Are Blogs Boring .. Old School?

In Defense of the Blog:

So there I was reading this article (below) about blogging. It brings up a lot of good points about blogs that have been laying heavy on my heart, so I included most of the post.

Besides, it makes for great conversation so after you finish reading please jump in and leave a comment ’cause that’s what it’s all about:

.. “with all the talk that I am hearing about Facebook, twitter, tumblr and even amplify, I have to say the arguments against blogging is becoming louder and louder. Does this trouble me? Yes and no!

The fact is not everyone should blog. Yes I said it … Not everyone should blog! The simple ( is anything that simple?) fact there was a huge increase of blogs being created back between the years of 2004 -2008, by people aspiring to be writers and then there were the marketers who went..wow another way to advertise and created so many blogs they even forgot how many they had, didn’t know how to do anything and generally made a mess of things. Thank goodness a lot of them just left their “empty” neon signs by the wayside and went back to their traditional forms of advertising ( clean up crew anyone?)

The fact is for anyone to have a successful blog, one must have a niche ( a nice fancy name for a specialized topic) and be able to stick with it day in and day out. Everything else they do has the one intent…bringing people to their one focus - their blog. That is the bare bones to the “successful” blog but there is an added component that is not often talked about, the “love affair” that a person has with their blog (topic/niche). I have a friend who loves sports, it is his whole life and lives it, breathes it every single day. For him creating a blog on sports was and has been a natural extension to what he loves to do and as a result he never tires about writing and researching his favorite topic. To him, blogging will never become boring.

For many of us, that is not the case and yet we like being able to share with others, different things or topics and indeed we do like the instant gratification to being able to talk to others about what we have found, thus we are never bored. We give fancy names such as micro blogging, macro blogging, (LOL) amping etc. and yet when we come right down to it what are we really doing - we are communicating. By the way did you know there is now an email based form of publishing or is that blogging ..um email blogging (?) called jotpress, where you can share your thoughts using your email?

Regardless of the name you want to use the art of communication will never be boring as long as there are people who have something to say.” Source

And this is my response:

All good points there Diane and I so agree with that last sentence, but the blog apologist in me needs to add my two cents.

It seems to me those who don’t have a real blog or understand it’s benefits are social media dabblers and not interested in the work that a real blog requires. Their aim is to get what they can get out of the technology rather than investing something into it.

That’s Ok I suppose but it’s the phony marketer “experts” that get my back up. They don’t have a clue.

Those who are quick to dismiss blogs as passé don’t appreciate the fact that all social media has evolved from blogging technology.

But it has evolved at an expense because social media sites are pale comparisons to the real thing. Facebook for example is trying desperately to recreate a pseudo-blogging environment.

Why? Because they know Blogs are the ultimate marketing tool, but the fact remains Facebook will never catch up to or be better than real blogs no matter how hard it tries.

Social Media like Twitter are Ok for what they do but it will only be a small part of the blogging mix and ultimately Blogs are the standard that all others are measured.

Insofar as a blog “love affair” goes, that would apply to me. I really do love the technology and take great pride improving and nurturing my blog. I find it rewarding to do all of the work myself and not outsource it to someone else like the so-called ‘pro’ bloggers do.

I love the technical challenge that blogging provides, stretching myself and learning new things. Either you have it in you or you don’t.

Above all, I love to share my knowledge with others. It is so rewarding.

As a blog pioneer I have contributed in my own small way to it’s evolution. When I started there were no RSS newsfeeds for blogs. I coded my own XML from scratch and gave away a free ebook showing others how to make an RSS feed for their blog.

Now of course RSS is everywhere.

There’s no question Blogging/Social Media is the ultimate communication platform. But blogging is so much more than just for communicating or something to exploit for personal gain.

For me blogging is about giving, helping, learning, creating, nurturing and contributing to a technology that I dearly love.

Am I just old school?

Well then answer me this. Could I have written a lucid, comprehensive article like this just using social media? Somehow I don’t think so.

Now it’s your turn. What do you think? Tell me if you still love the Blog. Or is it just (yawn) boring and old school?

Filed under: Blog Tips, Blog Tools, Favorite Blog Tips, New Media Tips, Social Media Tips Blogger Tips, blogging tips, facebook, twitter, web 2.0

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