Second thoughts

It's been two weeks since I last wrote an entry here. I've been pondering what it is that makes people write blogs. As I wrote in my first post, I am not naturally someone who feels an urge to communicate unless I am having a dialog with someone (answering a question, etc.). I started a blog to experiment with the medium and to try to understand it. So far it has confirmed my initial thinking.

I can understand quite well that the blog I am writing is interesting to many people - more because of where I work than the actual content I suspect. But what makes the blog-writer continue on? Fans? Encouragement from readers? Burning need to self-publish? An altruistic desire to inform others? I expected when I started that I would feel some excitement that others were reading what I wrote, and of course I did. But that also makes me feel "cheap" in some way - I am not sure why I ascribe a value judgment like that but maybe it is because I think there's an unavoidable element of using the Microsoft cachet to pick up readers I wouldn't otherwise have - an undeserved notoriety if you will. It's not a feeling I am comfortable with.

Does anyone else who blogs feel this way about blogging? Or for those of you who have to go on your own strength because you don't have the benefit of a famous company people are curious about to artificially boost interest in your blog, is it the most natural thing to muse publicly about this and that, even if (usually) nearly no one is listening? If so, why?

Personally I'd be much happier continuing to blog if it was done as a dialog or Q&A like with e-mail, so I could at least believe I was being helpful. If you want me to keep going, please leave some comments with questions or topics you are interested in.