Who do you write for?

The Abel Pharmboy has blogged about why he writes, titled "Writing to publish vs. Writing to be read", where he discusses why he blogs and what value it holds for him.

For those of us in the sciences whose productivity is measured in peer-reviewed research manuscripts, one can ask why we write blogs. Personally, I enjoy the conversation with all of you, fellow scientists as well as folks far afield who happen to be interested in science and drugs. The blog also allows me to explore outside of my field - cancer research - and learn more about such areas as neuroscience and geology and even further to music, history, and, yes, writing. Through this community I've also been able to continue my education by learning about issues of gender and racial and ethnic diversity in both the sciences and society. I definitely feel more well-rounded as both an academic and a human being by writing here and engaging with this community. And I am still learning. ...

So, why do you write when you don't have to?

Mary Churchill encouraged the question when she wrote "Why do academics write?". To be clear, this is the post that motivated Pharmboy to write his post; she is not answering his post.

I would like to believe that we write because we have something to say not because we are supposed to say something.