Says it all, don’t it:

So why do we bother? In part, because sometimes we do have an impact. Anybody remember Harriet Miers? In part, because we’ve got the writing bug and the new media allows us to bypass the traditional gate keepers that controlled access to the public. We write because, as somebody famous whose name I can’t remember said, we have to. And maybe, just maybe, there’s a little narcissist in all of us.

First, off, the “have to” part. Writing has an addictive quality. I got hooked on the stuff back in college but manage to control my habit most of the time. But if I had a million dollars, I’d write full time (and, if my grants run out, I might do that anyway). I’ve been blogging at my own site for 2.5 years, mostly into silence. It doesn’t bother me. The process is the reward.

But, yeah, there is the narcissistic part. Everyone who blogs thinks he has something interesting to say even though only a tiny fraction do. When Lee, a very good blogger, asked me to blog first at Moorewatch and then at Right-Thinking, it was a great ego moment.

Of course, the disadvantage is that I can now make a fool of myself to a wider audience. But at least it’s a quiet humiliation.