Ray Banks: Why Blog?

The refreshingly pragmatic Ray Banks asks, "Why have a web presence?":

...I ask myself these questions, because a lot of the author websites I've visited leave me a little cold. They tend to be nothing more than a list of books those authors have published. Yeah, there'll be some token nod to events in the future, the odd "hey-how-ya-doing" monthly letter thing, but all in all, they tend to be bells, whistles and not a lot else.

There are, of course, exceptions. The majority of sites on the left there prove that.

But I think I do this, and continue doing this, to maintain a sense of community in my life...

I commented:

I think, at the heart of it, readers want to get to know their favorite authors as people. By their nature, blogs are the most convenient way to--as you say--create a sense of community.

You might get a feel for an author's temperament from reading a site bio he wrote once upon a time. You might click on a mailto link and send the author a message. You might check out the author's forum/message board. None of these, however, is as current or user-friendly as a blog. An author bio doesn't tell you how the author feels today. Sure, the author gives an e-mail link, but can you be certain he wants to receive mail from you--and talk about what you want to talk about--today? How many authors actively participate in their forums? Are you largely willing to put up with other fans of varying fervor in return for occasional brief posts by the author?

With a blog, the author determines what he wants to talk about and when he wants to talk about it. Comments are easier to write than e-mails and easier to read than forum threads. Best of all, the best blogs aren't 100% shop talk; you get to know the author through other interests, hobbies, pet peeves, etc.

For my part, there's a lot I want to discuss that doesn't fall under the umbrella of Yahoo! Group moderator or Thrilling Detective Fiction Editor but is just right for this blog.