Facebook killed the blogosphere?
I don’t blog here as much as I used to. Part of it is just life and work taking up a lot of my time, and part of it is the energy that goes to the other blogs I contribute to.
Another part of it, though, is the other outlets I now have access to.
A post by Aaron Stanton about using Facebook as a personal blog got me thinking about this. If I just want to share a link without lengthy commentary, I can post it on Twitter or Facebook. (A good portion of my Facebook posts are public, so feel free to subscribe – or friend me if you know me.) If I want to start a discussion, I increasingly find LinkedIn groups or Facebook better places to do it than this blog. I use these outlets to share things I think are interesting, or to refine my thoughts on a topic.
I also don’t read blogs as much as I used to. I find links on Twitter and Facebook, and I follow discussions on LinkedIn. When I do read blogs, I’m more likely to follow a link to a post from Twitter or Facebook than from my feed reader.
That said, and despite the title of this post, I don’t think blogging is dead. It has changed significantly, though. Back when I started blogging (in 2003), if you wanted to publish something online, blogging was the way to go. My blog was primarily professional, but a lot of personal and silly things got posted there as well, because there was nowhere else to post them. Now there’s no reason to write a whole blog post just to share a photo of my dog. Overall, I think my blogging has improved. It’s more focused and thoughtful.
December 31, 2012 at 3:43 am
I keep meaning to get back to my own blog, but I haven’t succeeded yet. In my case, the problem seems to be lack of focus. I’m really tired of political commentary, which is what most of my blogging amounted to when I was still teaching. I’m not sure where I want to go now.
I agree that blogging tends to be more focused and thoughtful. Facebook encourages instant reactions and sloppy writing. A blog entry is more a miniature essay (sometimes a full essay) and entails development and revision.
BTW, McAfee antivirus considers your blog unsafe for some reason.
December 31, 2012 at 2:16 pm
Many of my Facebook posts are the beginnings of blog posts. It’s helpful to get some reaction and discussion from a relatively closed group of acquaintances before I write a blog post.
I’d love to see you take up your blog again. I do find focus helpful – in my case, it’s professional, although I’ve also started a more personal blog.
January 3, 2013 at 2:33 am
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