Broadcasting Brain

No, I don't think blogging is dead. New forms of online media have emerged as blogging has become a household term, but these new media aren't necessarily blogging anymore. I just wrote a post on that: http://anaulin.org/wordpress/archives/2008/11/0...

I like the point that your own post makes about "online columnists". Sometimes I think of myself as an online columnist (although I don't make money off this blog for doing that kind of writing). As for Winer's comment, he's right about the original intent of web logs, but things have certainly evolved over time, just like a military/educational network of networks became the Internet that we know today.

As for "new media", as an example, is photo sharing/community blogging? On the surface, no, but it shares the publishing/commenting/community aspects of blogging.

You know, these articles about "Blogging is Dead, Long Live Blogging" are popping out left and right recently. It's like a new genre, a new niche even. Like "blogging about blogging," blogging about the the death of blogging has turned into a link bait headline. I have read a lot them, and I somewhat agree, but only when I have in my head the definition that "blogging" isn't blogging if it isn't "personal." That's what they mostly mean when they say it's dead and yes, I get it. Writing about your cats and how they got lost for several hours is not going to have a big impact on the web, but that doesn't mean that the form is dying and offers no value anymore.

I wouldn't worry. Like you said, it's a form that keeps evolving. It's the oldest form, but in my opinion the best way to publish things online, which people happen to call blogging.

You've brought up the "cat blog" subject, which you could argue is really journaling. Blogs can be journals, at least by current practices.

No, not dying, but changing from the original usage.

Blogging isn't dying. Microblogging and lifestream aggregators are changing the way we spend time online, but blogs aren't going anywhere. They're actually getting better overall because the minutiae crap gets filtered out on Twitter and etc., and doesn't actually make it to the blog. Two cents.

You know, I'd argue that Twitter/microblogging has actually conquered a big chunk of one of the original purposes of web logs: sharing links. Think about it.

But the platform still lives.

I just read a this in Wired. My 2 cents... it's just beginning. The personal blog and user generate content will continue to grow. But I think the corp blogs, that have no personaltiy and have no "face" except to market a parent company will die. Users are getting savvy, they know the difference between a "real" blog and a marketing trick.

I don't know whether or not corp. blogs will die or not. Using the blogging platform to communicate to a wide audience can be easier than, say, publishing an article, newsletter, or magazine. However, in that sense, they might not be corporation to consumer communication, but potentially business to business communication.

No! I just blogged on this too, after reading the Wired Magazine article "kill your blog."

http://catchupblog.typepad.com/catch_up_blog/20...

Thanks for stopping by! I left a comment at your blog.

I have to agree everyone. Blogging is not dying nor will they die. There might be cause to say that other tools are evolving the way we connect with people and those connections might impact blogging, but that is about it.

You know, this argument seems to have come out of one Wired story, which was influenced by the author's increasing investment of time in social network platforms. But the conclusion of one person's experience doesn't dictate the studies we have that demonstrate blogs, with excellent content, are more read than ever.

Best,
Rich

"Blogs are dying" is like a self-propogating meme which circles and recircles around the blogosphere (or blogospheres, depending on how you look at it) every now and then, especially when a new study or high-profile article draws attention back to it. Certainly, in this case, the Wired article dragged the topic back into the echo chamber again (oh dear, I'm contributing to the echo chamber. Yuck.)

Blogging in not dead, but it has left the realm of "personal journaling" to a certain degree. My main blog acts as a combination of marketing for my personal brand, conversion point for my freelance writing and consulting work, and an online resume and portfolio, so there are many functions besides just the normal sharing of my thoughts and knowledge. In time, I think blogs will morph into many different forms, but never die.

Perhaps some people object to the way that the blogging platform has gained quite a commercial and monetization aspect.

Well, yeah, I mean how can individual bloggers create content at the rate HuffPo or Techcrunch do? Other than Chris Pirillo, of course, who could make a new internet just with what he produces. And the ads and affiliates are getting out of hand, IMO. I took ads of off all my sites except for the Social Media Philosophy Project, because that needs to somehow pay for itself. I am also not accepting approaches from advertisers, because it just got spammy.

But I think individuals are able to build a different kind of following as well...people read HuffPo, but A-listers like Scoble or Darren have influence in a way that the big newspaper-style blogs don't. At least IMO they do. HuffPo I may or may not agree with or be interested in depending on the writer, but I am almost always interested in what Graywolf has to say.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that A Listers and the Technorati top 100 blogs only have high influence with certain audiences. And, even with those, you do have a good point that some people prefer the individual's blog to a group blog.

Well I have noticed as I rarely get a comment but then nor do a lot of other blogs I look at from time to time....Maybe it is what I blog about !! I haven't read yours yet but will...I don't quite understand twitter to be frank...I hear about it I'm supposed to be a member of it!! I can't swear to that

Thanks Mick. I've got a few posts on Twitter here on my blog (category is microblogging) if you want to check them out.

LOL Mark - Great minds think alike. I've been thinking about this a lot recently and I just gave my opinion this morning, in a post - Is Blogging Dead?

I noticed!

Mark, I agree that blogging still lives. In fact, it is evolving, not dying. There is a difference.

absolutely

blogging is alive and well...who are these people, really?

heh

If blogging is dying, Mark, you wouldn't see 20+ comments about it (regardless of opinion) inside of 24 hours.

Exactly!

OK. So, how many blogs to you read each day? More or fewer than 6 months or a year ago? Are they getting better? Do you drop them because of time constraints or because they've turned to crap? Your change of focus? Twitter serves you info better faster?

Is it more pertinent that blogging is dead to the writer or the reader?

For me, a long blog piece better be sweet, thoughtful and satisfying.

To answer your questions, Steve:

I have over 300 feeds in my reader. I do not read all of them, although I skim/scan all of them. I probably only read a handful of posts in any real level of detail, the rest in varying ways. I am starting to cut back again on the number of subscriptions that I have.

I read more blogs than I did six months ago.

I would say that the quality is remaining roughly the same, although I have dropped blogs shortly after determining that they didn't have what I was looking for. However, most of the ones that I have been reading consistently are staying about the same.

Re: Twitter: I generally do not rely on Twitter along to serve up links. I rely more on FriendFeed (which includes the Twitter streams of the people that I follow) plus the other entries that come through there, plus Google Reader and shares. Twitter/FriendFeed serve me faster specks or nuggets of information, but not the detail I expect from a good blog post.

"Blogging is dead": assuming that the sentence is true, which I don't agree with, it would affect the writer more than the reader. To most people, a blog is just another website.

I agree with you about long blog pieces.