The New Year is here and many of us are on autopilot, making those New Year’s resolutions and then breaking them on the 23rd hour – and then of course, feeling guilty. Then there are some of us who constitute those long-term goals and resolve to work really hard toward attaining those aspirations. And then there are some of us bloggers who always have separate goals and dreams for the blog.
Typically, this is the time when I would post my own goals and aspirations for my blog and hopefully along the way, inspire you to do some blog housecleaning yourself.
Well, today’s post is a bit different this year.
You see, over the years many have said that my blog has served as some sort of inspiration to other bloggers – whether it ‘s the simple feeling that a reader recognizes they are not alone, feeling a mutual respect and understanding for what I experience, or whether it’s feeling inspired to start that new business or blog. And then there are those who just enjoy coming here because it feels comfortable, like you’re visiting an old friend.
I feel so absolutely grateful that you are still here, that Theta Mom® is still standing and that I am entering my fourth year of this crazy bloggity blog journey. But I wouldn’t be telling you the whole truth if I didn’t tell you that entering blogging in 2013 also comes with some uncharted territory of fear.
Fear that the bloggy world as I know it is changing faster than I can even write this piece – fear that blogging, the kind of blogging that I know and love is slowly becoming a lost art.
Over the last four years, I’ve seen the blog world change and morph and in today’s day and age of ever-changing technology, the bloggers that don’t keep up are the ones who will be lost. Social Media is an absolute testament to that.
Well, some of my fears that creep up from time to time were finally spelled out to me in a recent post. On January 2nd, I read an article on Mashable entitled: ‘Tumblr Now More Popular Google Search Than ‘Blog.’
And there it was, the words staring back at me from that article. I still can’t stop thinking about these words that ring so true and hit really close to home:
“Writing a blog post is a lot harder than posting a status update, putting a funny link on someone’s Wall, or tweeting…The short head of blogging thrives. Its long tail, though, has lapsed into desuetude.”
Isn’t that the case? Can you relate? In my opinion, microblogging has taken on its own form of “blogging” in social media. I find that bloggers aren’t posting as much or as often and even perhaps, with as much eagerness to be here, still truly blogging.
The state of the blogosphere has completely changed. Some of the bloggers who I adore are in Private Facebook groups and posting there more often than on their own blogs – they are sending out monthly newsletters rather than posting regularly, or finding their unique space on Pinterest and Instagram more than their own blog.
Bloggers have become more visual and are writing less – much less.
So what gives? What does all of this mean? What happened to the real, authentic, can’t-get-enough-of-it-REAL blogging?
I think several things happened along the way and many social media platforms that entered the scene certainly changed the game.
When I started blogging, we hardly used photos. Blogging used to be more about real connections and relationships, more than posting an amazing Instagram photo of some dish that was just prepared with a catchy one-liner. Blogging was about real writing, the kind of writing that you got lost in – it was so much more than a Facebook update about the latest rant or photo of your cute kid. Blogging was about community, about understanding and supporting one another – not tweeting 5,000 links a day for the latest sponsored post. With all of the “noise” on Twitter, I can’t think of the last time I had a real conversation there, can you?
I fear that blogging, the real blogging that I have grown to know and love is slowly becoming eaten up in a world of self-promotion, filled with Instagram and Pinterest-inspired users. People want the visual, they want what’s quick and easy and I’m not sure if that fits my own purpose of being here – blogging.
I’m not saying that quality images don’t add value to your blog, they absolutely do. But the old standard of “content is king” I don’t think applies anymore. It’s hard to create community on a blog when others would rather talk on Facebook in a private group or tweet out the latest Instagram photo – and all of the above doesn’t apply to me because I would rather still be here. Blogging.
I’m still here because I believe in why I started blogging.
I’m still here because I love to write.
I’m still here because I can’t ignore the voice that emerges every time I publish a post.
And I certainly don’t have any plan on leaving anytime soon.
But, I really don’t know what the future of blogging holds – all I am sure of is what I want and what I plan on continuing to do here – and that is write with full abandon without the need to fill every post with 5,000 visuals or tweet, pin and update until my fingers bleed because the reality is, I didn’t sign up for that.
I want to bring blogging back. I want to bring real blogging back that doesn’t include a million visuals and self-promotion. At the end of the day, I hope my ability to tell a story will be enough.
Nodding my head. A story is a story, and that is still what blogging is about. Admittedly, I do use visuals in my stories- and I do pay attention and think about if they are pinnable or not. Being 100% honest, I think the issue that I try to balance now that I am doing “this” full time, is a desire to use my voice to tell the story and the practical need for quantitative things that make me marketable. Trying to find that middle ground and not go over that grey line is hard, but it is something that I strive for.
I totally agree. In the blogosphere today, we have to do some of the visual to create interest but like you, I am trying to strike that balance of remaining true to my roots of why I started blogging in the first place – which basically had nothing to do with anything other than storytelling and connecting with other moms.
I want to bring blogging back to what it was in 2009 – a time when blogging was a much more connected space.
The connection, yes! That’s another thing. We used to comment. I love getting comments, I do, but honestly? I love leaving a thoughtful comment more. I love that I can go to a blog I’ve never visited before, like what’s there and leave a comment that can lift a person’s entire spirit and day. I love the commisseration (even the dissent sometimes because discussions are fun!).
You know, I find this to be true too. A lot of the bloggers I used to love reading all write elsewhere and only post on their blogs when they are getting paid to do so or they only post stuff they hope to get pinned.
I still blog with words and stories like I did five and a half years ago because that is why I started. Sometimes i think it’s better that I was unaware of the blogosphere when I started because while I got swept up in it for a while, and I definitely benefit from things like ads and sponsored posts, I still just have my blog for me.
The comments on my posts are down, but thankfully not the pageviews. Many MANY of my readers are not bloggers, so they just come back for the stories.
Yes, I want more stories and fewer “pinnable sponsored posts”. How can we make this happen?
How can we make this happen?? I think the more “old school” bloggers recognize the shift that occurred and the more we try to bring back that connectedness we once had, we will feel a better sense of blogging in its true form, the kind of blogging we know and love.
I miss the days of blogging without the worry of tagging, choosing the “right” key words, generating posts for SEO optimization, creating pinnable images, etc…I would be a fool to say that these things don’t matter to survive here, because in short, they do matter. I just wish the sense of real community still existed as big and strong as it did…four years ago.
The pinnable images drive me batty. I admit to having created a few of them myself, but it always feels so contrived. So, I don’t do them anymore. If someone wants to pin an image in one of my posts, fine. Though I don’t know why they would. I no longer write posts with the hope of having them pinned. I enjoy blogging for the storytelling aspect. And that’s enough for me. Pinterest, StumbleUpon, SEO, tweets, FB shares… it’s all so exhausting. I just want to WRITE.
Great post, Heather. I’m definitely one of those “writing” bloggers who knows little about images. I don’t do sponsored posts, etc.
I also agree with Kristin about the contrived nature of the pinnable blog images. As a Pinterest user (literally a consumer of pins and not a creator of pins) I find it really annoying when I scroll by the exact images we’re talking about here. The little “posters” bloggers make to lead to blog posts. It’s not what the average Pinterest user is there to see, unless maybe it leads to a recipe.
Good post Heather. I needed to read it. Trying to find a new vison for my blog, take it in a new direction, write w/ more honesty etc. Personally, I cannot stand Twitter, like you said it is so fast….and you are dead on about the facebook groups, I am guilty of that. Blogging w/ truth and honesty (for me) is so much more productive tht typing w/ 146 characters on Twitter, or reading everyone elses conversation on facebook. Anyway, good post!
I feel like I shouldn’t comment just yet, because this deserves more digestion and thought (so I just might be back later!). I think you have a point, or points. There’s a lot of noise out there, a lot of blogging for the sake of the dollar rather than the sake of the word. And yet, I think there’s a place for that, too.
I do feel like those of us who are writing for the sake of writing get a little lost, unless we happen to be self-marketing savants (I am not. Or perhaps I’m lazy? Either way, not doing a lot/enough marketing, apparently.).
I’m not sure blogging is doomed, but, like everything, it is changing. It’s just changing at internet-speed. It’s hard to keep up with the newest, latest, greatest stuff out there.
Answers… I don’t have them. Maybe my head is in the sand, but I think the traditional blog will remain. There are enough of us who love it. But will it evolve, as well? Probably. Okay… off to think about this some more!
I am with Missy I think the traditional blog will remain just because it is journaling/diary writing and that has been around forever. There are some people who just need to tell their stories and there are lots of people who want to hear the stories. I think we all just need to step back and remember that we started blogging to share our stories (and get occasional free tickets to Disney on Ice). If we continue to support each other that type of blogging will survive!
Great words for the new year!
Yep yep yep. I’m trying really hard to write, because that’s what I enjoy. I’m committed to sticking with it, because on the rare occasion I’ve posted a short little thing or an image with a quip it has felt like I’m selling myself short.
I started noticing this a little over a year ago, or so. I tweeted a few months back that BlogHer should be renamed InstaFacebookTweetHer. ;-P I’m guilty as charged and spread WAY to thin in both my ‘real’ life and my online life. I also said a few months back that Instagram now feels like my mini-blog. I get more interaction on there than comments on my blog posts, these days. Honestly, I just do not have time for it ALL. But, my blog has been my ‘baby’ for quite some time and I also consider it both my online journal and scrapbook for my kids so even if others stop reading/commenting I hope to keep doing it at least for myself (because I love writing and photography!) and them.
p.s. I also think the sheer AMOUNT of blogs affects things. I just can’t keep up, you know?? That’s why I kinda just stick to my “friends” and those I know better, these days…
And thanks for putting this out there. I was nodding my head pretty much the entire time I was reading it…
I haven’t been blogging as long as you have (nearly 2 years only), but I have noticed a shift from the time I started to now. Now, it’s a lot about making posts Pinnable (I do this sometimes, with recipes), and ‘making it visually easier’ for the reader etc, hence many visuals (my latest post is mostly visual, guilty!), and social media is INEVITABLE.
It’s inevitable that social media will take up a lot of time in the blogger’s life because the blogosphere is so big, so noisy, that each of us needs to find ourselves a space where we can define ourselves, stand out, matter. And that means our actual blog suffers.
I think the writing still matters to many, and I hope to continue doing so for my own blog, and I want to continue reading those who I know just want to write. There is a place for the other kinds of blogs (the visual, the content curators, the money making), but I think my place is where the writing is (and some parts of social media, because well, I love it).
Great, thought-provoking post, Heather.
I love this post. I was just talking to some of my friends about this very issue. I miss the community that blogging created for me and I am sad to see what it’s become. And it’s not just the microblogging…It’s the clamoring for free stuff over community and content.
Thank you for sharing.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. Every word. While I love social media, and love all the photo sharing, etc., I hate what it’s done to our community. I feel lost at times. Thank you for putting this so eloquently.
I have a blog post sitting in my “Drafts” waiting to be published called “How Social Media is Killing the Blogosphere” and you said it far better than I ever could!
I can’t tell you how much I wish that blogging could come back like it used to, especially considering it’s my JOB! I fear it might be lost in a generation that started blogging 4-5 years ago, and replaced with the social media interaction we crave. Crave why? Because that’s where we’re most social. The comments on even the most popular blogs are scarce these days, yet the interaction with personal friendships on Facebook are rampant. Much to the chagrin of those wishing to make a quick buck out of their popularity on the web. Like we all do.
That said, there are only so many little social icons we can put in our sidebars until they’re basically invisible. There has got to be a way to intertwine our online lives and simplify before people give up and sit on their social media outlet of choice all day!
Thanks for posting this!
I think you hit it on the head. “Like we all do”. Wanting to make a quick buck, that is. I think that there are many people out there who have figured out that being an actual “writer” on a blog isn’t the only way to make money in the Social Media world. And thus we have seen a deluge of vehicles to promote and drive the money monster! I don’t think the traditional blog is gone, by any means. But you might have to make a choice as to whether you do it so much for pleasure or profit!
I could not possibly agree with you more. Things sure have changed since 2009, haven’t they? I, too, have felt that disconnect. I’d love to feel connected again! Thanks for letting me know I’m not alone.
Hi ~ just found you through fbook. I’m a relatively newer blogger and found this to be great info as we start the new year! You can check out my blog at the above link. Thanks!
TheJugglingTeacher
Hi ~ just found you through fbook. I’m a relatively newer blogger and found this to be great info as we start the new year! You can check out my blog at the above link. Thanks!
TheJugglingTeacher
I love this post! I have had similar thoughts. In fact, I even blogged far less eloquently than you about how I miss the blogging that was friendly and about meeting others and sharing our collective experiences. So few of my original “blog friends” (nerdy as that sounds) still blog. I was invested in them and their stories and they in mind. I keep up with many of them on Facebook but it’s not the same. I like a good how-to or photo inspirational blog too but I really miss the personal connections I used to have.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I agree 100% with what you have to say. I know that I’ve gotten away from story-telling, and I’d like to do more of that. But I found it a bit ironic to read through your message and come to a social sharing section with various FB shares, tweets, and a Pin It button. Can these things coexist in a mutually beneficial way? Your post would seem to argue not, although I’m not sure that was exactly your argument. I don’t have the answer myself. I just found it intriguing.
Such a good point Amanda, and perhaps it would make for good blog fodder as a follow-up post to this one.
Social media is kind of like the nature of the beast. I would be a fool to tell you that social media doesn’t matter when it comes to blogging, because it absolutely DOES matter. As bloggers, we need those social media icons/platforms to help get the word out and I *do* think there is a way they coexist in a beneficial way.
However, I’ve been tweeting and on FB since 2009 and the difference now is in the way in which bloggers and readers respond/connect/relate through social media. They want what’s quick and easy so the trend is that we are seeing more visual and less of the written word – which sparked me to write this post.
I hope I answered your question – thanks for sharing.
I’m not going anywhere. Heck, I haven’t even switched to wordpress yet!
I am so with you on this. I love reading blogs about people’s thoughts & feelings… and the things – good & bad – that are happening in their lives.
One of my resolutions this year was to get back to the writing that I loved. Not to worry about whether I was good enough for a sponsored post or wonder why I wasn’t chosen for a campaign of some sort.
So I did. And I am.
Ps… I’m still one of the old school tweeps still having convo’s on twitter. Come chat with me friend!
I can attest to your PS Julie
I can always count on you for conversation on Twitter!
Like most others, I completely agree. I write but I am rarely on facebook or Twitter and I haven’t pinned a thing since the summer. I just can’t get into those things like I can with blogging. I need the long form of writing to truly express what I want to express and make that connection. And many of my favorite bloggers seem to be the same. I’m ready to bring blogging back!
I couldn’t agree with you more! My four year mark is coming up this spring, and I can’t believe how different it is now. Although I admit that I am part of facebook groups, I still feel like blogging has turned cliquey and exclusive in some ways. I don’t ever get on Twitter anymore because all anything posts are links to posts and sponsored posts; there used to be so much more interaction there between bloggers as well as between bloggers and readers. Thank you for the post; maybe if enough bloggers read this we can start heading back to what blogging used to be!
I completely agree. I think it’s due in part to the laziness of our culture. It’s much easier to skim over a few succulent pictures than to read poignant prose!
Bravo!! So well written and articulated. I agree with every single thing you said. Now what to do about all of these changes is another question that I am not sure we blogger types have the answer for. Blogland is a fickle place and I guess we are only as good as our last good post. I notice in my stats people are reading less just by the length of time they are on a page. I love to write and will continue to do so as long as I have readers.
I am totally addicted to pinterest because it fills my need for visual stimulation and inspiration, but I love good content too.
Sometimes after 3 years of blogging I feel as if I have already said it all, and then I remind myself I have new readers that did not read my blog 3 years ago.
Thank you for writing this post!
Kathysue
Goodlifeofdesign.blogspot.com
Thank you! So well said. I have committed to a return to my blog this year. And while I’m not the solid blogger you are, I will be much more conscious of what I write & publish. My blog was a great release in the past. A way to sort through my thoughts, feelings, encouragement & frustrations of the day. I hope to keep it that way. Thanks again for the truth and reminder.
I am a new blogger – one year next month – and I have no idea how things were, but I can totally see your points. I know when I write a longer post, I wonder if anyone will actually read it. I appreciate your thought and this post and I am following you now because I really l like real content.
Thanks,
KC
I’m afraid you are soo right! I love blogging for the very same reasons but am afraid I’m not very popular b/c I’m not jumping on the bandwagon and moving at the same speed. But I do it because I love it and though I may change some things up the words will always be at the heart of every post! Thank you for this great post. Happy New Year! -I
I just made my predictions for 2013 and it didn’t include the rise of the written word. Great writers will continue to write and those who are into social media (raises hand) will chase all the new-fangled, low attention span ways to grow an audience. You sound comfortable in your decision not to chase trends and that is fabulous. Wishing you joy in 2013 as you make your heart and true audience happy.
Oh, here are the predictions;
Social Media Trends for 2013 http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs131/1101848206911/archive/1112042857957.html
This is exactly my point. People want quick and easy and they would rather read a FB update than a full post, so fear that the written word is on the decline is exactly what sparked me to write this post.
I am as active in social media as the next person and I love this space – and I also provide sponsored content if the brand fits and I continue to work with brands daily, I have built my business around this.
But the way the written word seems to be falling short on the radar these days, it just makes me wonder about the future of blogging as a whole. And this doesn’t mean that I can’t post a vlog or that I won’t share photos, it’s just that the true essence of blogging has changed -and that was the big takeaway here.
Great food for thought for sure.
Heather,
I’m a storyteller. I always have been. I just happen to be a blogger as well
I’m not a pinterest-worthy blogger or an IG sensation. I like both of them but they don’t translate well into my blog. I once had someone tell me that I would get more readers if my posts weren’t so long. But, uh, isn’t that what my blog is for? TO WRITE???
I’ve seen the trend moving toward shorter posts and I’ve tried to move to that. My posts have gotten shorter. I feel like I’m trying to fit into the mold of other bloggers. But I just can’t do it.
I’ve lost so much of my readership over the last year. I used to get 20-30 comments and now I’m lucky if I get one. I’m not sure what people are looking for anymore.
Excellent post! I’ve been blogging since 2001 off and on, and blogging more seriously since 2009… and I had to pick up a lot of new skills when I decided to write seriously, just to be noticed.
When I started out, I didn’t worry about whether I had a relevant picture to accompany my writing. Now I know that if there’s no image in the post, it won’t be as “pretty” when I send it out to twitter, facebook, and pinterest… will people know the post exists if it doesn’t catch their attention on one of those platforms?
I’m still not very proficient at reeling people in via Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Twitter moves too quickly for me and I get lost trying to keep up with my favorites… so a lot of times I just avoid it altogether.
I still write long stories, and I always will. I write until the post seems finished, and often they come out quite long. I also post a single picture here and there, usually with a little caption or commentary, but not always. I write SEO-optimized sponsored posts, because they help keep my blog afloat, but my heart lies with real writing.
“At the end of the day, I hope my ability to tell a story will be enough.”
Amen to that, sister! I really relate to this post and have had many of the same thoughts as you. And consciously or not – I really don’t know – I came to the same conclusion as you a few months ago – that regardless of how the blogging landscape changes, I’m just going to keep on keeping on. Because I love to write. Period. The blogosphere can evolve at a rapid-fire pace all around me, but at the end of the day my blog is my port in the storm. I do it for me. Everything else is just gravy.
I love this!! I wrote on not wanting to be deemed a “mommy blogger” anymore and why so many of us blog (according to my blogger friends) I’ll be sharing this post as well. Lets make 2013 the year that blogging came back!!
Well said, friend! It SERIOUSLY stresses me out that I’m not on Tumblr. I worry other blogs won’t be relevant etc. Here’s the thing, I read one Tumblr blog. All the rest are WP or Blogger.
I think there are still bloggers out there who do it for the right reasons. Those are the ones I keep reading, keep commenting on, and those are the ones who will keep it going. Here’s to 2013! Happy New Year!
I would like to offer you some encouragement by saying that I do not agree at all. I don’t think the real writers are disappearing, and I do not believe we will lose our craft. I think the real problem is over saturation. Now we just have so many MORE people that are out there trying to get rich quick. It is almost like the explosion of the dotcoms. Everyone had to have one, but when people started failing, they dropped out.
I think it will be that way in this situation as well. Once all the people hosting giveaways and just trying to bring people to their blogs to become rich realize that a cute picture here and there and a giveaway is not going to make everyone millionaires, I think we’ll start to see them fade.
But I am a new blogger. I blog because I love to write. And I have been spending hours a day on the computer reading blog after blog after blog of people that still love to write and have stories to share. I am now subscribed to probably 100 blogs – mommy blogs, writers blogs, parenting blogs, funny blogs, grief blogs, DIY and craft blogs, and so on and so forth, and each day I come across another blogger that I connect with. In only six months I have banded with some other bloggers into a community of supportive and encouraging writers. We’re not going anywhere.
We who heart writing are still out there, and we’ll continue because of exactly what you said – we have stories and thoughts inside of us that just have to come out!
Certainly the trends and hot spots and technology will change, but story telling will never go away. You keep telling yours and I’ll keep reading it!
AMEN HEATHER!
I took one year off of blogging (call it maternity leave of sorts) & when I came back ready to start posting, I had noticed a HUGE shift on the internet. It blew my mind–I kept wondering where the blogosphere went.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who has noticed this, I don’t feel so crazy anymore. haha!
I agree about the annoying social networking and sponsored posts, but I totally disagree about the photos. I think you are forgetting about visual learners. Even when I’m reading an inspiring essay about motherhood it feels so much more trustworthy and real if a pic of the real mom with her happy kiddo is included. And when I am reading historical biographies I always look up the photos or paintings of the person because I need that visual image to truly feel connected to what I am learning. Quality photos can’t be replaced. Photography is an art, just like writing. Personally, when I am looking for a blog to follow I look for both quality writing and quality photography.
I’ll keep writing no matter what…even if I no longer have readers. Because, for me, it is about telling the stories in my head. The ones I can’t possibly share out loud. But the community is changing. I feel a bit lost. I’m not a “big” blogger, and never will be, but the small bloggers are increasingly hard to find…at least ones who tell stories, not sell product.
Let’s start a movement!
I’m with you… 100%. I miss the conversations on Twitter, I miss the connections, and the community. I got pulled into the sponsored post/giveaway/review train in the past year and thought that it was a good way to make money and get noticed more, but it wasn’t worth it.
This year… I’m cutting back. This year it’s more about real writing, connections, and community.
Thank you for this post and all the comments – so refreshing to hear! I started blogging a little over a year ago simply because I wanted to write. I didn’t care if anyone ever read what I wrote, I just wanted to get it out of my head and onto (virtual) paper. But once I started looking around at the big blogs, I got intimidated with all the ‘stuff’ that can be involved, and just last week, I nearly threw in the towel (didn’t, thanks to my little secret fb group, though :-)) because I felt like there was no way I could keep up. Hoping and planning to go back to my original purpose of writing for myself, and for anyone else who might want to read it.
Great post!
I’ve been blogging for 10 years now, and change is just the nature of the beast. My posts from my early 20s are so different from today… It started as fun, and is still fun but also serves as a vehicle for search engine traffic for my illustration and design business. The more people find my blog, the more people might find out about my super cute drawings!
I feel like 10 years in, I’ve struck a balance that works for me. I ignore scheduling anything, I write when I want and if I’ve got nothing to say… I just let it sit and wait for me to come back. I pepper in affiliate links here and there where they make sense and if it makes money great, but if it doesn’t then that’s OK, too.
I feel like people take it too seriously. It’s your blog, you’re writing because it’s fun and you enjoy doing it. If you don’t… Figure out why and change it.
Found this through sorta crunchy. I believe there will always be an audience for real writing. It might not have as large an audience. I’ve decided I don’t care about the quantity of my audience so much as the quality. I want real readers and real exchanges with them. It’s not too late.
Oh, you just made me really nostalgic for the good old days.
Sniff.
I agree 100%! I really miss the conversation and community I once felt within the blogging community. I loved connecting with others on twitter but lately feel like I am just talking to myself and get lost in a sea of links. Commenting seems like a lost art. At first I thought it was just me but I have had this conversation with several bloggers recently so it seems to have become a trend that makes me so sad! I really hope 2013 will be a year to restore the art of blogging!
Well, I have drastically messed with your “average time on site” stat, because this post has been up for me to comment on forever and a day
I do think things are changing. I think I let my blog slide a little from it’s original intention (well, its second intention, its first intention was photo fodder for the grandparents!), but I made a conscious effort to re-conceptualize last year based on books and writing and storytelling, which are my favorite things and favorite parts of my blog. (For example, my fiction, which I adore but doesn’t “fit” now resides in a separate tab and doesn’t publish to my main feed.)
You aren’t the only one who feels this way; I’ve heard rumblings and conversations about it, and I think there will be bloggers who realize their chosen medium is visual, and that’s ok. But there are still a lot of us out here who write and read because of the emotion and stories and people found in the written word, and I think even if the community shifts, there will still be a writing community left standing filled with strong and capable voices, simply because we love words too much to let them go.
(Wishful thinking? I don’t know.)
Also, after reading all of the comments and seeing so many familiar faces, I vote for a GROUP HUG!!!
Wow. That last line is perfection!
I absolutely love the dialogue here, Heather.
I think we all have our goals with our blogs and I so admire and cheer on people who make their dreams happen – however it may be that they get there.
(And as for who it is that I read? I’m definitely on Team Storytelling. :))
I, too, prefer “real” blogging, as you call it. I’m not into Triberr, and I rarely Stumble, but I am active on Twitter. I blog less frequently because I prefer quality over quantity. I have a full-time job, personal pursuits, hobbies and a husband. I write when I am moved to. Like you, I just hope that when I have a good story to tell, people will want to read it.
I took a 6-month break from blogging last year and was shocked when I came back at the focus on Twitter and Pinterest. Like others have said, I just want to write. This isn’t my job; it’s a hobby and I want to make real connections and have great conversations. I’m so thankful I’ve found a few genuine communities where the focus is on story-telling, or I might have given up completely.
Storytelling is powerful… and healing. It is how we share our lives… how we connect.
And we have been telling our stories for a long, long time.
Keep talking! We’re listening!
Wow, I thought it was just me. I feel like my blog, my way of sharing all my randomness… cooking and dreams and kids and whatever I laundry I feel like airing! thank you for saying this.
This is what it’s always been about for me: the writing. I’ve decided to step back from Facebook and Instagram because they’re taking away from my writing. Any photos I post now will be on the blog, perhaps in a section outside of the main writing area. This also alleviates my having to go to so many different places to feel “seen” or “heard.” I do think I’ll hang on to Twitter thought, because it works for me.
I’ve realized over the past couple of years that yes, I want page views. I covet them. Yet, I want readers more. I want people to come to my blog excited that I’ve written something they know they’ll enjoy, nod add, laugh at, marvel at how in the hell I actually dared to say that. I want to write. I’ve always only wanted to write and amuse and discuss and cause thought and consideration of different points of view maybe. My blog isn’t for my children. It’s for me (and maybe them when they’re old enough to read the f-bomb as regularly as I tend to drop it.) So, all of that said, the bloggers are still here. Some of us have branched out and I don’t begrudge anyone for doing so. I’m glad that you have stayed true to yourself and know that it’s not worth it to chase so many other different avenues if they aren’t what you want. The stories. They’re what I come to Theta Mom for and what I hope people read me for.
Unfortunately, here is the problem.
There are very few people who can monetize a blog with their stories. It just doesn’t work that way. I say most because there are bloggers who do well in ad networks because of their traffic, or who have great display advertising because of their traffic and audience, but for the average blogger, it’s a lot more difficult. We have to go one of two ways: be storytellers and build a community and don’t make money at it, or write posts that are a solution to a problem and make money in affiliates or traffic. Too many bloggers start blogs to make money; the community doesn’t help, because every time you turn around there is another “how to monetize your blog” webinar or ebook.
I have to say, I’ve become very disappointed in the community at large. I was busy at work back in the summer and had to stop commenting on blogs, although I did read them. My return visitors dropped and I never got it back. Besides that, “friends” who visited often stopped when I wasn’t visiting their blogs daily.
I think there are tons of other ways bloggers can make money other than trying to monetize their personal blog. The explosion of social media is a testament to that. But I agree, the blogging community as a whole has changed because the face of blogging has changed – and I wish I had an answer, but only time will tell where this road will lead…