why do people write blogs?

..or to put it another way, why do some start a blog and then not continue it?

I can only put forward my reasons - with my (lack of) understanding of why I do or don't write. I started to write because I felt I had something to say - and I'd reached the point where writing in my private journal wasn't enough. I suppose I'd reached the point where I wanted to justify myself - to use the internet as a way of saying "I exist, I think, I feel".

I'd been writing poetry for a while - and sharing some of it. I'd broken out of the shell of being an IT person. And I was ready to show some of my inner thoughts.

And tonight I notice it's been 7 months since I last wrote here. What I notice is that I didn't miss it. OK, there have been moments when I felt "I must go and write something about this". And generally those thoughts only made it into my journal - or got lost somewhere in transit.

I've just been reading an article about why people tend to defend their buying decisions - and why there is the phenomenon of "fanboys" on internet forums. It raised the question for me - why would I want to defend a buying decision I'd made? Is it to show I was rational in buying X instead of Y? Is it to show I don't feel bad about spending that amount of money? Is it to make me feel better?

Equally, why do people write blogs? Is it to show how clever they are - or how passionate they are - or how green - or..... (fill in the blank for yourself)....

Or is it to say "I'm confused/worried/upset/happy/amazed/delighted..." or maybe just "hey! I'm still here!"