When the Thrill of Blogging Is Gone … – NYTimes.com: subhead: “Blogs Falling in an Empty Forest.”
Fred used to police the local blogosphere sending out notes to bloggers who’d fallen behind in their blogging duties. Now he doesn’t bother – too many abandoned blogs to keep track of I
This article appears in ‘Immediate Jeopardy’.
When I see how easy Facebook is, I wonder if blogs will survive or if society will fall into a soundbite culture. On the other hand, the Humboldt blogosphere seems healthy.
Society seems to have Attention Deficiency Disorder and can’t land on any particular media through which to express themselves.
Blogs are OK, but anonymous comments have reduced some into juvenile food fights. Facebook and MySpace are OK, but they are too social (and even sophomoric) for my taste.
Twitter is contributing to the dumbing of America with its text-speak-abbreviations. A recent LuAnn cartoon said it best when she said "when I’m not doing anything, I Twitter a lot about nothing – when I’m busy, I don’t have time to Twitter."
I’ll stick with LinkedIn and blogs until something better comes along.
People supposedly ditch half their friends every seven years while their social circle remains the same size. Successful TV shows begin struggling between 5 and 7 years of age. Long-term bloggers cited in the NYT article may suffer the same issue.
I’ll guess the issue is personal growth. You’re not the same person you were 5 years ago. It’s apparent if you write about your life and/or personal interests every day. You are continuously reminded of days gone by as newcomers post comments on your personal history.
Add to the mix that your audience changes over time. You’ve fostered a sense of community, but you are the only consistent thing in that community.
Localized blogs are an exception, but generally bloggers need a well-defined, sizable audience in order to keep the spark alive. Five years ago the number of quality blogs was small. Today there is no shortage of voices trying their darnedest to be heard.