selfish reasons for blogging

Something Torill wrote in 2001:

I also have selfish reasons for blogging. I think better when I write. Sometimes, I need to get rid of thoughts, and then I write them down so that I can go on. When I was 16 I wrote down the names of the boys I was in love with. If it was one I happened to hate I would burn the note afterwards, and feel like I had some kind of closure. Now, when I am in love with a thought, I can write it down. That lets me examine it when it doesn't expect me to look at it. I can sneak up on it at a time when my head is busy with something else, and I can surprise it in a different context. This will let me see my newfound love, the virginate idea, in a different light, and I can see its flaws and weaknesses, as well as its beauty. And I can move on, let the ones which are not worthy of being taken home live on somewhere outside my head.

I can relate to that a lot and I think it's just a beautiful description! Found it in her paper with Jill. Something I wonder about is how academics can share ideas, thoughts, links... so freely - I mean - of course! - it's great, that's what we all dream of, discourse in a non hierarchic public sphere yes, I too write to be part of a community of researchers, part of an ongoing dialogue. (although I'm not a "real" researcher yet, I guess...I'm more trying to become a part of a community). But what about people "stealing" your ideas?

Is something published in the World Wide Web really "save"? Isn't a "proper" publication in a peer reviewed journal much more respected and doesn't the reasearcher get much more "brownie points" out of that? Or are we all taking that risk cause what we get out of blogging is just much more worth compared to this tiny risk?