Blogging article in the Washington Post

This encapsulate what the blog has been for me so far. Here is the article.

A bit of the text I pasted below.

From 10/12 Washington Post:

Cyber-Catharsis: Bloggers Use Web Sites as Therapy

By Yuki Noguchi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 12, 2005; Page A01

...

Although AOL provides tools that allow bloggers to limit their audience to selected viewers, most don't, said Bill Schreiner, vice president for AOL's community programming. "It's like they're writing the novel of their lives, and [public] participation adds truth to their story."

Blogging combines two recommended techniques for people to work through problems: writing in a journal and using a computer to type out thoughts. Some bloggers say the extra dimension of posting thoughts on the Web enables them to broach difficult subjects with loved ones, as well as reap support from a virtual community of people they don't know.

"I think it's a way of validating feelings. It's a way of purging things inside of you," said Judith HeartSong, a 41-year-old Rockville artist. As a child, she kept diaries filled with anguished accounts of abuse hidden under her bed, she said, but now she posts entries on the Web.