In Why I Write, George Orwell suggests the following reasons that someone may wish to write:

• To make money.
• Egoism, eg a desire to appear clever, or to be remembered after your death.
• Aesthetic enthusiasm, eg a love of words for their own sake.
• Historical impulse, ie a desire to see things as they really are, so that posterity my benefit.
• Political (with a small ‘p’), ie to influence other people’s ideas about society.

I’d also add another two:

Educational, ie the desire to give others the benefit of the knowledge you’ve acquired – which I suppose could also come under the heading of egoism, or even political.

Record-keeping, be that as a diary, a research record, or another kind of journal.

So I am wondering if these categories might be applied to blogging? Why do people blog? I’ve set up a very simple, and no doubt simplistic, poll to find out. I know the categories are subtle and overlap and interface with each other. Nevertheless, my poll comprises just one question:

What is your number one reason for blogging?

Do take part, and feel free to add reasons of your own on the ‘Other’ category. Let’s see what transpires.