To blog or not to blog

I have spent a fair amount of time over the past month or two reading as many blogs as I could find on chess.com. It's an interesting assortment of styles that exists here. There are some talented chess players sharing valuable tips and tricks, there are chess enthusiasts who enrich us with the history and culture of our common pasttime, there are talented and witty writers who comment on and off the subject of chess.

Indeed, there are a few of my personal favorite blogs that rarely touch upon the subject of chess, and only in passing if they do.

I especially love the bumpersticker blogs that people put out there. The 'Holla at me if you love chicken' blogs.

It really got me thinking about blogs, why we write them and why we read them. I think it's fair to say that most people who read other people's blogs here are looking for chess content. Some people just want to be entertained for a short while, and judging from the messages and notes to blogs and pictures, there are definitely some very lonely souls at chess.com. So goes the internet.

My personal reasons for blogging are unclear to me. Why do I write what I write? I'm really not sure. Who do I expect to read my writings? I'm really not sure.

But I will say this, there is a comfort in blogging here. Whether I'm writing about chess or not, I feel that whoever reads it will share one common interest, one common thread with me, and that somehow creates a bond between us.

An interesting point was made in reply to my last blog, that people in general all have many things in common, but that instead of creating empathy and understanding, we too often let this create friction, jealousy and petty rivalries between us.

I suppose this is never truer than in our common passion for chess. In all its beauty and sophistry, chess at its core is a clash between two people, a war of wills, for one cannot achieve his/her aim without depriving the opponent of theirs. Even in discussion of chess, we quibble over the finer points of strategy and meaning in chess.

I suppose that is why so many write blogs, to have their voice heard. Even if it's not on chess. And that I suppose is why I read, to find voices like mine. To find voices unlike mine. To connect.

Thank you all who blog. Thank you all who read.