Of those who don't, most are just moving on to new experiences and new priorities.
Some aren't though. Hamish Malcolm, a 26 year old Melbourne University student, for example, had been blogging since January. Until he died last week, suddenly and tragically, of a cardiac arrest.
I didn't know Hamish, and I hadn't seen his blog until today, but it raises an interesting point.
Reading his blog, you'd have no idea why there were no updates coming. (Hamish's last entry is about "the very tragic, very violent demise of my mobile phone".) And how would we find out if something happened, anyway?
Friends and relatives of bloggers don't have access to our blogs, so it's not as if they can put a tasteful last entry up to let people know what's happened. Unless someone reading your blog knows you in the real world, they're not even going to pop up in the comments and let anyone know that you're no longer with us.
We've all developed these virtual quasi-relationships with the other bloggers we read and who read us, and this is a reminder of just how little we really know about their real lives beyond the computer.
Another person who's vanished this week was one of my favourite bloggers, MsCynic. Her last entry was a call to:
Go contact everyone you love immediately and tell them that you love them. Hold them and touch them and make them feel special. Because you never know when they will be snatched from you. Kiss them and wrap your arms around them and bury your face in their smell and in their smiles and laughter. Do it while you still can.
And her last words -
I love you Mum. I love you so much.
And nothing's been heard of her since. Which makes the sentiments sweet, but... worrying. I hope she's alright. (And I hope she comes back and lets us know.)
But I'm not sure what to suggest. I guess in some ways it's a good reminder that whilst reading someone's blog and comments may perhaps be a good start for a friendship - it's nevertheless got some serious limitations until you make an effort to get to know that person beyond the simple world of blogs.
If I go silent suddenly and you're wondering if I'm dead or have been in a horrible finger-amputating accident, the only blog person who'd probably know is Leif. (And the person who murdered me and/or cut my fingers off, if they also had a blog.) So you could ask him, unless he'd been killed and/or mutilated as well.
(But it's more likely it'd just be me being lazy, uninspired, or computerless.)
In the meantime, a toast to departed blog friends we may not have got to know as well as we may have liked before they disappeared. And take care of yourselves. (Please be careful with those precious fingers.)
UPDATE: Ms Cynic is back and will be okay, at least physically.
But there's a bit of concern now about Carrie, whose blog A Little Distraction was regularly updated from October 2004 to 20 July 2005, when she went to a party and then suddenly and unexpectedly vanished, never to be heard from again.
