Better readers, not more

Jill Walker points out that discussions of better weblogging often start by assuming that people want more readers. That might not be the case; quite a few dedicated weblog writers say they don't care about attracting a big audience.

People don't always want more readers, but almost all web writers do want more great readers. Readers who will receive our message, and act on it, are always wonderful to find. If you are writing about chemical physics or water management policy, you don't want millions of readers, but you do want a few readers who will listen, consider, and take action.

(Nobody has mentioned the tradition of journaling here, where we write privately for the sake of writing. That's a factor in weblogs, too. But, when we keep a journal to hone our craft, we write as if there were an audience; I think that's true of even the most private, unpublicized online journals.