So, what's all this hype about blogging?

So, my friends have started blogging in huge numbers. Ok, not really, but 6 or 7 have started posting daily and I admit it, I'm hooked on reading them. Not just because they help me procrastinate at work, but because they're genuinely interesting. Go figure. So, I thought that since a strangely large number of my local friends are moving this summer (sniff, sniff), what better way to keep people updated on the daily and oh-so-riveting events of my life? Well, maybe not the events of my life because, let's face it, it's not that exciting on a daily basis. But, since I generally have a lot to say, I figure there have to be a few people out there who need the aimless distraction of my thoughts. :)

Here is the challenge: I work in an institution of learning. For obvious legal/ethical reasons, I cannot name this place, nor can I really name most of my friends who work in said institution, or the bright young minds who attend. I suppose that as long as I'm not trash-talking my place of employment, it might be ok. Hmmmm.......

Occupational conundrum aside, what is all the hype about blogging? I've often wondered what drives people (myself included, obviously) to post their thoughts, sometimes their most intimate thoughts, on the Internet where anyone in the world can read them? For someone who grew up without the Internet (I didn't have my first email account until I went to college!), it's almost fascinating to think about the voyeuristic turn society has taken over the last ten years. It's one thing to post to keep friends and family updated, and I suspect that's the main reason for quite a few of the blogs out there. And I admit that if I think too hard about just how many millions of people have access to this, I get a little freaked out. Then again, there is such thing as being too paranoid.

So this, my friends, is my own personal journey into a world I'm curious to discover. That, and with the school year winding down, and people moving away, I foresee a few months of utter boredom. Someday, I will have a job in education that does give me the summers off.