Two and half years ago my blog sputtered at around 30 hits day. Now I get about daily 600-1,200 hits, but if Wired writer Paul Boutin is to be believed in his recent article "Kill Your Blog," the blog is on its way out. It was a great way to publish back in 2004, he writes, but today corporate blogs have taken over and personal bloggers are most likely to get drowned out or, just as bad, receive comments from hecklers and other malcontents.
For greater exposure, Boutin, who is also a writer for the Silicon Valley gossip site Valleywag, recommends Flickr, Facebook, or Twitter.
I already have a Facebook account. I should see if I can put my Herculodge content into it. I'm also curious about Flickr and Twitter. But I'd still keep the blog going even it it proved less effective than one of these venues.
Why would you want to put your writing behind a "walled garden" such as Facebook, where people are required to sign up, just to "connect"?
Facebook and other social media are at the stage were AOL was many years ago (when it was synonymous with the "Internet" for many users). They will disappear in their current form in years to come.
I like this blog because it's a small community and we all respect each other. If I want more tech talk or a larger audience, I'd look at dxer.ca or the various Yahoo Groups at this point.
Posted by: Paul | October 18, 2008 at 06:29 PM
While I think MySpace and Facebook are here to stay, I don't think they replace blogs. I follow many blogs each day. Some of them, such as engadget.com, are larger than I personally like to leave comments on. Most of the blogs I follow are smaller.
I agree with Paul that using Facebook and the ones like it are a bit of walled gardens. I would've never found your blog if it had been a Facebook account.
Posted by: Brian (Scooby214) | October 18, 2008 at 06:40 PM
Fair points. A blog fulfills a niche, perhaps a topic the Wired writer failed to address.
Posted by: jeffrey McMahon | October 18, 2008 at 06:46 PM
Keeps all the narcissists scribbling in notepads out of the coffee shops.
Posted by: Ed | October 19, 2008 at 07:46 AM
I try to keep my narcissism to myself if at all possible.
Posted by: jeffrey McMahon | October 19, 2008 at 10:22 AM
I would argue that Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter are only useful forums for people who:
* have very little to say
* only wish to communicate with their friends
* are only publishing observations and achievements, which contain no knowledge for their readers
Posted by: weatherall | October 19, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Yeah, I looked into them yesterday briefly and had no interest.
Posted by: jeffrey McMahon | October 19, 2008 at 12:11 PM
A nice thing about most blogs is that I can read them via RSS reader on my cell phone. I can catch up on my blog reading anytime I have a few minutes.
Posted by: Brian (Scooby214) | October 19, 2008 at 03:06 PM
Man, you're high-tech. I need to catch up with the new Century.
Posted by: jeffrey McMahon | October 19, 2008 at 03:41 PM
Twitter is for extremely short posts. Such as... "I'm going to go play soccer at location x." No long-winded diatribe about team equality, the proper foot technique on long passes, nothing. Flickr USED to be just about photos, but it now includes video. If they start having actual blog content, by which I mean prose/poetry, I'm removing all my content from there and will stop paying for the service. That said, I sold my first five photos because people had found them on Flickr and wanted them for whatever purposes.
Posted by: Jesse Menn | October 20, 2008 at 01:12 AM
I bloviate too much for short posts. I keep the blog.
Posted by: jeffrey McMahon | October 20, 2008 at 08:40 AM
I'm from the government, and I'm here to help :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/21/AR2009062101107.html
Posted by: Mike W | June 23, 2009 at 07:41 PM
Mike, I shouldn't be shocked that some bloggers are shills for companies.
Posted by: Jeffrey McMahon | June 23, 2009 at 07:47 PM