Why blog? (Chapter Two)

Another good reason for blogging, I think, stems from the belief that you have something to say that others want to hear. The best example of this seems to be blogs by or about celebrities. I mean, who wouldn't like to read about the latest trip Madonna made to the grocery store (well, other than me?) or the adventures of Tobey Maquire on the set of Spider-Man 3 (now you're talkin')? But even within that realm, there's such a wide range in terms of the quality of the writing and the appeal of the subject matter that I sometimes wonder, "Why?" The most interesting person imaginable, telling me a story that I have no interest in hearing, is still telling me a story I have no interest in hearing. And by the same token, I know a few people who can absolutely kill even the most heart-wrenching or scintillating tale, by dint of their delivery alone. So big name recognition alone won't do it for me (but your milage may vary).

On the flip side, here are a couple celeb blogs that I enjoy reading:

http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/
and
http://www.bradmeltzer.com/blog.html

Both gentleman are Joe's I think I'd enjoy sitting down beside and having a conversation with someday. Not that I expect that to ever happen, but I wouldn't be agin it, y'know? (I have sat in the audience at a Chicago Comic Convention panel hosted by Mr Gaiman, though, and can attest that he speaks as entertainingly as he writes, uh huh!)

But since I'm nobody famous (except in my dreams), this hardly seems a good reason for me to be blogging. And yet. I do have my own little fanbase: There's my wife, and my daughter. And ... OK, so it's a really little fanbase. But so far they seem to enjoy reading what I write (or so they say, at least). And I recently pointed my boss toward my blog (since he was the one who originally suggested I start one.. around the time he was thinking of starting his own, which *ahem* hasn't happened yet!) And maybe my three e-mail buddies would be interested, if I told them about it?

At any rate, I think it's clear that for the moment, at least, I'm writing for me. If I should (God forbid) get my 15 minutes of fame somehow someday, maybe folks will flock to my blog to learn about the real me, but chances are... not so much.