This blog is not unique. There are plenty of self interested pseudo writers on the internet who obsess about their kids, their interests, and their neurotic pets. But not as many as there used to be. I have many friends who have started, and subsequently abandoned, blogs. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Carrie, Jackie, Kevin, and (gasp!) my own lovely wife, who has abandoned not one, but TWO blogs. And that’s just to name a few.
Now, this isn’t an indictment of former bloggers. Rather, I was just musing on what seems to be a decrease (at least amongst my friends) in their blogging habits. I’m thinking there is a combination of reasons:
- A simple loss of interest
- Increased concern about online privacy
- The rise of other social networking mediums on the web like MySpace and Facebook
- “Who the *@#&$*! has time to blog anymore? I’ve got kids. And a job. And a dog. And hobbies. Get a freaking LIFE you loser!”
While the other three reasons should not be discounted, I think that the third item probably carries the most weight. Why spend the time and effort to write a lengthy post about why your friends aren’t blogging when you can instead post “is wondering why his friends have stopped blogging” to your Facebook status? Which, incidentally, I have also done. The new version of Facebook even lets people give feedback directly on status updates, posted links, and photos.
So why do I cling to this (apparently) antiquated medium? Is it my tendency towards the wordy? Is it my desperate narcissism? It’s probably some combination of both. So what’s the word my former blogging friends? Has Facebook put the proverbial nail in your blog’s coffin?