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.
