Why blogging took off?

Good question :) Some of the reasons why I would say blogging took off

Many people have started living "with" technology - a PC or mobile phone or PDAs. It becomes easier for people to note them on PC and better on internet and not on their local desktops, as it can be accessed easily. The advent of mobile blogging added to the popularity by increasing both the number of people who blog and also the time people spend near the technology.

With the enormous number of sites, blogs of friends, relevant people provide a good means to filter effective sites... Wonder if Google is incorporating the relevance of blogs specifically to its PageRank algorithm.. ( Another thread to how it could possibly be done! )

Blogging is a good means to publish your thoughts freely. With a virtual id (that cannot be tracked to the person himself), anything and everything could be pubilshed.. A good means to give vent to the anger on boss, the govt, policies everything...