Oh, Grow Up was the title of an article arguing that blogging is no longer what it was because it has entered the mainstream. The author highlights Jason Calacanis, the founder of Weblogs, Inc., who retired from blogging as it, 'is simply too big, too impersonal, and lacks the intimacy.' Blogging a decade ago, writers would post text updates and later photos and videos to share thoughts with a few friends and family members. Today, the article articulates that many Internet users do this, but they don't consider it blogging-they're updating profiles on Facebook, MySpace or other social networks. People have moved to a micro-blog format where they can have that feeling of raw, immediate and intimate communication that early blogs provided. Traditional blogs have moved under the ownership of conventional media organizations who can update the sites faster than any individual blogger ever could. The article recognizes that the idea of blogging as useful and versatile is certain, but how do companies who started blogs in an effort to 'reach out to the average person' speak to average people if we're not there? If we're all micro-blogging on Facebook and Twitter, how can we be drawn to a corporate blog?
In conclusion, The Economist states, "Blogging may 'die' in much the same way that personal-digital assistants (PDAs) have died. A decade ago, PDAs were the preserve of digerati who liked using electronic address books and calendars. Now they are gone, but they are also ubiquitous, as features of almost every mobile phone." Will micro-blogs adopt blogs? Will companies have to draw readers to their blogs from social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook? I think they already do.
Am I right?
1 comment:
I too saw the Wired and Economist articles about the death of blogging, but you know what? There have been articles and blog posts about the death of PR for years and just look at us. Both PR and blogging are alive and well, just evolving. Perhaps old school "smile and dial" PR is dead, and maybe the original "weblogs" of the early 2000s are also a thing of the past. But the smart PR practitioner is still looking at blogs as a way of increasing visibility, enhancing search engine rankings and most of all enabling two-way conversations and dialogue.
It's like the old expression "the queen is dead, long live the queen!" Blogging and PR aren't going anywhere, just evolving and getting better all the time.
Great post, Sarah. I was thinking of blogging about this myself, but now maybe I'll just post a link to yours!
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