Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Why Blogging Is NOT Dying

Last year, I wrote a post titled, "Is Blogging Dying?" In it, I explored why other social media forms, like Facebook and Twitter, were beginning to hold more of an appeal to me than blogs.

A year later, things have changed.

I joined Twitter (reluctantly) and have connected with a lot of new people that way, mostly those that are into World War II history, some writers, and literary agents. It's an interesting format, but not one that I really enjoy.

Same with Facebook. I like to stay updated on my family and friends, but more and more, it's just become...boring. I tend to scroll through my newsfeed fairly fast in the morning and really don't stop to read a lot of the memes being posted or quotes or what have you. I'd much rather read someone's status update than look at anything else.

I used to enjoy the rapid-fire response you get on Facebook, and I admit to irrational glee when someone retweets one of my Tweets or responds to me (my favorite response so far is from a guitar player for the band, Shinedown. I tweeted a picture that my daughter drew of him to his Twitter account and he responded. Yes, we saved his tweet and yes, it's hanging on my daughter's wall). I like to follow certain celebrities, too. (Russell Crowe is a favorite).

The bass player from Shinedown, Eric Bass, at the concert my daughter and I went to in March. He re-tweeted one of my Tweets.
But there isn't a lot of depth to Twitter. You can't settle in for a nice, long post, one that will really get to the heart of a subject and explore all its many facets.

I miss that.

So today, after looking at my FB and Twitter feeds, I closed the tabs and went to my blog, eager to dig my mind into something more substantial via my blogroll. I haven't been disappointed. There are still a lot of really good blogs out there that I thoroughly enjoy, and I always like finding more.

It's strange how social media is such a huge component of our lives, but I find that its sheen has faded for me. I'd rather be on Pinterest or my blog than either Twitter or FB. There are times when I don't want to be "connected." I don't know where we got this notion that we have to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, update our FB and Twitter statuses, and be only a text or phone call away from anyone and everyone.

But as I am a writer and I've been blogging since 2005, I have no intentions of stopping.

Despite the craze of Twitter and FB, I've decided that there IS a place for the blogging medium. No, blogging is not dying. I think people want a slower, more thoughtful way of looking at the world via a few well-written paragraphs rather than 140 characters or less.

No, I won't abandon Twitter or Facebook (I particularly like the Writer Unboxed community on FB), but I find myself wanting to go to my Twitter and FB pages less and less. Maybe it's the historian in me, or maybe I'm just hopelessly old-fashioned. Probably both.

While I don't blog as much as I used to, that may change. I'm finding I crave it more. For one, I can learn a lot more about a person through their blog than I can scrolling through 5,000 of their Tweets (and that's one thing about Twitter I really don't like - how some people post a tweet a minute for ten minutes sometimes. Annoying).

What's your take on social media? Is your enthusiasm for it still strong? Are certain social media sites more beneficial to you than others?

Reminder: Don't forget! I'm holding a Where I Write blog carnival and you are invited to participate! Details HERE.

17 comments:

  1. It's funny a lot of us seem to have "rediscovered" blogging. Or at least the joy of it.

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    1. I think as writers, it's natural to want to use more words to share our feelings, thoughts, etc. Twitter and FB just don't cater to that particular kind of communication.

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  2. I quite enjjoy Facebook but have never quite got into Twitter. I know a lot of people who have though!

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    1. I have a love/hate relationship with Twitter right now. It's fun to connect with certain people, but it's like information overload sometimes.

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  3. Absolutely agree with you 100%. Blogging has so much more depth and personality, but not in the meme way that other social media has. It allows one to be more creative in reaching out, to express new ideas or thoughts or just pictures, and it has more long term impact. I've been a bit of a bad blogger, somewhat erratic this year, but when I get back into it I just love it and find the connection I make blogging far more satisfying than any FB comment or twitter twit.

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    1. The long term impact statement is right on the money, Clare!

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  4. I know exactly where you're coming from. There are many times when I don't feel I have the energy to keep up with the fast pace of twitter, or that I have something worthwhile to share on Facebook. I'm not on either as much as I used to be. But I'm still writing, and blogging, and connecting with people that way... sharing more in-depth thoughts about books, reading, reviewing, etc. Most days that feels more my speed.

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    1. I have found myself wondering why I'm sharing things on FB or Twitter because I feel like I'm adding to the overall clutter. So now I'm more careful about what I choose to share. But like you, most days the blogging world feels more like "me" than the other two. :)

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  5. I so agree with you, Melissa. So much on FB and Twitter is just noise. I think FB has definitely gone off the boil and I tend to spend less and less time there. Which is good. I think it's hard for us writers when the thing we need to work on is also the thing that connects us to all the social media. Yeah, we could switch off the internet, but somehow that just doesn't happen - not to me anyway.
    With blogging, personalities can really shine and connections are made on a more authentic note.

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    1. You said it perfectly, J.T. Our personalities do come through much better via blogging, and I'm so glad that I've been blogging for as long as I have (I think I started in 2005). I've met so many wonderful people through it!

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  6. I prefer blogging to Facebook or Twitter, but do follow these too.

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    1. Sometimes I wonder why we need all these social networks. Trying to keep up with them all can be exhausting!

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  7. I liked twitter when I followed only people I knew. Of course, that's not what twitter is all about, and once I started trying to do it "right" (adding followers and following more people myself) it just became noise. I haven't looked at it in months.

    Facebook I appreciate for keeping up with family, but that's about it. I almost quit last year because I had too many people I barely knew messaging me asking for professional advice (hellloo, this is my personal space! If you want me to talk about work, CALL ME AT WORK.) And I agree with others...really, it's gotten boring.

    As far as blogs, I still visit my favorites (like yours!) but I spend less time than I used to. I stopped posting to my own blog last year. It was time for a break. I miss it occasionally, but not enough yet to go back and start up again. That said, I agree 100% with everything you said about blogs. Deeper, way more substantial, way more interesting, and a MUCH better way to get a sense of someone's personality and worldview.

    Blogging isn't dying. It's like any fad: the ones who stick with it are the ones who do it well. Like you! :-)

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    1. I hope you decide to go back to blogging in the future. I always enjoyed your posts, Christine. :)

      Yeah, Twitter IS a lot of noise. I can't figure out why some people post 10 tweets in a row and expect me to read them all. At some point, all this social media just becomes too much.

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  8. I agree with your sentiments completely! As a writer and deep thinker, I love that blogging lets you dig deeper. Feel most comfortable with blogs, least comfortable on Facebook (though I still like skimming other people's statuses) and I'm still too random with Twitter to really judge it. I think I've found my niche and I'm happy there.

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    1. Your posts are always so much fun, Margo. I enjoy them!

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  9. Anonymous12:11 PM

    Melissa, my relationship with Facebook would be "It's Complicated." I love the idea of it - to keep in touch with friends and family members. But with my closest friends we text, call or email more than we Facebook each other. With family members it just shows me how much different my viewpoints are from just about everyone and many times their statements frustrate the heck out of me. I agree with you that I would rather read a person's status than all the "chain mail" shares. I prefer more substance than fluff and Facebook is getting to be too much fluff.

    At the same time, Facebook has great for my website and there are some great pages out there. I "like" a local historical society and found out about a job opening I could have easily missed by not checking their website regularly. There are some people I do like to stay in touch and have good Facebook conversations with.

    I think with all social media it's always good to find a balance. What is your Twitter @? I'm starting to get into it a little more... emphasis on the "little" part :-)

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