Curious

So many blogs, so little time... I'm interested in the reasons why people read blogs in the first place and what exactly hooks a reader to a particular blog. I'm also intrigued by which blog posts provoke the most comments. On this humble blog, for example, posts about Scorsese's decline* or the Death of Robert Altman return no responses yet I have a whinge and a moan about failing to get a job, failing to get a woman or how generally goddamn grumpy I am and everybody chimes in. Not that I am ungrateful for everybody's encouraging comments on such occasions, of course, but I wonder why the personal posts provoke a response more often than the general ones.

As a rule, I try to avoid writing about the everyday minutiae of my life - "When I came out of the supermarket, my shopping bags got all tangled up in a dog's leash. Oh, what a palaver! And then when I was back at the office the toner ran out halfway through printing an incoming fax so I had to go to the stores cupboard but they had run out of the right kind of cartridge so I have to wait two days for a new batch to arrive and I only have half a fax message..." - and I wince a bit when I look back and see some whinge about past-their-sell-by-date johnnies. The only time I decide to post something personal is when something exceptional happens like being accused of fraud and bullying by paranoid co-workers, situations that could have a wider relevance to people than which brand of toothpaste I prefer.

So, I wonder what it is that makes people respond in greater numbers when I have a good moan than when I talk about some artist or book or filmmaker.

* By the way, I never did get around to reviewing The Departed but I was disappointed by it.