While the "thankfully not all books are worth reading" adage is presumably very true of blogging as well, I do still feel some admiration for bloggers, even when their blogs could be perceived as "useless". Even to put something "useless" out there can be an act of bravery itself sometimes (in a "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act" George Orwell sense).

I've felt the "chilling effect" way too often when considering if I really want to put an idea out there that might later turn back to haunt me (even for things I would not consider controversial). I am very aware of the irony that oddly enough, psychologically I don't perceive the same level of danger from random HN comment threads though.