The Secret of My Blogging "Success"

The other day I mused aloud about how I wonder why anyone reads my blog. I do sincerely wonder about it. I mean, it's terribly boring in terms of my life. It's patently clear that I don't have one, and I'm not even faking it by making stuff up. But my blog-buddy Dop said that he feels like kin. It's true; I feel a kinship with him too. We were both going through a crisis and upheaval in our lives at the same time, and we both like the way we express ourselves. We can relate on a lot of levels with our common frustrations and minor (sometimes major) victories. What's the old saying about shared burdens being lighter but shared joy multiplying? Which brings me to this: all of these so-called "boring" blogs, blogs with no supposed "content" - why is it that these boring ones stay on and keep going when all the look-at-me-I'm-so-fucking-clever blogs tend to die out? Yes, blogging is an exercise in emotional and intellectual onanism, but every blogger goes through some ennui, right? I'd say that it's precisely because these "boring" blogs are personal and they are not meant to be mere entertainment. They end up being tools that we use to relate to other people, even if we didn't intend it to be that way. When Dop had his heart attack, it was captivating writing. His blog allowed me to capture a little slice of a seminal piece of his life. And since then, I've been pretty content to stay up with the mundane details. Same can go for quite a few others that I've put into my "blog reading circuit." I care about your lives, and the blog is just a way to keep up. It's like a conversation. Sort of. For me, it is mostly thinking aloud and very rarely do I actually "talk" to people. In the comments come the conversation, though I may not comment much on my own blog. Something just feels funny about that to me, don't ask why. Anyway, I don't know how many people continually have racy conversations. It just doesn't happen. Even if it is about something as stimulating as 'pygmy feet,' no person continually has racy conversation. Entertainers put up a show, and at some point they are likely to burn out. At that point, they start doing what they do infrequently. Look at Warren Beatty. The man only comes out once every couple of years to do a movie. Writing for entertainment value is not that far of a logical leap from acting. Ennui is just a whim away, and even if you fight it, it's still there. So yes, my boring blog is content to be boring. Precisely because it's not for your entertainment, I can continue to be prolific. I can continue to find my space and think aloud, and occasionally someone might like my writing. Bonus! We can relate and be kin, if not in the flesh. And ultimately, I think that's more important than mere entertainment. Entertainment serves its purposes, don't get me wrong. But it is no replacement for reaching out and sometimes making a real connection. And that, my friends, is the secret of blogging success.