Would/Should Don Draper be a blogger?

I had an argument with a friend yesterday....it's really pretty silly, if you think about it--but aren't most arguments? To protect the identity of my friend, I will change his gender and exchange the "b" in his name with a "y." I accused my friend, Gaye, of having double standards, because when she writes a blog, she tells me about it almost instantly (which I take as my cue to read the blog as soon as possible), however, when the tables are turned and I write a blog, she might read it in several days or weeks, or may not even read it all. After some dramatic dialogue, she claimed that she doesn't care if anyone ever read her blogs. I asked her why she even wrote a blog then, and she claimed to write blogs just to fulfill her need to write. So, this got me thinking.

Why do we blog? I'm not as selfless as Gaye. I write blogs to express myself, but in all honesty, I guess I'm hoping someone will read it and be amused, or touched, or mad, or whatever. I find blogging a good way to express my thoughts, query people's opinions and interact, and also to just unload some burdens. Writing in a private or personal journal doesn't really do it for me, because sometimes I think I actually need to know that someone knows how I feel or think--be it pathetic or not. In the end, I think blogging serves as some sort of indirect way to validate existence and assigns meaning to your life, thoughts and feelings.

Carrying things is tough. Having the ability to express and expose yourself can be liberating--it can help you through many things. Thinking about this reminded me of a conversation I had with Mike recently, regarding the lead character from Mad Men, Don Draper. Mike had mentioned how difficult it must be for him to carry all of his secrets (his past, his current affairs, the stress from his job, etc). I thought about this and wondered if Don would be a blogger (had it been around in 1960). Then I started thinking about just exactly how he does carry all that weight. I think this is the reason he has various affairs and sneaks out of the office to see movies. Those are the outlets that allow him to express and expose the various sides of himself.

If you haven't started watching Mad Men, I highly recommend it. It comes on Sunday nights at 11pm on AMC. It's also on Comcast On-Demand.