To blog, or not to blog…

…that is the question. Yes, there are infinitely more pressing questions, but for the next 11 minutes, I’ll pontificate on the nature of this trivial dilemma. Every time I notice a production slump in my tiny little corner of the internet (which seems to be happening more frequently), I ask myself: why should I bother blogging?

Hasn’t our beloved (and cursed) Facebook and/or other social media platforms ad nauseum pretty much eliminated the need for 95% of hobbyist bloggers to have “their own” outlet for the somewhat pointless rants and raves that make up that same 95% of blogging? Perhaps. Well, here’s my spontaneous, seven minute analysis of whether or not I should continue caring about and/or updating this blog with any degree of regularity or concern.

To start, some personal affirmations of blogging:

1. There can be, on some rare occasion, an illuminative moment of clarity in which various streams of thought coalesce into a useful realization that deserves and/or requires more than 140 characters.
2. Generally speaking, writing (in almost any form) is good exercise for someone like myself who essentially reads and writes for a living.
3. The WordPress platform is pretty snazzy? Seriously, people- that’s about all I can think of at the moment. Not much of a compelling case for blogging.

Okay, on to the critiques:

1. Blogging is inherently oh-so-self-promoting. I’ve said this numerous times before. “Look at me! I have important things to say, damnit! I am intelligent or witty or sarcastic or all three! Out of all the marginally useful or interesting content floating out there on the interwebs, listen to ME!” Maybe that’s a bit over the top, but that’s how it often seems to me.
2. Blogging (depending on the genre) creates yet another outlet for the cyber-performance of fragmented, constructed identities. Do we really need another digital platform to bolster or disseminate our consumerist “lifestyles” and/or projected selves? Yes, it’s wonderful that you’re a hipster, photographer, foodie, technologist, poet, musician, or humanitarian. But is blogging a genuinely healthy byproduct of that identity, or simply an extension of how we have allowed technology to dehumanize and decenter our multiple identities?
3. As I mentioned earlier, if people want to blog for the purpose of staying “connected” to their “social networks,” it seems like there are infinitely better, simpler, more convenient options for this.

Well, I’m out of time (aren’t we all)? I’d be curious if other bloggers out there have some suggestions on the merits of blogging. At the moment, it’s looking pretty grim. Thoughts?