Why blog?

Having browsed quite a few blogs, I am not sure that I get it. Is blogging just an excuse for some people to self-publicise?
Some blogs clearly have a theme based around interests, and exist to share ideas about cricket, or boating, or film, or birds. I like the ones for which I share a passion. Some seem to be rather more self-obsessive, and are often rather dull. Yet another group clearly come into the category, "I have this idea that I may be able to cash in on as a book." These usually have a diary theme, or a year of doing something. You can cook your way through an American book on French cookery, for example, in one year. (Can anyone tell me why she didn't cook her way through Escoffier? No, I know the answer already, people wouldn't have read about real French cooking. Sigh!) Some of these blogs are fun, and I read, or listen to them from time to time, "The Song a Day Guy" is just one example.
So which is mine? Is it a bit of self indulgent rambling through my thoughts? Hmm. This blogging thing is more complex than it first appears.
In the meantime, here is a link to a blog I really enjoy. It is from Tim Erenata, a storyteller in California.
http://storylabx.tumblr.com/

At home with tourism.

I love walking: stomping around towns, marching along beaches, hacking up hillsides, sliding down scree, I love it all. Well, maybe not the scree so much, it's too tough on the knees. Yesterday we finally walked part of the Chemin de Jean Racine. I was guilty of pre-judging this path as “too touristy”, and we had not, hitherto, condescended to walk it. Our loss! We discovered a lovely woodland walk, on a south facing slope, completed by a red squirrel, watching us watching it from the safety of a high branch. We even met some friendly walkers, who showed us their mushrooms. Both are unusual. This close to Paris it is common for people to walk past you without a word on an otherwise deserted path, and they are often plugged into a telephone or music player of one sort or another. The people who stop and chat are rare. The mushrooms are completely unseasonal, and therefore rare too. We have been finding edible fungus far later than usual, and these people had been lucky enough to find some boletus. No boletus for us, but gorgeous weather for December, fantastic views over the valleys and hills around St Lambert des Bois, and a lovely walk through the oaks, the sweet chestnuts and the silver birches.