Why Blog?

     It seems that everyone and their brother has a blog today. But why?  I know that sounds arrogant as I sit here writing and hoping many are going to read these words.  However I believe it is a valid statement just the same ~ why are people blogging?
     When I started blogging back in February it was a way for my voice to be heard.  Well actually if I'm honest I actually backed  my way into blogging.  I started posting notes on facebook when my voice was failing me.  I was so frustrated with all that was going on around and to me that I needed some sort of release.  At that time my intended audience was friends, close friends.  Even when I moved the notes into this "official" blog format my audience remained friends.  It was at the encouragement of different therapists to make my blog public in the hopes that other stroke victims and their families would find common ground and hopefully comfort in my shared experiences.  Now 8 months later, and after almost a 4 week hiatus, I continue to blog simply and honestly because my stroke recovery is still the elephant in the room.  I need this blog to continue to be my voice through this journey.
   OK that's why I am blogging, but I still wonder why so many have blogs.  Actually that's not my complete question.  Not only do I wonder why so many blog but why do they think their blog is something "strangers" will be drawn to. 
     In some ways I am jealous of this medium and the impact it has for families.  We lived in Virginia when we started having children; all of our extended family lived in New York.  A blog would have been an incredible way for us to update everyone on the daily fun and growth of our children.  What an incredible opportunity that would have been for Pop-Pop et AL who missed those milestones.  With that being said I don't think I would have ever made those pictures public.  Nor would I have thought that strangers would have wanted to subscribe to my daily life of diapers, nursing and general motherhood.
     At the end of 2010, according to Royal Pingdom there were over 152 million blogs on the Internet.  According to Digital Mom Blog this time last year nearly 4 million American Moms had blogs. Interestingly I couldn't find statistics on how many Dads had blogs though I'd like to highly recommend these two blogs: The Real Matt Daddy and Chopper Pappa.  Sometimes an opposite view point is quite interesting and entertaining.
    The next major category of blogs are the coupon/giveaway blogs. Within this category you can find a blog dedicated to your region and the sales offered.  If you're into giveaways then these are you.  Most have twitter accounts attached to their blogs alerting you of the recent prizes available. 
    My favorite group of blogs are those wordsmiths that simply make me smile and laugh out loud.  They are modern day Erma Bombecks or even what I think Phyllis Diller would have done if blogging was around in her day.  Extremely popular is The Bloggess she has a number of blogs she writes.  You need to find her post about Beyonce, no not the singer rather the 5 foot metal chicken she bought who now has its' own facebook page. Warning she is a bit blue and drops Fbombs like my teenage son drops his clothes.  My other current favorite smile maker is Caffeinated OC Mommy.  She has a bit of a lipstick obsession and a great way with stories.
    Not too long ago a my friend Louise at Girl Left Behind wrote a great post about why she blogs and that's what I'd like to leave you with today,
Why I Started Blogging

PS should you visit any of the blogs mentioned today please tell them that I sent you :0)