And now for something not completely about me…
I’ve weighed in lately on several sights about the future/fate of blogging. Some still think blogging is the next best thing since sliced bread. Others think blogging has reached its peak and is slowly dying a painful agonizing death.
For my .02, I don’t really agree 100% with either camp. I do think like any medium, blogging is evolving and will continue to do so. The new blogs popping up every day have declined dramatically. No argument there. But, I don’t necessarily contribute that to a slow death. I think it has more to do with market saturation and the natural evolution of the medium. Blogging is not the “new thing” anymore. That said, it has managed to cross social, political, cultural, informative, and even entertainment boundaries to become an almost universal form of interaction. Even the traditional news/media outlets woke up and realized blogging was changing the very way we disseminate and gather news in general. And like any medium, I think in time blogging will settle into it’s niche market and continue to thrive and prosper. Whether it be for purely personal or profit, I absolutely think blogging is here to stay.
I don’t really care to delve into the political or profitable side of blogging. I think living in a capitalistic culture that speaks for itself. From the social side, we’ve seen blogs come and go. I’ll be the first to admit it is sad to see a favorite blog end. But if you think about it, how is that any different from life? People come and go in our lives every day. From the mundane and random to the profound and life-changing, we get a birds-eye view of the true characteristics of humanity, good and bad. We’ve also seen our share of fakes, flakes, and flashes. To me, the latter group (and the fallout surrounding) shows us how much we still need to grow as a species in general.
I firmly believe, like anything in life, you get out of blogging what you put into it. If you just randomly post or interact then you should probably expect the same in return. I often hear from many of my own commenters they are afraid to start blogging because they don’t feel their own lives are engaging or exciting enough. To that I say, who cares? If you find comfort or solace in being able to share your life and experiences however mundane, then I say go for it. You don’t need permission. You don’t need a rabid following. You don’t have to be a prolific writer or linguist. From a purely social aspect, all you really need is an opinion, conviction to follow thru, and the ability to type. It really is that simple.
My own venture into blogging was originally a mechanism to deal with a painful breakup. Afterwards, it became an avenue of therapy and self-exploration. Having chronicled such a significant part of my life has been richly rewarding. I’ve always said I blog first and foremost for me. That is still true today. Yes, I know people read and comment and I appreciate that. Looking back over my own blog entries has shown me how much I have and am growing as a man. The very act of blogging has given me a sense of belonging that I never had before.
Will I always blog? I can’t really say. The future is a devious and every changing beast. I will say I have no immediate plans to stop, that is for sure. Do I think blogging in general will be around for years to come? Absolutely.