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Should You Stop Blogging?


Some Think So.

Wired has posted an already-controversial article about how blogs are "so 2004", and how services like Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr even are here to replace them. Writer Paul Boutin says:

Thinking about launching your own blog? Here's some friendly advice: Don't. And if you've already got one, pull the plug.

Writing a weblog today isn't the bright idea it was four years ago. The blogosphere, once a freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought, has been flooded by a tsunami of paid bilge. Cut-rate journalists and underground marketing campaigns now drown out the authentic voices of amateur wordsmiths. It's almost impossible to get noticed, except by hecklers. And why bother? The time it takes to craft sharp, witty blog prose is better spent expressing yourself on Flickr, Facebook, or Twitter.


Update: Now that this article has had some time to circulate around and collect more discussion and more thought, I have to come right out and say, the notion that blogs are obsolete is a ridiculous one. There have certainly been some valuable points made about the problems with blogs, but just because there is room for improvement, does not mean that they're dead or dying.

I would even go so far as to say that they're just getting started. Yes, there is plenty of worthless content out there. I would personally say the same thing about television, but do I think television is dead as a medium? No (Granted, I do think there is some big change coming for TV courtesy of the online video revolution, but that's another discussion entirely).

One reason why blogs are in no danger of extinction, is that their content is entirely "on demand" - meaning if you don't like a blog, you don't have to read it, and you can move on to another one that you do like. You can subscribe to the ones you enjoy and get all the content you want, and if you don't like the content from one of those at any point, you can simply unsubscribe and stop reading it. If you have any complaints about a blog, then you have the choice to go elsewhere. Why is that a problem? Why would that signal the extinction? Because "elsewhere" could be Twitter or Facebook? I don't think so.

Back to my original article:


Obviously, people have some things to say about that. So let's look at some responses from bloggers:

At PureBlogging, I personally said: "Blogs are not obsolete. You know why? Because I still read them everyday. I still write for them nearly everyday. And so do countless others (that probably includes you). If you ask me, blogs are more relevant than they’ve ever been, because they are more mainstream than they have ever been."

Amit Agarwal at Digital Inspiration says
: "The advice published in the Wired story is equivalent to asking mom and pop stores to close shop as there’s a new Wal-Mart store in the neighborhood. True, the competition increases but both entities can still peacefully co-exist and survive well."

Eclectic Bill writes: "First, even though there are thousands of professional magazines out there, this has not stopped beginning and amateur writers from publishing their own magazines. And given the long tail of topics out there, there is plenty of room for both the professionals and amateurs in the blogosphere. And I find it a bit ironic that someone who claims that "text-based Web sites aren't where the buzz is anymore" is writing for Wired.com which is largely text-based."

Not everyone disagrees with Boutin's article though.


Canadian blogger Mark Evans says
: "It’s been about five years since blogs emerged on the media landscape. There are more than 175 million blogs - many of them well written, insightful and/or interesting but you have to wonder if blogs as we know them have had their day."

Some commenting on the Wired post itself say things like:

"I agree the blogging community is choked with too much commercialism and too many people trying to be the next big thing. Sometimes I wonder if people wish to have a little advertisements with their blog or a little blog with their advertisements. ..."

and

"Yes, you are right, if your goal is to be seen, to build a personal brand, to surf a hype wave, then blogging is passé and it is time to move to other forms of social communication. In fact, and for most people, having a blog was the modern equivale..."

Wired and Boutin no doubt knew that this article would cause an uproar from bloggers, and you have to give them credit for some interesting linkbait. It certainly provokes discussion, and I'm all for that. So let's continue that discussion. What do you think? After reading Boutin's article, do you agree with him?

About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003.

177 Comments

love blogging

I love blogging.

"It's almost impossible to get noticed,except by hecklers".What?

They said: "It's almost impossible to get noticed, except by hecklers" , that guy is either dumb or with bad intentions, i can personally guarantee that ANY blog can find itself in the first 2~3 pages on google with a little smart SEO campaign of 2~3 months.

bloging is great

Creating a Blog and sharing your ideas to whole world is really great. I love posting on blog as it creates a platform to express your feelings.

thank for sharing.

thank for sharing.

blogging is great

I really loves blogging as it creates a platform to express yourself.

Stop blogging?

The question alone can very well create a stir. Asking this question, is merely another ways of asking: Should there be an internet?
How to make money using Paypal

No

I don't think it would be a good thing if we would stop blogging.
Real survey money

Blogging & Social Marketing

I think social marketing is batter than blogging right now.

my thought

I don’t make my money from blogging. While I do throw some ads on it, I do it for the love of just writing. I love to write about travel, business, art, writing, music, and what ever else falls out of my ears.
As for when to quit, you ignore all the rules and ask yourself, “What is my goal for this blog?” If you are reaching your goal in the time frame you set or have already reached you goal then stay with it. If you dread writing in your blog and looking back know you will never reach your goals then you should re-evaluate what you are doing.
It comes down to if you are happy or not. Success isn’t measured in money.

Blogs are changing

I am quite sure they are not dead - nothing ever dies - they just change.

Blogs are changing - at the moment it looks like facebook and twitter are the new ways to promote ones blog, but that will only continue until someone thinks of a new strategy.

So, everything changes - be grateful about it :-)

i love blogs i dont think

i love blogs i dont think will ever stop some good points made however

Blogging

Ive got a blog but i get alot of spam. I get some good comments as well too. My blog is new but i like it.

Paul Boutin of Wired is

Paul Boutin of Wired is clueless!

Not only is this guy clueless, but he is comparing apples to oranges. Twitter or Flickr will never replace blogging - these are such different types of medias. While I do agree that there are many bogus blogs out there, you can't generalize all blogs as being bad. I think he is the one who is stuck in 2004.

It's mind-boggling how these huge magazine publications allow these out-of-tune authors to represent their brand.

blogging will be popular for

blogging will be popular for years to come imo

Location Based Blogging will change the landscape.

With 175 million blogs out there it is getting more difficult to find relevant content. That's 175 million people screaming for attention "please read my blog".

The problem is inadequate filtering...or people just not knowing how to filter. Google blog search is a mess. Too many non-blog related results are being returned. and you can filter by date if you know how to use the advanced features of google blog search.

But so many blog posts are location specific and should be mapped.

The people at 4grabs have come up with a new way for people who have location specific blogs to geo-tag their posts and provide searchers the ability to search for blogs by proximity. You can create a blog in 4grabs or make a post that links to a blog you already have.

Results returned by location float location specific content to the top.
Results returned by date fixes the problem that "bad blogs just sit there forever".

It may become a new way to blog.

Blogging is Just the Beginning

Blogging is definitely not dead. It is only the start of what is to come. Twitter is great, and facebook is great. I think that a quality marketing plan will allow you to utilize all of these Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 properties and generate traffic and profits.

But, I wouldn't say websites are dead either. I mean, blogs didn't exist several years ago and yet, even today, websites are still here generating Billions of dollars in income. Think about it.

Plus, people don't change so quickly. Yes, there are a ton of techy geeks that may jump quickly to the next big thing. But that doesn't mean that 98% of the internet users are going to jump ship to the next big thing as well. I know many people that just started using the web and are just getting used to using websites. They are years away from even looking at blogs and are probably never going to look at facebook or twitter. It has nothing to do with Age either. I know really techy 70 year olds and teenagers that can't even program the time on a VCR.

Blogging

Too bad that search engines have not found a better way to eliminate old and meaningless blog search results. The main problem I see is that blogging is not dead, you just have to wade through old, out dated and bogus blogs before you can find meaningful posts. The volume of crappy blogs out there is making good blogs less meaningful.

I should blog more often

It helps to keep my brain and my writing skills sharp. Yes, Twitter is interesting and fun but blogging, especially long, well-written posts make my day.

@Silverstar: why do you not read blogs? Instead of reading a 906-page book on a subject you can read a succinct blog post about the same topic. Which is the time-saver?

They're evolving!

Blogs are not dead- they are just evolving like everything does on the Internet.

Look at a ecommerce websites two years ago and check out what people are doing with that selling platform now. It's very different.

The good blogs will survive and get better. And bad blogs will disappear as the authors will realise nobody reads them. But what the Internet could definitely do without  is spam blogs (splogs)!

Hmmm...stop blogging??

i never used blog before...i just used portal whizz cms!!

Blogging a great tool for learning

Blogging is a great way to dig deeper and learn more because many people want more information than some want to read on a web page.
With our pet doors there is a tremendous amount of information about
what makes them technically better- to list all that on a web page where the doors sell would bore some potential buyers. For many purchases
I go to blogs to see what is said such as a mattress because I will purchase on-line. 

Blog Success Takes Time

I have three blogs, one I update weekly on management issues, one about twice a month on resume writing and one I write occasionally when world events get up my nose. The last is focussed on the need to stop indoctrinating kids with the various 'religious truths' that are being peddled to (i believe) the overall detriment to humanity as a whole. No, not a lot of readers, however as with all worthwhile pursuits it takes time to build something substantial and rewarding. At worst one of my blogs builds links back to my business site and at best one of my other blogs gives me a chance to get (an leave) my thoughts and philosophies out there in the public domain.

I find blogging quite a buzz and I think it still has a great future and has only just begun. It is also great when someone comments or writes to you and says "your ideas stink" or "you speak with some wisdom". The satisfaction of, at least stimulating some emotional response from a stranger by the power of your words or the rationale of your argument is immensely satisfying.

Then again I have always seen myself a the guy in the "Wizard of ID" cartoon strip that stands alone with the sign that says "THE KING IS A FINK". Maybe all bloggers have a little of that character in them.

Ric www.orglearn.org

Content is more important than ever

Blogs are not about to die anytime soon, there may be fewer blogs out there in the near future simply because the cream will continue to rise to the top and only the realy Quality ones will survive, as people will have less time to write on a blog every-day, or see the value in it unless they are one of the top dogs.

Tony
http://www.bestradiocommercials.com

Blogs are useful if you make them useful

As a long time blogger, I believe that blogs will remain as useful as they were in 2004 only if the bloggers stay true to their form. Most blogs are riddled by ads, paid mumbo jumbo that most have lost the sense of what it means to be a quality blogger.

Stay true to your blog and your subject course, and your blog shall stay true to you.

Blogging is MORE RELEVANT than ever

I've been a power user long before any of this became occupational - social media particularly. My blogs have been well-trafficked, and my earnings have been dismal, but only by choice. :)

I came and wrote a lengthy reply which I decided needs to be a blog post which I've linked to below. Instead, I realized I need to offer something a little shorter here.

Blogging is not dead.

PR is not dead - it just had surgery and is sporting a new look.

Local Search is a serious influencer and adds a healthy dose of balance for the Mom & Pop shops, as well as brand new sites that come online.

Social Media is alive and well, leading the charge to a new evolution of how we search, surf, interact, and engage each other online.

I say we just keep taking part in the process, stop fear-mongering, and stay focused on what we have always found to be true: Keep observing traffic patterns, social engagement sites, and always keep an ear to Google's latest. They are on the curve, and they listen to people.

Special Note: Paul Boutin talked as Blogging being dead from the perspective of current search return results. He made the claim of all the top ranked sites being articially driven there, drowning out the voices that really matter, and likely some better authoritative sites on various subjects too.

My comment to Paul would be:

"Paul, this is why Google is shifting the landscape. Google likes blogs, likes Mom & Pop shops, and loves good content. Google wants that to work, and is adjusting the search landscape to accommodate a healthier return on search results by taking more information into the mix. Your suggestions around social media uses are a small part of that.

Don't throw out the baby with the bath water.

Blogging is not Dead

I meant to share this truth. I've been blogging on my personal coaching site for at least a few years, offsite longer than that, and I have to disagree with Paul about blogging being dead. Blogging is very much alive, relevant, and useful.

Take the site One Man Can. It began following a desire to help people. The vehicle was a coaching training course and subsequent profession. Combined with my past in technology, my comfort with tech tools, and loving to be online, I found the perfect vehicle to share with others.

Today, I barely work at the site, only adding new content as inspiration offers. Even so, I continue to receive a consistent level of steady traffic to a site that by and large is not the kind of site mainstream society really would tend to use.

How is this possible?

Blogging

This pretty much sums it up...

for me. I send this very clever shirt to most of my friends that think about blogging. The real problem is that bad magazines go out of business, but bad blogs just sit there forever.

So Caught Up...

By the looks of the comments, people are looking at this from an unrealistic point of view.

Like usual, people say something and everyone reacts...the real answer is blogs are dead...if you use them just to prattle on like probably 174 million + out of the 175 million like the commentor mentioned above. Perhaps 500,000 of the remaining are spam and "business" owners trying to make a couple dollars off of adsense and ads.

That leaves 500,000, realistcally probably a lot less, relevant blogers of all kinds - not just business writers. When someone says something is dead, they are really saying that its changing and probably interaging with something else...hence social media.

If you are bloging and not using twitter and the like to promote and interact, you are missing an important "channel" and should really resolve to stay meaningless for the rest of your life.

For those that are, the lines between the networks and blogs are blurring rapidly  - you can import your blog posts into facebook, send tweets when you made a post and so on...get into it or stay at the bottom with all the people bloging about their cats bowl movements or how their boss is a dork.

 

Nothing dies, just changes. Compete against yourself not everyone else. Shut up and just do something.

Blogging today

Number of blogs are added today as you can see in http://www.abalonelinks.com .   As this number increases each and everyday search engine has to find innovative ways to keep track of these items.

Blogging

Thousands of new blogs are added everyday to the existing millions.  However so many blogs are seeing the end as people discontinue blogging after a while.

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