I have interesting friends. They tell me about Japanese fetishes, survival training and ring sizes.

I've just finished dinner with 5 such friends and had a nice instant messenger conversation with another, who asked me the fateful question - why do I even have a blog in the first place?

The question was not an easy one to answer. Originally I had thought the sole reason was merely for reviewing and examining my often-incoherent thoughts. He then asked me the question which I had not thought of.

"Why not a normal journal - pen and paper, or even on your notebook?"

I struggled for an answer for a long time. I keep my blog unsearchable, because I don't feel the need to advertise to the world at large what goes into this blog. For me, it's enough that a few people who -might- be interested know about this blog. However, my friend is correct about one thing. Even a blog that is unsearchable remains a platform for the public, potentially accessible by anyone.

Eventually, I came to the realisation that this blog was more than just a journal to review my thoughts. The "public" aspect of a blog is more important to me than I had originally realised. It stemmed from the fact that I am an immensely private individual.

Sounds self-contradictory?

My friend related to me an experience where he had to undergo survival training, and was not allowed to converse with anyone for a week. The key to surviving with your sanity intact, he said, was to keep talking. It didn't matter to who, to trees, to monkeys, to volleyballs named Wilson. That got me thinking about the human condition and the nature of isolation.

Given that I'm an immensely private individual, I do enjoy my isolation, especially isolation of some of my more radical theories. However, even with self-imposed isolation, the need to communicate remains. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that the human condition abhores isolation, even if it is self-imposed. Specifically, humans, being social creatures, are wired with the need to communicate. Consider, for example, why it is so appealing to yell into canyons or to break uncomfortable silences.

However, where particular humans feel both the need for isolation and the hard-wired need to communicate, there is really only one logical solution - to yell somewhere where you don't have to worry if anyone is listening. It's the same reason a person would find so much pleasure standing on a beach and yelling to your hearts content. The release itself is the pleasure - and one can be fairly certain the fish don't care.

That's my blog. My blog is my mental scream to the tidal wave of the Internet. It doesn't matter if I have a million readers or one. The release is the answer. The release is the purpose. Someone listening is just a bonus.

Postscript: I've changed the title and description of my blog. The new name and description feel more correct than my previous one.