Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Is blogging dead?

I've been reading a bit lately about how long-form blog posts are going the way of the dodo bird. People are not visiting blogs anymore to get their information but are relying, alternatively, on social media. In particular Facebook and Twitter.

I, myself, am guilty of spending way more time on Facebook than I should (Twitter is another story - I can't stand it). In fact, I post many times a day on Facebook and have the same, if not more, involved conversations about various topics on my Facebook page. Even the links to my blog posts get far more comments on Facebook than on my actual blog.

As you've probably noticed, my blogging has been rather spotty over the summer. I'm planning on keeping up with my blog posts now that the kids are back in school, but the main reason is because I've been spending a lot of time elsewhere. Facebook.

However, I'd say that blogs are superior for a number of reasons. The most striking one would be searchability and the fact that they last over time. Facebook and Twitter are miserable in that, if you miss it when the posts/tweets go out, you really have to go out of your way to find them. Google doesn't index them either so if you are looking for information on a particular topic, you won't find it there. Also, if your Facebook profile is private, well, then it's as good as not there. And, that's not even getting to the point that you can't really carry out much of an idea in a few sentences or less, let alone in a tweet.

All that said, how do you like to get information? Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, links to blog posts from Facebook/Twitter?

26 comments:

denvermom said...

Blogs are still the way to go, in my opinion. You are right, Facebook & Twitter do have their place but blogs have the ability to last...

Anisa said...

I find that much of what I post and click on in Facebook are links to blogs or news stories. I think without blogs FB would be a lot less interesting.

Michelle Lasley said...

Where do I get my information? Google to wikipedia to books. I read blogs about topics of interest (environment) or friends who blog, because I love it when my friends write.

Are blogs the way of the dodo? Wordpress has seen a dramatic increase in its usage, and I find facebook and twitter to trite for the reasons you've stated.

My verdict? FB & Twitter are a fad that cannot supplant good writing and good information.

Sam said...

I mainly use Facebook to keep up with local goings on - art openings, farmers market updates, etc. I keep up with blogs for the reasons you described. I use twitter to subscribe to my favorite comedians - I need the funnies.

Lavender Lemonade said...

Facebook is like dating. Blogging is like marriage.

Anna M said...

I think of blogs as reading a magazine article. There are generally article links and more content. If you've seen magazine articles lately which are very short, they remind me of blogs, that's how I view blogs.

I like it when folks post a picture of their garden on facebook, or the new puppy news with pictures, up to the minute information (my local news) and links to articles that should be viral (FDA ban on supplements).

Facebook has too many settings so I feel like I might be missing things if I haven't checked the right box. I use Google Reader and know I'm getting my content better there.

rumerikana said...

I don't think blogging is dead, I personally love reading your blog, for example :) As for fb and others of the kind, I feel they are a waste of time, but one can't do without them :)

Kate said...

I do without FB and twitter. I just can't be bothered. I read blogs for information and inspiration. I blog to share information and ideas about homesteading.

To me, twitter especially smacks of a certain kind of narcissism. I really don't care to read about the minutiae of other people's lives, or random thoughts that pass through their minds. I've never understood the appeal of putting so much personal information out there on the web, and have no desire to include that sort of thing on my blog. I want to read more developed, cogent ideas than FB and twitter provide, which is why I'll stick to reading (certain) blogs.

Anonymous said...

I get my information from books (library and ones we own), Internet resources, and blogs. Since I telecommute, I would rather spend time interacting with live people and playing the violin than wasting time on Facebook.

--Ave

Robyn Campbell said...

Thanks for the blog critique. :0) I'm here from Blogbookstours. Adding you to my blogroll.

I blog because I write for kids. So it gives me an audience who I can learn from and who might buy my books.

But a lot of people are not blogging like they used to.

*waving*

Green Bean said...

Great question! I agree that there is a lot more interaction and conversation on FB. Less so on Twitter but I personally love Twitter for spreading messages and information. However, I think a blog is still necessary because, much of what we do on our blog FB pages, is link to some article or post or other. Someone has to write those articles and posts. That said, I think blogging used to be a 5 day a week business but you can now maintain your readership by keeping your FB page someone active and posting once or twice a week on the blog.

Unknown said...

I get most of my information primarily through RSS, and secondarily through Facebook and Twitter links to blog posts, journal articles, academic studies and books.

koadtoad said...

I'm one of those crazies who's not on facebook. Or signed up for any other type of social media. I

koadtoad said...

Whoops. Looks like blogger may have eaten the rest of that comment. Just that I definitely prefer blogs.

Robj98168 said...

Blogs- I get more detailed info from a blog

Facebook-get more interaction mostly from relatives... especially if I drop the "f" bomb

Twitter- makes me nervous

WS Gager said...

Deanna: Great blog post. A lot of food for thought. I have a hard time getting to facebook but I like the quick catch up without any effort. I enjoy blogs but sometimes have difficulty finding time to read all of them I would like. Twitter...still working on that one.
Wendy - from blog class
W.S. Gager

Q said...

I personally prefer blogs to anything else, I'm not much for Facebook, I find there are too many cries for attention and other pointless status updates. I only go on Facebook to post in a group I have with some friends from wchool who all use Facebook a lot more than I do.

I love my rss feed, I have about 50 blogs linked into it and read anywhere from 100 to 200 posts a day(I donly read the ones tehat intreats me, but I skim all of them. That's why my husband got me an iPad for a wedding gift, I was always talking about how much better it would be if my phone had a bigger screen for reading. :P

Rainy Day Gardener said...

Like many of the other comments, I prefer blogs to FB and Twitter. I enjoy FB to stay up-to-date on the happenings around P-town, but I enjoy the simple process of reading and pondering another person's thoughts. I hope that never becomes replaceable.

Sandy said...

No way-blogs are not dead! Every few days I check my favorite blogs, which include yours, Sharon Astyk's and Kathy Harrison's. I am not on facebook every day, and I sometimes miss the notifications.

Erika said...

I agree with Anisa, FB is a source of links to blogs - reminders of updates, a way to share and discuss what is written *elsewhere.*

What I like about blogs, compared to FB, is that my family and friends aren't notified of my every thought I choose to share, which allows me to spend more time doing the things that make my family and friends think I've gone off the deep end (as opposed to defending/explaining myself)... I mean, my friends and family on FB know I'm a bit granola/crunchy/hippie/whatever, but if they read some of the things I post on blogs, they'd be horrified - e.g. experiences with no-poo-ing... (my mother might just scalp me if she found out I haven't used shampoo in 3 years...) ... I digress...

So... I think both have their place... :)

--Erika

Sophia said...

I use blogs, books, and the newspaper to get most of my information. Addicted to facebook a few years back, I now touch facebook as little as possible and plan to never touch Twitter. I know myself. I can get too involved in facebook and lose too much time facebooking; it's a very personal choice.

Leslie Richman said...

I prefer blogs. It seems like blog posts involved more thought and research (my own included) than FB posts, which just kind of fly out from the keys!

Dea-chan said...

I don't have a FB. So I go to blogs. And I don't use a reader either, I literally click on every single blog, every single day.

Unknown said...

At this time, I use FB mostly for family and high school friends. I do NOT LIKE "non-people.

Twitter is for looking up breaking-events/news. I get headlines from a few MSM sites.

I'm still new to podcasting, but already am leaning towards book-type podcasts, or shorter-length podcasts with reasonable amount of ads.

Blogs via RSS is still my fav.

matildalucet said...

Coming out of lurkdom to encourage blogs. I'm trying (not successfully yet, but trying) to be less attached to my electronics. Twitter would be useless for me unless collected by an aggregator. One blogger I read collects her favorite tweets of the week and I enjoy those, but if I had to read in real time, I wouldn't, so I don't do Twitter except second hand. I haven't gone to Facebook yet; the people I care about are largely on LiveJournal or not much online anywhere. Keep blogging!

Leslea Tash said...

FB definitely killed the blog community I used to belong to, but the trade off has been a deeper, more authentic relationship between each of my readers and myself. Additionally, people in other circles of my life have been introduced to what I do, as a writer, for the first time. I get privilege of learning more about their professions, as well, but as a journalist, I have historically posted links to my work quite often, and I know my reach did a great deal for the publications I was working for. Win/win/win

Now I'm blogging again, which corresponds with a more writerly time in my life. I'm not siphoning writing energy into assignments, anymore, so I end up updating my blogs (just like I did before I started freelancing all the time). Blogs as a social vehicle are definitely declining in use, but we get to post our greatest hits on FB and twitter, and that feels like a better use of time, to me.

I don't read twitter--it's too frustrating. I do use it as a way to communicate with new folks. They may end up a FB contact if we click, but if not, it's no loss. I am so choosy about who I friend on FB, but I don't have to be with twitter. I do have twitter-obsessed friends, and it's interesting to me to see who responds to me on twitter vs FB, when I post exactly the same status. I like to know where to find someone. ;)