Blogging for Learning

Yeah, our main purpose of showing students how to blog is of course for learning purposes. But just how do we get them excited enough to blog? I was talking to one of the students the other day about blogging. Here's the conversation:

Chris: "Do you like blogging?"

Student: "No, I don't blog. No time to just sit down and blog about stuff. Too busy with homework and studies"

Chris: "Ok. But what if blogging becomes part of your assignment and you are required to create a blog about your life as a student, about issues you discussed in class, about current world issues etc..?"

Student: "Well, if it becomes part of our assignment, we sure have to do it. But, later after the semester, I dont think I will maintain it"

Chris: "Oh! Why so?"

Student: "I don't know about the rest but I have no interest"

So, how do we get students to want to blog and sustain the interest?