Some thoughts on blogs

Thought I should reflect on blogs in general, before I continue with my studies, as this is the tool I was most interested in learning about. Is this practice of blogging, at the intersection of technology and learning, going to be a useful tool for a practicing manager, in the context of developing their skills and knowledge? My background (in management, then teaching) and my current practice (in education) will no doubt influence how I view the tool and its likely benefits and will also influence how I may 'sell' the idea' to others. From a teaching perspective, it is expected that one should be a 'reflective practitioner' and that through this reflection one will learn to 'do better'; however, can you learn by reflection only, or does it require the visibility of being in text, to be viewed as valid? This could be a benefit of blogging - making thoughts more accessible and ideas more transparent to others; or does this bring its own problems?
How would blogging fit into a 1. learners life and 2. manager's life?
Using this blog tool for the first time myself, on this course, I can appreciate the benefits as a learner; I have had to construct my meaning and build my understandings in a coherent way, 'in case' someone reads my blog! But is this not a step back to a constructivist view of learning, where 'in the head' (Bredo?) learning is at the top of the hierarchy? Does this imply that blogging has to be viewed as only one part of a social network, to be of benefit?
I have seen as a disadvantage the amount of time that it takes to deal with course materials and then blog as well; or I am 'hiding' by using lack of time as an excuse for not using the blog effectively, to consolidate the ideas? Thinking along this thread, a blog may be of use to a learner if it is in relation to a small component - a concept or group of theories on a particular topic - where the topic may be read and researched and then 'unpicked' by the learner, to gain more deep learning than a surface glance over a text. This may be beneficial for some parts of a course, then, rather than for a course as a whole.; this strikes me as a 'good idea'.
From the practicing mangers point of view, is using a blog as a reflective learning tool, realistic? In some sectors - notably education and welfare - the recording of the narratives of 'critical incidents' and 'informal learning situations' are positively encouraged; in others, reflective practice (at least in a written format) still appears to be viewed as 'a waste of time'.
There are other issues on the practicing manager theme; who is the blog 'for' and who will have access to this? The issue of confidentiality rears its ugly head; although, in a teacher-learner relationship, much sensitive organisational information is passed and dissected in the current learning model.
A couple of thoughts to ponder
1. If Durkheim saw text as a veil between the real world and the self, is this use of blogging making both more transparent?
2. Can a blog increase the range of a subject being discussed and contribute to 'unassessed outcomes' or 'unintended' learning outcomes (Newman, Griffen and Cole, (1989), as in '...doing something else..')
I feel at the moment that a blog may be seen as a chore by most learners, unless linked to a score or grade; a little like the first block of this course??
I'm now looking to the idea of having to have interactions to make the blog 'worthwhile'; surely some social construction is required via input from others? Is this where wikis come in?