Two weekends ago, I spent my Saturday and Sunday in Washington, D.C. (for the first time—yeah!) at the 7th Annual Military Blogging Conference … and an interesting subject arose during one of the panels.
Are blogs dying?
And therefore, subsequently, is the future of sustaining an online presence moving the way of social engagement on Facebook pages and Twitter feeds only?
I found this to be fascinating, because several “old school” military bloggers, who’d been around since 2004/05, mentioned they’d noticed their readership vastly deteriorating. However, some younger bloggers talked about how their Facebook engagement was growing, the conversation therefore moving away from their blog to social networks.
The Social Movement
OK, so here’s what I think: Blogs are not dying (they better not be, or else what the freak am I doing here?). Their methods of drawing website traffic are merely evolving.
Is this a bad thing? Well, that depends on YOU. How resistant are you to accepting change and implementing it? From my personal, as well as professional experience, it appears blogs are not becoming obsolete; however, it’s completely pointless to maintain one if you’re not on Facebook, or Twitter, or both.
I’ve built a readership using my blog. It’s a way for me to write and find readers. I’ve even gained a few freelance jobs through this blog (God bless it!). However, if I relied on my blog solely, would I have reached success?
Definitely not.
I relied, and still do rely, on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and other bloggers to drive traffic to my site. Without the “social platform,” my blog would not—and could not—survive.
Perhaps the bloggers at the conference had a point. Blogs, in their older forms, are dying. They are no longer the go-to hubs for conversation. Maybe it’s time to think of blogs in a different light. Let your social pages drive conversation, and let those conversations drive traffic to your blog, where visitors can delve deeper into subjects or ideas. Best of all, they can learn more about YOU.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Are you seeing less traffic to your blog? Are blogs, in their original forms, dying?
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I think you make a lot of interesting points, especially as far as social media is concerned, but I would add that you should be driving people to your social media channels through your blog as well.
Thanks Shawn! And great add. Yes, driving people to your social media sites via your blog is important, too.
Is nonfiction prose dying? I would think the answer is no. I view blogs as a continuum of personal essay writing, back to the age of Seneca and Cicero. So no, blogs aren’t dying. The way we consume prose–style, format, structure, delivery method–changes, but the existence of prose and our desire for it does not.
My blog readership continues to grow, and for that I am grateful.
Blogs seem to extend and deepen conversations that might have begun on a social media network. Each seems to feed the other, with the (hoped-for) result of more and better connections among people, more and better sharing of insights, information, and ideas. Like yours here.
I don’t think blogs are dying. Two bloggers that I follow have just reorganized and expanded their blogs because they are getting so many hits, so many comments, so many requests for info that they can’t handle it all themselves. I’ve also recently attended two Webinars by Darren Rowse (ProBlogger) with big-name bloggers and hearing about how they built their blogs and continue to get thousands of hits per day is encouraging. That said, I do think that any blogger now needs to be on Facebook and Twitter (and possibly other social media sites too). My blog readership has definitely expanded since I started doing more social media. Blogging is changing, but I don’t think it’s going away.
I’ve written for ProBlogger! Yea, Darren is a WHIZ with this stuff. Ha! Which webinars? I get pretty decent traffic, but nothing like thousands of hits per day. I’d love to learn how they pulled that off.
It sounds like it’s all in the blog strategy, and the bloggers you mentioned must have done something right!
I don’t think they are dying either. But I do think that they’ve become more successful by integrating with Facebook and Twitter. I notice myself promoting and having conversations via Facebook about my blog posts more than I ever used to when I started.
I completely agree! I do believe that Facebook and Twitter (and now maybe Pinterest) have added to blogs’ success, rather than detracted from them. I think the key is using the various social media tools correctly, to increase traffic.
I’m attached to my blog…facebook…and twitter…and my blog has increased the most with readers…But, there is always change in everything…so I can see it could happen…aways looking for something a little bit different…we just can’t be satisfied…I’m content where I am for now…so please keep reading my blogging friends and I will do the same…~mkg
Always Marilyn, always! Thanks for being such a loyal reader here.
I truly appreciate all your comments and time!
I don’t think they’re dying; I’ve definitely noticed an increase of traffic to my blog. I suppose it all depends on how much you interact with other bloggers though, no?
I think you’re right. I’ve noticed in the blogging world, you get as much as you give. A lot of commenters here have agreed with you; they’re seeing INCREASES to their blogs, not decreases.
I think as long as there are readers (and good content), blogs will continue to be relevant. I can’t imagine any other way THAN social media to drive traffic to my blog!
I’m right there with you, Melissa, on the social media! Although, ever since I wrote that post on 50 Shades of Grey, my page views have skyrocketed from the search engines. Apparently, everyone is looking for info on that book. Ha!
Shari, once again, thank you so much for all your insights and advice. I have high hit counts and low hit counts, depends on the day and what I post. Ironically, I get the most hits when I just post a photo answering to the wordpress photo challenge than my writing (maybe I should quit writing and shoot photos instead? Nah!) But holiday weekends certainly see my blog stats plummet.
I still think that blogs are a great platform for story telling and sharing of information and advice.
Hahaha! That is TOO FUNNY about your photos. Maybe your readership tends to be more visual, perhaps?
I agree. I love blogs for storytelling and sharing information and ideas. I think they are the best platform for that type of content!
I’ve been seeing a dramatic increase in traffic to my blog, and it is not primarily due to my other social networking activities. People tend to come to my blog first for the information I provide and then, secondarily, connect through FaceBook and Twitter, because they’ve gotten interested in who the author behind the blog is.
My blog reaches a particular niche — people who are interested in prayer, deepening their relationship with God, and prophetic Christianity. I think that when we provide practical information that answers people’s questions or meets a need in their lives, they will keep coming to us for more. Blogs are a great way to fill people’s needs, and if we do that, our blogs will thrive.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Lee Ann! I think you bring up an interesting point. Your posts fill a need, offer an answer, for us, as a human race. Which brings up the perspective of content. Personally, I’ll never waste my time reading a poorly written blog; my time is too valuable. But when we write something well, and profound, people will naturally be drawn, I think. Thanks again for joining in the conversation!