It seems to me that the blogging world is changing at the moment. It seems as though there has been a slow down in the number of people starting new blogs and those who are keeping them may be keeping them slightly less often.
Twitter and Facebook updates (which are a form of micro-blogging) have superseded the one-line, one-thought blog post of yore and now people seem more likely to crank up their blog when they’ve got something significant to say rather than making posts morning, noon and night.
I think we are seeing some folk give up the habit too. That’s not really surprising. Bloggers come and bloggers go. The ones most likely to last seem often to be those who were early adopters – those who came to the blogging banquet early and have been sharing their wares for the longest time.
A lot of commenting has gone on to Facebook and twitter too. I’m so lucky to have people congregating around this blog who sometimes want to have a conversation. That’s often what keeps me going. I know that a blog works best when it stimulates a community though that does not stop it being a performance event.
I regret the move towards commenting on Facebook in some ways – often I post something here and post a link to in on Facebook to drive people to read it and then the conversation happens over there in semi-private rather than over here in public. I kind of understand why that happens but it is a sadness sometimes that people are not prepared to stand up and say good things out loud.
Trends I expect in blogging in the future –
- more blogs moving to longer blog posts
- more blogs moving to slightly less frequency
- better ways of linking the community element of blogging to Facebook and Twitter
- those who do make the effort to blog through this time will become even more influential in their sphere
- increasing attention being paid to quality of writing
I can’t quite make my mind up where we are going with video. I don’t think the videoblogging phenomena has much energy in it but suspect that being able to make and post video easily is increasingly a part of the story.
What do you think?
Interesting. I agree that there will be ‘better ways of linking the community element of blogging to Facebook and Twitter’ which is already happening to a certain extent. We are using different social media to promote activity on other social media more and more.
Some blogging topics/spheres are already very influential, such as we have seen in fashion. There are lots of so-called ‘lifestyle’ blogs about food, decorating and so on that are almost like personal versions of women’s magazines.
Vlogs – I don’t think they will come to much. Most people hate to see themselves on film. I could, of course, be very wrong!
Anyway, off to write my blog now!
I too have noticed that links to blog on Facebook receive all the comments while the blog remains bare. Quite annoying. But I think the signing-in process with some blogs puts people off.
Facebook and Twitter have definitely taken over from blogging in this house. And a lot of people are now abandoning Facebook for Twitter. I still prefer the former for dialogue.
Most people come to my blog for a homelessness story I told over a year ago, for a knitting pattern for the Last Supper, and for certain Bishops’ consecrations. And book reviews, of course.
Snap! I shan’t blog about this now: I’ll go back to discussing the merits of mid-twentieth century detective novels instead… But I too regret the tendency to comment on F/b – or worse, to “like” there instead of commenting on a blog, as happened with my last but one post. But then I get a private message that shows how much that blog post meant to someone and I feel better about it. I won’t be stopping soon – not after six and a half years of blogging!
I’ve been surprised by how significant blogs have become in the academic world – many PhD students are encouraged to begin to blog as they begin to write. I think you’re right about the importance of connections – especially through twitter. As people learn to use hashtags well it becomes possible to find and explore new ideas and writers. One of the interesting ideas I’ve come across has been guest blogging and that seems to me to be a good way to allow people to try blogging before they make the investment in setting up a dedicated blog. Toes in water and all that ………
Most of my blog posts are getting longer and longer as the years go by, but then again, I’ve always tended to write them as essays ! I guess that comes from being a teacher. nevertheless, some folks have said they tend towards journalistic intent, but maybe that’s deliberate. There’s so much to get on ones high horses about at the moment…