Newly-housed Laura, formerly a resident of Apartment 11D in the Heights, asks a question from her new suburban location (say hello to my grandmother in said location):

What makes for a good weblog? Is it sharp, witty political commentary or insightful life stories?

Truly, this is a Mars-Venus question, where the answer is wholly dictated by your mindset.

One type of reader (let's call them, for no particular reason, "men") looks to blogs for useful commentary and links on specific issues. (Let's call those preferred blogs "political blogs.") These readers aren't opposed to the revelation of the blogger's personal details per se, but wouldn't really see the point unless such details are relevant in some way to the issue at hand.

Another type of reader (let's call them...I don't know..."women") might look to blogs to, in Allison Kaplan Sommer's felicitous description (quoted by Laura), "really get a feel for what it is like to be someone else, living a different life and opening ourselves to their experience." (Let's call those blogs "personal blogs.")

Of course, most people probably partake of both mindsets at some points, but I think it's safe to say that many people probably gravitate towards one kind more than the other. But there's no reason to say that personal blogs are necessarily better than political blogs at fulfilling their professed aim, or at meeting their customers' wishes. Allison's statement that personal blogs are "the very best blogs" is nothing more than a value judgment, based on a pre-existing mindset. To those of us [blessed/cursed] with a different mindset, Allison's mindset - the notion that "really get[ting] a feel for what it is like to be someone else" is preferable to the most thought-provoking and informative commentary on a given issue - is close to incomprehensible.

I respect the ability of those who can write the best personal blogs; I know how difficult it can be to render feelings as words. But at the same time, can't you argue that our ability to "really get a feel for what it is like to be someone else" is necessarily limited, in a way that intellectual comprehension of arguments or commentary is not? Communication of feelings and empathy are necessary components of interpersonal relationships, but does blogging have to partake of those elements to be successful? Answering "yes" tells you more about the assumptions you bring to the computer than about the nature of blogging.