I have amplified this more because of the comments than for the piece itself. Why haven't I clipped the comments? Because I wouldn't want to specifically give any of them the idea that I think what they are saying - or how they are saying it - is worthy of being directly reported!

They are perfectly valid points of view; although I think there is an answer to the 'if you don't have anything to say, why not shut up' line of reasoning - it is called social grooming. If you only ever micro-blog (or blog) treendously worthy, pithy, insightful stuff there is a danger of people seeing you more as a corporate brand than a person. Online social community may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who like, or have, to engage with communities they are part of through oline media, the day to day chit-chat is actually a fairly strong bonding mechanism.

And, as someone pointed out, they are leaving comments on a blog post - don't they have anything better to do?