Everything you do builds your brand. You have a personal brand and some have a business brand. You can tell a lot about a business by reading their blogs, if they have one. If I know that a company, be it one person or hundreds, looks at it's blog posts simply as a way to monetize the interaction with the customer that tells you a lot. My blog seems to confuse those who would like to see customer interactions simply as a way to make money. They don't understand that sometimes you want to blog about stuff that might just interest you. Susan's comment at my last post was, "Gee, I always thinking how great it would be if I were local enough to shop at the Golden Gecko because I feel I KNOW YOU through this blog, but retail blogging is so new, who knows how the finances will shake out a couple of years from now? Anyhoo, you enjoy it and not everything can be measured in cold-cash calculations. Certainly not the joys of writing."
Gee, my brand is recognized by a lady who lives on the other side of the country. How does that make me money? I don't know or care. I do know that if I we're to start a internet plant business I have friends in different parts of the world who just might champion the brand when it comes their way. They know me and my company. They have been reading my blog for the last three plus years, and can expect a certain response from my company.
Blogging is also about learning. I have been inspired and fortunate to interact with the people who visit this place. How can put a price on my blog relationships. They are priceless.
So follow your muse. Write about what you want. Save the web page, e-news, and other communications for business. Use your blog to express yourself. The most successful blogs I see out there are the ones that people write because they love what they do.