Blogging these days is not like it once was… a fickle, little-read beast at best. And it’s hard to believe that just five years back I chose to take a dip in the blogosphere, a late starter, a wandering writer through the once-was maze of WordPress and Blogger, of Myspace, Open Diary, Dead Journal, Live Journal, TypePad and Xanga… for me a reassuring reminder that there were other web-world ‘writers’ out there, like-minded bloggers beavering away, largely on their lonesome, with a handful of loyal readers, comments and income mostly scarce.
Well, the truth is, with the coming of Facebook, there seem to be fewer blogging writers out there these days. Snobbish? Maybe. I guess a pre-ordained platform has its attractions, and let’s be honest, it is a cheaper and easier option for those technically challenged like me.
OK, yeah, I can hear the complaints already – my principled criticism hoity toity – outdated sniping at the all-conquering Facebook, and the parallel universe of Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram, the ubiquitous world of selfies, the never-ending pictures of pursed lips and pampered pooches, all set on some inescapable permanent loop, and all diminishing the inclination for writers to blog. But as Groucho Marx once said, “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others.”
Seriously though, I do get the ‘Facebook’ thing. It really is so damn easy, and there is a tailor-made newsfeed too. And I also get the advantages of always having the answer out there… somewhere. And if we don’t like that answer, we can always tweak our Facebook newsfeed to be more palatable.
It is true, that I’ll continue to browse my Facebook feed, but these days I often feel more than a tad old-fashioned. I will keep on taking my unwired walks in the park, alone along beachhead bushland, down the hallowed halls of galleries and museums… to the theatre and cinema, seeing live bands and people in person. I’ll try not to get too depressed at the increasingly narcissist trail we seem to be on, and I’ll try not to despair at the state of our political leaders.
And I’ll keep on blogging, for the time being at least. But I am the first to admit I need to adapt, our world definitely not the same as it ever was.
The blogging world may have changed but I’m too Techphobic to mess with this fancy Facebook stuff. I’ll keep blogging away even if nobody’s reading.
Another wonderfully written piece ian.
Very kind Big D,
The FB thing is interesting, pretty much entrenched it seems, & I admit that it is useful.
I don’t believe you could do what you are doing on FB though… your presentation & coverage far to comprehensive.
& it is nice to have total creative control.
When I initially started the blog in Nov 2008, it was for a very specific reason. All the many hours of preparation put into lecture notes seemed to be used, then forgotten. If I was lucky, the subjects were repeated 6 years later and the old notes could see the light of day again. So blogging was a revelation – all my work could be published and could reach a wider audience. At last!
A decade later the number of readers had gone down and fewer people are leaving thoughtful comments. But at least I can still “recommend” my students to keep reading topics that we are studying 🙂
Keep on blogging!
Hello Hels,
Lovely to hear from you – one of the most consistent bloggers I have known.
Interesting, I wasn’t aware of the motivation for your initial entry into the blogosphere. As you say, there was a real sense of community that seems to have lapsed. (Maybe it will return?)
Thanks for the encouragement. I am now playing catch up – reading & writing – having been preoccupied with life recently.
Hi Ian, I’ve been blogging since 2002! It’s different now, but like you, I persist. For the first several years I wrote a post a day, just about what I’d accomplished in my writing that day. It was effortless and easy. We didn’t use photos and hardly edited. There was a sense of community. Remember the blog roll? I read mine like a newspaper every day. Fast forward to now. Too many bloggers to keep track of, even on Word Press, who make it easy. I have to sweat to come up with one post a week. Which I then share (via link) on Facebook.
Hello Cindy. Thanks for dropping by.
I guess it’s the community I miss most, & blog comments like yours. Everyone is still out there I know, but a different incarnation I suppose. With so many changes since 2002, who really knows where we bloggers are headed?
You are doing well to come up with a post a week, with Facebook certainly a useful tool re: promotion.
I guess my problem with Facebook is that it’s all about views & `likes’, with little real feedback.
I agree with you, Ian. It’s not the same. Facebook has become the means to connect and unload what is on your mind. I tend to write short snipets with photos on Instagram now. Like you, I still will blog but the audience is gone and comments are few. I guess I’m just an old lumbering dinosaur who doesn’t know their time has passed,.
Hi Annie. Lovely to hear from you.
I must admit there was a healthy dose of nostalgia in that post, & just a dab of bitchiness, thinking long & hard about whether to resurrect this languishing blog. The decision to keep going was entirely a question of creativity, that childish craving not soothed by Facebook.
For what it’s worth, the whole question came up when I was looking for bloggers I have known, with many of their blogs gone to god. (btw… I do find Google Plus a bit daunting.)
What I did find though was this –
https://www.newpages.com/writers-resources/poets-and-writers-blogs
We are not alone.