Maybe We're Just Tired

Recently, I read a blog asking the self-referential question: Is Blogging Dead?

That has been latest buzz out here on the Internet, that blogs are going the way of MySpace and Netscape, in favor of lighter, airier forms of communications, like Instagram and Twitter.

Right.

Well, my own personal experience says something a little different. I don’t think blogs are dead.

I think we’re all just tired.

I used to start my day with Google reader, skimming down the topics and openings about almost 40 (yes, FORTY) blogs. Mostly publishing industry related, but also some that I just like, such as Stonekettle Station and People I’d Like to Punch in the Throat. Now, I occasionally read blogs that are linked on Facebook or Twitter, or I binge read industry blogs, consuming three or four posts at a time.

In part, because blog reading had begun to take over too much of my day. I found I read blogs instead of books or news sites. Blogs began to take up time when I should be more productive. While they were great for staying informed, too much information had made me brain fogged and weary. It was, quite simply, information overload, and it bogged me down in other areas.

And not all of it was information I needed. Intriguing, yes. But helpful? Most of it might be so in the future, but for too many of them, it was a bit like reading the encyclopedia . . . as delivered by a fire hose.

I had to pull back.

Yet I still read blogs on a regular basis. I’m just a lot more judicious about when, where, and what I read. I’m more responsible with my time and less attracted by a blog just because it has a tempting topic or funny video. I really don’t want to get ten years along and find myself thinking, “I shouldn’t have watched so many cat videos.”

So, no, I don’t think blogs are dead. I think we’re just getting used to them, so we’ve become more sensible about them.