Why Do I Blog?

I believe I've mentioned in passing that I knit and crochet. (Some would call me hardcore. I have made some awesome stuff, it's true.) A shiny new blogging group spun off from one of my favorite forums at Ravelry, and I'm enjoying adding to my list of blogs to follow. 

This month's prompt is either really simple or really complex (I haven't decided which): why blog? 

I blog here for a number of reasons. Firstly, I'm trying to make something of a presence for myself as I stumble through the world of writing and publishing. Google "Thea Landen", and this site is the first hit. As I've got links to my social media and retailers over there in the right-hand column, I can assume that's a good thing. 

There are some authors out there who use their blogs solely to advertise their work. That's all well and good, but I've also enjoyed musing and rambling about the writing process. I vaguely remember something from one of my college classes about metacognition and "thinking about thinking". I think writing about writing (or in this case, blogging about blogging?) can also be beneficial in a number of ways. A lot of writers claim that any writing is good writing, and I'm inclined to agree. It also gives me another opportunity to cut down on my bad writing habits. (Note how I haven't used too many adverbs so far!) 

Finally, it gives me my own space to be a smartass. Anyone who's met me in real life will tell you I'm sarcastic, snarky, and self-deprecating. (Along with other adjectives that don't being with S!) While I do have fun when I write, I'd say that most of my books and stories have a more serious tone than my "natural voice". Sure, I've got some characters with razor-sharp tongues and wits, but it's still not all snark all the time. I can be more relaxed here, even when I'm trying to beat back the adverbs with a stick. 

Questions for the comments: Why do you blog AND why do you follow other blogs?