Blogging as a social network?

In reviewing my lecture notes for concepts to include in the final paper, I came across the section on social networking. After thinking for awhile about the similarities and differences between "traditional" social networks and the blogosphere, I realized that my endeavor into the world of online publishing was far less participatory than I had expected it would be.

Part of this, to be sure, was my fault. When I made the effort to reach out to fellow bloggers, understandably I received more comments than during weeks that I didn't have time to make the extra effort. At the beginning of the semester, I was looking forward to connecting with people that I didn't know in real life, who introduced themselves to me simply because they shared an interest of mine. The more I think about it though, the more I see a divide. The people who are out there blogging like me are doing it for themselves. Or for their families. Or to just have an outlet for their thoughts. Or to mark important events in their lives that are only important to the people who know them. This level of bloggers really isn't out there to connect with other people... there are online communities for those seeking this level of interaction.

The other set of people who participate in blogs is what I'll call the elites. These are the people who practically make a living from blogging. They may have staff and sell ad space to support their business model. These are the people that work to convince society they have something worthwhile to say.

The people who flock to these elites are the ones who are not interested in publishing their own real content, they just enjoy working with, critiquing, and improving the ideas of others at whatever level they feel like that day. Sometimes they'll comment, but for the most part they just take in what they're reading or seeing on a blog and go about their day. These are the people who visit cooking blogs to print off a recipe without leaving a trace of their visit. Kind of taking part in the blog without actually participating.

Because of these different options for participation, I think "blogging" offers something for everyone. And isn't that what the Internet is all about?