Wikipedia, and open-source software, showed me the power of a kind of multiplicative force: (pleasure of hobbies) multiplied by (professional skills). Blogging, for example: (people enjoy writing) multiplied by (professional expertise, which gives them something interesting and unusual to say). In other words, expertise and job skills used in a hobby-like way. "

Seth continues:

"But I was still missing something — something obvious to many others. The power of blogging isn’t

(hobby) x (job skills).

That’s just one person. The total power of blogging is

(hobby) x (job skills) x (anyone can do it)

Which is very powerful."

A point of view that I endorse completely. I can't help feeling that there is an element or two of the equation that is missing, though. I think there are more than these three parameters to blogging. So although Seth has made a great start, I think it is only a start -- I'm going to have to ponder and come back to this one. Maybe you have some suggestions, in which case I hope you'll drop them in the comments.

Thanks to Dave Lull for the link to Seth's blog.

Comments

[Steve Clackson]

I would add life.
(hobby) x (job skills) x (life experience) x (anyone can do it).

[Debra Hamel]

Hey, Maxine. In your enforced absence from the blogosphere you may have missed that you won the Set puzzle challenge again! Two weeks in a row!

It doesn't sound like the question of this post calls for individual responses to why blogging is such a great phenomenon.

[Maxine]

Thanks, Debra -- yes I had missed it, as I haven't got as far as the rss reader yet -- I'll have to hoist the flag quickly as Saturday looms already.....