16: On blogging

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Is there a better time to write about the state of the blogosphere than during National Blog Posting Month? I don’t think so. Especially when so many people claim that blogging is dead and that people have moved on to other social media platforms.

Well, I checked and discovered last weekend that I am (still) subscribed to 400+ blogs on Feedly.

I KNOW.

That seems like an obsessively high number, doesn’t it? (And really, who has time to keep up with that many blogs? Not me… but here I am!)
I do know that I need to seriously clean out my reader. Because I do tend to “dismiss” a lot of posts, I should just be honest with myself and admit that not all the blogs that I added over time have lived up to my expectations, and that is totally ok.

But, the eye opening point for me was that yes, I still do love blogging and I still do love reading blogs and connecting with like-minded people because how did all these blogs end up in my reader otherwise? Especially, when people are claiming that blogging is dead and nobody writes or reads blogs anymore. Well, that is apparently not true. The proof is in the pudding.

However, I did notice a decline in comments on my blog for quite some time now and while I don’t really live ‘for the numbers’, it makes me a little sad to think of many people that used to blog themselves and who used to stop by but now have completely fallen off the face of the earth blogosphere. Have you noticed that, too?

Personally, I have been blogging for over 10 years now (what?) and I can attest to the fact that blogging has changed and evolved over the last decade. It’s not what it used to be, but it’s still my favorite thing on a Saturday morning to sit down with a cup of coffee and catch up on blogs, and read about people’s lives. I think a lot of my energy for reading has shifted from books to blogs (ok, ok, I am also still reading books – don’t worry) and I can’t imagine it not being part of my life.

I don’t know how you feel. I love Instagram as much as the next person. I would say it’s easily my favorite social media platform, but I think it is kind of sad that blogging and commenting on blogs has gone down so much and shifted to shorter Instagram-posts. I mean, I get it. It’s less time consuming to scroll through your Instagram feed and then occasionally leave a comment or a “like”. But for me it’s a different way to connect (if that makes sense).

Twitter is the platform for quick interactions, a sort of question-and-answer kinda game. However, there is also a lot of “over-sharing” going on and on most days, I have a hard time keeping up with it all.

Facebook has become a micro-blogging platform with people just unloading their immediate thoughts in a quickly typed-up status update. Sure, that’s fun, too and I enjoy the interactions and groups that I am part of.

I get it. All these social media platforms have their place and purpose (and everybody chooses how to engage in them), but in honesty, they don’t replace a blog. A blog is where I can go and really get to know someone if I want to invest the time.

For me, blogging is not dead. Yes, it has changed a bit over the years. More people do it and aspire to get some kind of Internet fame out of it, but in the end it’s just a way to connect with like-minded people and I am generally of the assumption that you get out what you are willing to put in.

I don’t know, I read a lot that the people who still love blogging (and obviously like getting comments!), do it more with the idea in mind that they write for other people, but don’t want to feel like they have to go and read/comment back on other people’s blogs. Uhm, but you realize that this is how this whole blogging thing works, right?

Unless you (already) have a huge following and a business-like approach to your blog (I understand that you can’t read and comment on the blogs of your 1000+ subscribers), don’t you want that personal connection to your readers?

If my words don’t connect me to you, that’s fine. It doesn’t always happen. But I want this to be a community, a give and take. I hope you do know that I appreciate every single one of you who comes here to read and even sometimes leave comments. I do my best to reply back and to come and read about your life, too, if you have a blog.

I am not aspiring to make money from my blog, nor do I try to write for the masses. I write about what I want to write about, because writing has always been part of me and I want to continue doing it. But my words on my own terms, not influenced by trends or how many “likes” I can get.

Who’s with me?

  1. My readership and # of comments have definitely declined over the years and there are many people whose blogs I used to love reading that no longer comment. I definitely agree about reciprocating comments. I’m of the mindset that if you don’t comment on my blog (at least occasionally) then I do not need to feel pressured to comment on yours. It seems like a quid pro quo type of arrangement because reading and commenting on blogs is time consuming! But, of course, it is something I enjoy!

    Blogging has changed a bit for me as I’ve become busier over the years so am no longer really forging friendships with new people. I’m making acquaintances but not new relationships that will translate into IRL friendships most likely because I can’t even see the friends I already have so I can’t add more to the mix. But I still love blogging and reading the thoughts of other bloggers, like you!

    1. I totally understand that at some point you “hit a limit” in how many relationships you can keep up with… unfortunately, I wish I had more IRL relationships from my blog and the opportunity to see people more often.

  2. I am sill here, I still love to read your blog and I most likely always will ’cause I love your style, your thoughts, your topics.
    However, I don’t go by the numbers of comments when it comes to my blog. Personally I believe that is because it’s more a diary and my way to keep family and friends in the loop. Not a lot of “strangers” might find that in anyway interesting and that’s ok with me.

    1. I definitely used to blog more “diary style” when I started and I have tried to find a “hybrid” middle-ground now, talking about my day to day life, but also just writing down thoughts here and there :) I am definitely glad you’re reading and I do enjoy reading your blog as well!

  3. I am still here and even though I’m not posting as much as I would like to be, I find the space to be an important outlet for me. So even if I only blog a few times a month and only a few people read it, I’ll probably keep doing it for awhile. I was also super late to the blog world, so still feeling like I’m playing catch up! I appreciate your writing and perspective, especially because we have similar tastes and interests. I look to bloggers like yourself and others not just to read about what’s going on in their lives, but also because I feel reading about other personal experiences helps me to better my life or understand my self better too!

    1. I feel the same way – my blog is an important outlet, regardless of how many times I actually manage to blog. Sometimes it’s more often than other times…. but I definitely hear you about the connection that I feel to other bloggers and to read about their experiences and thoughts.

  4. I agree that bite sized social media has their place but I too prefer blogging since you get a better idea of the blogger and the story they are telling. I love reading about real people in their own words and I’ve definitely been influenced by things I’ve read. I sometimes struggle with post ideas though and I think it’s really cool that you are currently writing every day.

    1. Thank you. I appreciate your kind words. I don’t think I could keep up blogging every day for the rest of the year, but during the month of November, it’s a nice, intentional challenge ;)

  5. I’m one of those people who often say that blogging is dead but with that I mean it has become so impersonal and more like business promotion, advertising or “look at me and my clothes”, rather than blogging. People seem to do it mostly for money. When you say you get up on Saturday morning to have coffee and read about people’s lives.. I wonder where do you find those blogs? I think it’s almost impossible to find blogs about people’s lives these days. I have ONE such blog left on my list.

    I also agree about comments… Comments is one big reason why I continued blogging (from the beginning I never believed blogging would be something social), and I definitely don’t understand people who don’t care to respond to comments. Blogging must be so boring when there’s no connection?

    1. I hope you can find some new blogs to read in my comment section :) I have some really lovely readers who would probably love for you to stop by… I definitely always peruse the comment sections on other blogs to find new blogs to read!! There are still people out there, who don’t want to make money with their blog and want that personal connection! Thanks for chiming in and stopping by here today! :)

      1. I did check out some of your commenters! And people in your blogroll too.. There is hope maybe.

  6. While I’ve never had a blog, I’ve been a fan of blogs since 2002. Blogs for me allowed an escape – to be a spectator of someone else’s life when my own life wasn’t falling into place. Most of the blogs from the early days are now gone but thankfully I have since discovered personal finance blogs which have also opened me up to lifestyle blogs. In the age of Facebook, 140-character tweets, and Instagram, blogs are still my favorite form of social media. Maybe I’m “old-school” but to me, all the other forms are just superficial.

    1. I think it’s cool that you love blogs – old-school or not ;) – and I encourage you to start your own :)

  7. Presently I have 644 feeds in my feed reader. I went through and did a big clean out a few weeks back. I also am no longer subscribing to partial feed blogs at all, because I find that quite frustrating. I am a very fast reader, and that amount of blogs still does not provide me with enough content to spend the time reading I would most enjoy with my morning and afternoon coffee.. I am always looking for new blogs to add to my reader. Often comment sections are the place to look. :)

    As far as comments go, I try to comment on as many blogs as I can, when I can. The topic has to inspire a comment to arrive in my brain. I did have a couple of bloggers where I posted regular comments on their blog, 2-4 times a week for 6 months, and they never once left a comment on my blog, so I hit unsubscribe. I don’t love completely one way relationships like that. ;)

    I’ve been reading your blog for a year now and I do enjoy it. :) You are one of the few November 2014 adds left in my reader.

    1. Thank you for your kind comment. I feel humbled that I managed to stay in your Feed reader for over a year now :) I think I have visited your blog a few times, for some reason, I couldn’t find you in my Feed reader, but I remedied that and I am definitely willing to return the favor… because as I said: blogging should be a give and take :)
      Thanks for the reminder!

  8. I definitely think there should be a give and take. It’s hard to write and throw posts out into the void and still feel like you’re part of a community. I struggle with this. I tend to interpret a lack of comments as a disinterest in my voice which makes me question leaving comments at times. Still, you’re right, it is a give and take so I’m trying to do more interacting.

  9. Yes to this post! I completely agree with so much of what you said.

    I’m still blogging because I have no desire to quit, even if a lot of bloggers have quit and my comments continuously dwindle over the years. But I have developed some wonderful friendships from blogging (ah, if only Florida and California were closer!) and this community means the world to me.

    I love blogging and sharing a little piece of my life. I’ve been asked by people why I don’t try to make money off my blog and honestly, that was never the point for me. I don’t feel like cluttering up my sidebar with ads or doing tons of sponsored posts or putting affiliate links in with my content. No, thank you! I feel like once blogs start going down the monetize rabbit hole, their blogs start to feel a little disingenuous. Not everyone, of course, but most.

    Also, YES to bloggers who do not interact with their community. I’m not talking about popular bloggers with a huge following, but it always surprises me when smaller bloggers don’t take the time to interact. That’s part of blogging, too! The give and take is so necessary.

    Anyway, maybe someday soon I’ll write a post about my blogging journey. :) I will say that your blog is one of my favorites to read because I always feel like you have great content. :)

  10. I rarely have blog participation except from you and another friend. I used to try harder at engaging or attracting readers but always got disappointed that I’m not someone they want to read. And that’s ok. I have also stopped reading several blogs over the years as I’ve lost interest in their content. I’ve also noticed some of my favorite bloggers haven’t had entries in a long time. I still enjoy blogging but agree that the climate has changed a little over the years…

  11. I agree with you! I haven’t been blogging as much lately because that’s the stage of life I seem to be in right now but I think I’ll always be blogger, even if my posts are somewhat sporadic. I love writing and I love the community!

    I have mixed feelings on the whole monetizing of blogs thing … I understand it’s a way to make a living but a lot of the time I feel like the content just isn’t there. I am so tired of reading numbered list posts and how-to posts. They may be Pinterest friendly but ugh. I’m more interested in personal blogs, connecting with the writers, reading their stories, learning about their lives. People are more important than traffic!!!

  12. I am so on the same page! It’s so funny that we both wrote about the same thing. I have noticed a huge change as well – maybe that’s why I needed this break over the summer to find out if it was still for me. I am so glad that my blogging mojo has returned and I have so much fun reading and commenting and receiving comments in return. I don’t have as much time as I used to, but try to get my daily blog read in! I, too, love IG – it’s easy and fast and so much fun! You know I don’t blog for the numbers either – I want to be authentic, but I do love people visiting and responding to my posts!
    So glad you are still around! I miss so many of my blog friends from back when I started blogging! Hugs xxx

  13. Oh you are right on so many levels.
    First of I only blog three years and I can already see a change.
    Then 400+ blogs? Seriously?
    I am entertaining the thought of deleting my entire subscription list and start building it back up. I read about it somewhere. A person is doing it every year and so finding new blogs, rediscovering already known ones and realizing which ones to always come back too. I am not sure if I would be sooo strict. I have a “favorite” list maybe I keep that one and all others I let go. It’s a thought I carry around for a while now. We’ll see if I am brave enough to do it.

    Anyhow I decided I need to get “out” more and comment on my blogs I read otherwise blogging might seem dead. And maybe if I connect with other people they want to connect with me too, right?

    By the way, I am loving your blogging months!

    Have a great day, Tobia

  14. My readership/comments have also declined, but honestly I just don’t care. I love the fact there are those few who do comment (I can count you all on one hand) and that works fine for me! I also try my best to reply back when I can during the day (or sometimes the next day if I can’t the same day).

    I will say this, when I left facebook, I found that I started blogging again and more often (unless stuff at work got super crazy or my schedule was a bit overwhelming). I came to dislike the mini-posts on facebook and don’t usually read the long ones on Instagram (in all honesty). If I want to read that much, I’d rather it be on a blog.

  15. Wow, I absolutely had no idea that so many bloggers expect to actually connect with their readers through comments! I’ve been reading blogs for years, both “small” personal and “big” more commercial ones. I don’t use any social media and don’t comment very often either, so I guess there is zero reciprocity, but as someone who only reads blogs and doesn’t write, that is not what I am personally looking for anyway. Hmmmm…..

  16. I still keep trying to get back into blogging regularly, but I started to feel like I had nothing to say. I was struggling to write to an audience instead of whatever *I* wanted to write. Recaps of my life felt boring/forced, and anything deeper than that was mostly negative about how I don’t have my life together. Plus, keeping up with blogging AND commenting was too much. I’ve tried to get back into reading and commenting on blogs because that’s a little more passive and takes up less time than constructing my own posts.

  17. San, you took the thoughts right out of my head!

    This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while: how much blogging has changed since I started blogging back in 2008 and whether or not I want to continue blogging because of the changes. For one, I feel like there is an expectation now to blog a lot and consistently if you want people to read your blog and stick around. I just don’t have the time to blog 3 or more times a week AND comment on other peoples’ blogs! The only reason I am even leaving this comment right now is because work is slow and my boss is out of the office. The weeks I don’t have time to blog or comment on blogs, I start to feel guilty, like I’m letting others down as silly as that sounds.

    I’ve thought about trying to blog the “popular” way: 5x a week and incorporating in sponsored posts and affiliate links, but again, that’s a big time commitment that I don’t have. I’ve also thought about quitting blogging altogether and just using Instagram as my microblogging platform (I would have so much more free time for other hobbies!), but I feel like I would miss blogging too much. I don’t know what the right answer is, but I’m glad to know I’m not alone when it comes to dealing with how much blogging has changed over the years.

  18. Huhu :)
    Bei mir musste Facebook dran glauben damit ich mit den anderen Social Medias noch mithalten kann. Ich hab es sehr gern gegen das Bloglesen eingetauscht. Ich kann mir ein Leben ohne bloggen oder lesen auch nicht vorstellen. Allerdings…. 400 Blogs?!? Are you crazy?? ;-)
    Meinen eigenen Blog hab ich ja immer versucht eher klein zu halten aber natürlich freue ich mich sehr, mit dir so eine treue Leserin zu haben, die immer kommentiert. Ach wenn das antworten auf comments bei Blogger leider nicht unterstützt wird.
    Also: bitte weiter so! Ich bin immer noch froh, dass wir uns kennengelernt haben!

  19. I hope I remember all my thoughts.

    1. I’m so sorry about your loss and shaky start to 2015.
    2. Those meat balls and salad look profesh!
    3. Congrats on house!

    You had a jam packed year! Wishing you all the love and fun in 2016.

  20. oops that comment was supposed to go under your review of 2015.

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