This is my first post. Why haven’t I gotten on the blogging train before now? Maybe because there’s 100 million blogs out there already. Seemed like enough. Or because I’m doing something else. Curious about my own motivations and questions, I have become a student of Why People Blog.

Reason #1: Because it’s fun! Last week AdAge reported on the recent BlogHer and Compass Partners research pronouncing that blogging is now “mainstream” among women. What’s inspiring them?

• 65% do it for fun
• 60% to express themselves
• 40% to connect with others
• 34% blog as a personal diary
• 26% to give advice or educate

The reasons women read blogs provide good advice for marketers seeking to attract them:

1. Make it fun and entertaining (46% read because it’s fun and 26% for entertainment)
2. Provide useful information (41% are seeking information)
3. Make it timely (34% want to stay up to date on specific topics)

And as blogs morph into more participatory communities, we’ll see shifts in motivations, with a rise in giving and getting advice and accomplishing a common purpose.

More to come on Why People Blog and what makes good posts.

PS You know a trend has crested when there’s a book list on it. Check out these 10 books about blogs and blogging from The New York Review of Books.