Blogging is dead. Yes, I said it!
Whenever I tell someone that blogging is dead I get a look that succumbs me to the abyss of pestilence.
As an avid professional that has made a decent living both in the entrepreneurial and corporate world of using the web to empower brands and communities, I am going against the grain of the norm by making such a comment.
Why am I a hypocrite and actually writing this “blog” post or spending my time and money on this domain and web hosting? After all, if blogging is dead then why don’t I practice what I preach?
Let’s back up a little bit and understand the context of why I am making this statement. First of all according to Wikipedia since February 16, 2011 there are over 156 million “blogs” in existence online.
Blogs started as individuals having the freedom to express their thoughts and ideas in exchange to develop a community of readers and commentators that creates an influence within their niche. I’ve created and more importantly observed how popular blogs such as Mashable, Huffington Post, TechCrunch, etc. have exploded from a one person blog to a “Multiple Author Blog“. At this point the ‘blog’ is not an individuals thoughts, ideas, comments, but a collection of web-journalism that has killed the “blog” in the traditional sense.
With the onset of sites like BuzzFeed and services such as Google Reader that aggregate our top blogs and allows us to curate their postings, we’ve accustomed ourselves to be self-served and not have an affinity with a blog or it’s author. We consume our content from main online media, web-journalists, social media, etc. to a point that blogs are a mere source of additional content that deserves a drive-by click whenever a unique headline catches our eyes.
Unless you are a full-time blogger or have dealt with corporate blogging in the past, you realize the amount of time, investment and money it takes to truly run a successful blog. If it is successful, it is intended to be profitable. After all, why else would someone spend their creativity, time and money on something that doesn’t get traffic, money, or attention?
Well, I intend to resurrect “blogging” with this blog that I am restarting for a length of time unknown. I intend to go back to the root of blogging and use this channel as a way to document my life, thoughts, raves (no, not the club party, but my observations of things that are exciting and superior) rants, posts about church and my Christian beliefs, and unique videos.
Maybe it will be noticed. Maybe it will be vacuumed into the realms of BuzzFeed. Even better it will be financially profitable. All of these are wishes. My goal for now is to truly “blog” and hopefully build a community where those that read what I have to say will get inspired and interact not only with my blog posts for their sake but for the thought leadership and dialogue that this ‘blog’ will create.
Now hopefully when I say blogging is dead, I won’t get those stares anymore. Instead, I will be understood that today’s definition of blogging is a long lost art and it needs to be done correctly in order for it to truly be a blog. Do you agree?