Is blogging dying? It is if you read some posts by those people who consider themselves pundits. They say that people have so many other options these days that many people are dropping the concept of blogging in favor of all these other ways of connecting with their potential clients.
That’s convoluted thinking for two reasons.
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One, even though a study from last year indicated that major companies have cut back on their blogging by around 45%, small and independent business blogging has actually grown 72% since 2004. And just how many more businesses do you believe there are that are small or individual businesses as compared to large businesses? There’s no valid figure but it’s estimated that for every large business with at least 500 employees there are 5,000 smaller businesses; at least a 10 to 1 ratio.
Two, if you’ve ever been on Twitter or Google+ or LinkedIn, what do you see being shared more often than anything else? Blog posts, that’s what, and usually not the blog posts of that person, which is a strange conundrum if you ask me. I do share links to other blog posts that I like, but I also make sure I’m putting my own links out there for people to see. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t take advantage of a little bit of self promotion here and there. Still, those who don’t blog, or even those who do, are sharing a lot of blog posts, moreso than news posts. Only on Facebook do you see sharing of a different sort as the norm.
My belief is that blogging is changing for some entities, which is where the belief that it’s dying is coming from. As more companies try to get into social media, where they feel they can present their marketing message better, the largest companies believe that blogging in their own space doesn’t help them as much. I don’t believe that’s true, but that part has certainly happened. It’s too bad since studies have shown that companies large and small that have the CEO or a top company representative with a regular blog are trusted by more customers and thus have a positive impact on the minds of those consumers.
Blogging is the best way to get your message out the way you want it to be. And if you have any kind of audience that respects what you have to say, that audience is probably sharing your message with someone. Blogging dying; in your dreams!
Hmmm. You r post actually made me think!!! Honestly, Blogging can never really die, social medias can certainly take a majore share of the pie but eventually they also will have to come back to blogging for sharing more and better info!
Molly, to me blogging is social media, and was the first part of social media since it goes way back. Without blogging, people would have less to share.
I don’t think blogging will die for individuals or businesses for this one reason, and this one reason alone: you can create and control your own media and messages. You can express yourself in the way you want, when you want and how you want. You can educate, entertain and inspire using multimedia tools of your choice. And you can create your own media messages or counter statements and attacks by other media outlets.
No, blogging will not die anytime soon.
Great stuff Marcie. And when we control that we also control when and how we change or add to the message. Love that thought of yours.
Hello Mitch
nice post
Blogging is not dying. As you said large companies may find it more fruitful to invest on social media marketing technique. Social media do provide a chance to reach more people compared to blogging, but if done properly blogging can also yield results.
AS you said people trust blogs of top company representative with a regular update much more then some status update in social network.
Thanks Bryan. Also, since I see blogging as truly one of the most important parts of social media, and never forget that blogging is a part of social media, those that don’t do it or aren’t consistent with it are missing out in great ways.
Nice words, and I totally agree, blogging is the most unique and flexible communication tool of the century, it is an effective way of marketing/advertising, but it has got many other opportunities to communicate anything.
Aletta, I think it’s an effective tool but I’ll have to think about that “most” part. I think it’s drastically effective but in a way the most effective communication tool just might be Twitter because of how instantaneous it is and how it’s really been a game changer for most of us.
I remember the time I was a devoted blogger once. I used to write down anything that crossed my mind. It was like I was putting my world out there. Later only I realised I couldn’t afford to spend so much time on things they say ‘don’t matter’. So I ended up writing content for business websites.
I can say for sure, personal blogging as we know it is coming to an end as more and more businesses are hiring young talented bloggers to do their petty works. Sigh!
Jyothus, I also write for other blogs here and there, but I always have time to write my own words because it’s how I work on promoting myself. Still, it proves that if someone else is willing to pay you to blog for them that blogging isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Blogging is not dying but rather it’ll improve in the near future. For some people, I think they wont survive because of their mentality and attitude.
Ellaine, you’re probably correct on individuals and it’s a shame. It would be interesting to see how blogging could improve.
Hi Mitch,
Great Point and very great post.
Blogging is not dying and it’ll improve in future.
companies are hiring more seo for blogging and processes for making back links to enhance visibility of websites.
Thanks for the gesture.
Hi Bhushan, and thanks for the comment, although I’ve never been thanked for a “gesture” before. lol I don’t know that blogging will improve but I do know it’s not going away any time soon, maybe never.
For sure blogging is not dying, but for sure it is shifting in a different direction. Those big companies actually have moved the blogs without their main website, as well most popular blogging platforms (and those that are custom build), shows that blogging is going beyond what is thought to be blog, but more like web application.
Carl, making sure your blogs can be viewed on mobile applications is definitely a smart strategy to employ, but I’m not sure all of the large companies are moving their blogs off their own sites. I have seen some though, and I’m not sure I fully understand why they’re doing it.
That’s right web and mobile web are merging and more and more often we hear about responsive design. However the rest is completely the opposite, companies are trying to move in blog and integrate with the rest of the features.
Blogging is not dying. Although I agreed that in the internet, everything is changing within minutes, but blogging will be keeping on its way to long term.
Hi Mitch, just thought I’d pop over and connect up as I just joined the Networking Superstars too and saw your name there.
I do not believe blogging is dying, but I do believe that it is paring down and pushing the serious bloggers into a different realm, away from those who are not able to maintain a blog successfully.
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Thanks for your comment Mandy, and welcome to the blog.
First, I should alert you that your posts will probably always go to the spam filter first; you missed the 3-name rule just above the comment box.
Second, that’s an interesting thought you have on the paring down of bloggers. I’m not so sure that’s going to be the case because I think there will be more free blog sites popping up and have advertising on them to help sustain the sites while people get on and express themselves and their frustrations. I already believe there’s a division between serious bloggers and those who just want to chart their daily lives and you’re right, at some point those folks decide “hey, this is getting scary, I don’t want to do it anymore”.
But not us. lol
Nice succinct statement on the state of the business blogosphere, Mitch. I like the way you puncture the illusion created by stats that mention only the big company takeup and usage. I love that 72% increase since 2004 for small and medium business!
Thanks Des. It’s one of those things that shows me that just because a major publication said it doesn’t mean it’s true, especially if they have no real idea what they’re talking about. lol
I found this interesting. I am a new blogger and have heard all the nah sayers and negative pundits convert regarding bloggers and blogging. Your stats were enlightening and helpful… thanks for that. 🙂
Thanks Susan. I try to keep it real and don’t talk with a lot of platitudes. Blogging isn’t going anywhere; there’s just too many people that have much to say.
I do agree. 🙂
You are right. Blogs will never die as appetite for good content increases. Each blog is unique and different and present information in a new perspective. This uniqueness is powering popular blogs.
Thanks for your comment George, and I’m totally with you on it. Unique; I like that!
Mitch, you’re the reason I started to blog. I have to thank you though not the reason you might think.
I blog once a week. It’s what works for me. The only way I could blog more often would be to take a Seth Godin approach and write short pieces.
I wish people would comment more though I know it takes time to build a following. Plus, not everyone likes to comment. That doesn’t mean they’re not reading. On the contrary, I hear from people all the time they’re enjoying my message.
The greatest benefit I’m getting from my blog is I’m becoming a better writer. I’ve greatly improved since a year ago and getting better every week.
Thanks for encouraging me to write.
Steve, I’m glad I helped get you to blogging because you’ve picked it up very well, including learning how to identify spam. lol Once a week works fine for you, and I know you’ve touched some people in positive ways. It’s for reasons like that I know blogging isn’t going away anytime soon.
Good stuff Mitch, a great post with some interesting ideas. I think that there is still a promising future ahead for blogging particularly when linked into other social media networks like Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.
Whilst I have had a blog for a few years it is only really within the last six months that I have tried to improve both the quality of the content and its reach to a wider audience. Much of this additional reach has been as a result of social networking, primarily on Twitter.
Also the stats you have come up with are very enlightening and make pretty comforting reading for a relatively newbie blogger like myself.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge 🙂
Phil
Thanks for your comment Phil. What’s funny is that I did kind of the same thing with my first blog. I put out a number of posts that, in retrospect, weren’t very good or directed. I wasn’t quite sure what blogging really was about except I knew I could help my business website gain in the search engines in some way. Once I “got it” things really took off for me, so much so that I had to keep repeating the process and improving on it. The stats don’t lie and the process is solid, and that’s why I believe blogging is here to stay.