Who do you write for?

I have been talking to my friends about blogging before tentatively dipping my toe in the big blog ocean.. How does it feel? I do not know yet. At the moment all is tranquil... But there are hidden depths, fast currents, uncharted shallows and dead calm..

Some of my friends are bloggers already; some are contemplating blogging; others are vehemently against any form of social media. No one seems neutral. Everyone has an opinion.

So, 'Who do you you write your blog for?' I write for myself was a reply heard often. A diary, then? No, not a diary but still intrinsically a reflection of life experienced, reinterpreted, even reinvented. A form of catharsis using words and images.  But then, if we write for ourselves why publish it at all? The cathartic element is provided by the simple act of writing it down. So again, why publish?

I am following some blogs written by friends and strangers. Some are confessional and well written, others are beautiful, original, thought provoking and feed my soul, yet others are surprising, self indulgent and funny.. In some cases a lot of time seems to be spent in front of the computer writing about inner world, rather than reflecting on what has been heard, tasted, touched, seen. And then I will stumble upon the blog that looks more like a list of things to do before you die.. It is fascinating, occasionally unreal and infinitely varied. 

Perhaps what I am asking is wrong. Perhaps what I am trying to grasp, to discover can be formulated into a different question.

What do you hope for when you write your blog?

I will go to bed now and think about answering my own query: What did I hope for when I pressed Publish Post?