The Internet has certainly come a long way. My first ever blog post wasn’t even really a blog post; it was the first issue I sent out as part of an e-mail newsletter. Since then, I’ve made my way through Geocities, some lacklustre GoDaddy blogging software, and onto WordPress.
Yes, there are many commercial blogs out there. They cover a certain niche and their primary objective is to make money. From the Huffington Post to TMZ, Kotaku to Jalopnik, these are professional blogs backed by real media companies. Even so, you have to wonder if there’s still a place on the web for the personal blog.
Blogs Are a Thing of the Past?
A few days ago, my friend Carl Nelson tweeted:
“Personal Blogs are so 2008. It’s time to move on! Google+ is the way to go, followed by Twitter and Facebook“
It is absolutely true that the Internet is changing again. Just as the emergence of blogs gave the average citizen a real voice on the web, social networks like Google+ and Facebook have also opened up the online communication channels to the masses. All kinds of people have a (free) venue where they can share a part of their lives, speak out on current events, and interact with other people around the world. That’s true.
However, I disagreed with Carl. While social media has very much changed the online landscape, I believe that the “personal” blog is anything but dead. There are so many things that I want to express that I can’t do in under 140 characters. It’s just not the same posting a lengthy note on Facebook or sharing an image on Tumblr. A blog lets me have my own domain, my own design, and my own personality. A blog is so much more than a single post. It’s my home on the web.
Carl is not saying that blogs are dead. He understands the nature of commercial blogs, but he also argues that when concerns like SEO and monetization strategies enter the picture, the blog isn’t all that personal anymore. They become food blogs, car blogs, or — in my case — a “writer’s blog.”
The Blog Is No Longer Personal?
That’s partly true, I suppose, but I still view Beyond the Rhetoric as largely a personal blog. It just so happens that I enjoy discussing the nature of working from home, running a freelance writing business, and dealing with personal development issues. I also enjoy talking about life in Vancouver, my international travels, and the restaurants I visit.
You could argue that Beyond the Rhetoric isn’t really a personal blog anymore, since I can be viewed as a pro blogger. Personally, I think it’s both, just like how John’s blog or Raul’s blog are kind of both. Just because you may or may not focus on a certain realm, just because you start to make some money from it, just because you care if you get more readers or not… these do not make your blog any less personal.
The Bonus Discussion
But what do you think? With the rise of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr, Google+ and all these other social networks, is the personal blog dead? Voice your opinion below. As an added bonus, I’ll try to wrangle up a special gift for the person who I think leaves the best comment. 🙂
As I said before, sometimes you just need more than 140 characters. I can see why some people would take their blogging to Facebook and G+ but I think having your own hosted blog just reaches a wider audience.
And why would you limit yourself to social media? None of us would only use Twitter and not Facebook or Flickr and not Google. As long as there’s an audience and you maintain a standard of quality, there’s no reason why a personal blog isn’t still a viable option.
Mine is. Dead’ish. I’ll get back to it eventually.
Hey Michael,
Your friend is both right and wrong. For him blogs are nearly dead. But not so for me, for you and hosts of other people.
No social media platform no matter how useful and popular can replace a blog that you own and are at liberty to do with it as you please. No rules set arbitrarily by the owners of the platform limiting you is one big reason why blogs will continue to thrive.
Blogs aren’t for most people. They require more work and more thoughtful expression than social media platforms. Most people won’t bother with doing all that.
But that doesn’t make blogs dead. Most people never bothered with having blogs anyway. Those who have blogs will continue using them and their readers will continue reading them.
That’s the way I see it.
The personal blog is not dead, as neither is Twitter or Facebook in the shadow of the release of Google+. They all have their place, especially the personal blog. Why?
Well, the personal blog can be a place to write your feelings in hundreds or even thousands of words. It is an expression of ourselves that we can expand to our hearts desire without worrying what others think or whether they even read it. The personal blog is our diary, our journal, our method of communicating our feelings in full view in a verbose manner.
Google+ is nice, I like it, but it is not where I would write something like a blog post. They are too long to be read by someone on G+ in their entirety.
I would and have posted things that are longer than Twitter, but less than a blog post. It is a great source of information and writings at a medium length. Also, it is great for face to face interaction with Hangouts, while it has Sparks that link to blogs and news sites for articles on topics that you can choose that interest you.
Twitter is and will always have a place for quick short SMS like conversations. It is a great source of up to the minute news quick and easy. Twitter, if they don’t kill the third party companies that will keep them in business will be a daily stopping place. An example is that I can log into my Hootsuite account and comment to Facebook, both my Twitter accounts, my WordPress blog and my LinkedIn account.
Facebook is just a family and local friends thing to me. I don’t participate in anything else other than supporting you, Stephen and your ventures online. I think that many people will keep a Facebook account to just get their family stuff because most people don’t want to change and let’s get serious, how many people’s Mom’s are going to say “Well okay sonny, switch me over, I can learn this at 70”? Change is not what people like to do, “an object in motion tends to stay in motion. An object at rest tends to stay at rest.” The same goes for people and change, they are happy at one place, they won’t change just because we say so.
So, in conclusion I believe that each social media platform has its benefits that make it last together with the rest. Personal blogs will not die, they will always be the outlet of people’s feelings and hobbies. They will be fueled by Google+ and Sparks especially.
Don’t count any of them out.
Wow. Thanks for the insight, Ray. I agree, there’s a place and purpose for each venue.
your blog is your personal place . it need not be dependent on services like Google+ or Facebook . A simple blogspot blog is good enough . things like seo and revenue shouldnt matter
Its not going to be dead for a long time to come. I mean just look at the newspaper, its still going even though that are clearly better alternatives. There will always be people using certain things that might not be the ‘norm’ anymore but to say something is dead is jumping the gun to quick so to speak, its FAR from dead.
-Jean