why we're all blogging less

Hugh, some interesting thoughts and got me thinking!
I wonder if another reason is that for many people they found that they did not get the audience and readers they thought they would get and lost the will to keep pumping out thoughts when only a handful of people actually cared what they had to say based on how few people stopped by?
Gary

VRM? Any idea how long that’s been around as both a concept and technology play?

Very true words, as always!
I was thinking of something clever to write but to busy I’m afraid 😉

Nice buddy. I like it so much. Come on keep it up 🙂

Amen @ Hugh.

Balaji, that’s a bit naughty [I usually delete off-topic comments/plugs], but what the hell…

Hugh, I fully agree. I have thought for the past two weeks of why I haven’t been feeling to write anything on my blog. I realized – I just don’t feel for it, it is really not that important and at the moment Twitter/ Facebook are better outlets for my impulses.

“It’s summer. It’s warm out, there are beaches not too far away, pleasure boats on the harbour, etc. Frankly, given a choice between sitting inside writing and sitting outside socialising, I know which one I pick.”
I continue to be fascinated at how just a year ago, everyone readily offered this as the explanation for why blogging had suddenly slowed down. I remember several bloggers I regularly read leaving a ‘See you in September’ post, in June.
But this year, it’s all because blogging itself has slowed down, and is no longer the ‘shiny new toy’. Ah well, at least it’s better than having the biannual A-Lister/Z-Lister dustup.

I know some bloggers who found their blogs became “work” once they found an audience. What started as fun, or a way to promote their offline business, became a responsibility once they had hundreds of readers expecting insightful, inspiring and interesting posts on a regular basis. One friend said “I have grown to hate my blog”, and he has not posted more than once in two months.
Plus, for some it was cool to say they had a blog, as folks did not know about blogs. Now it is common, and thus some need to move on to avoid being average.

It happens all the time with a new tool, toy, ability, superpower, whatever. For a while the focus is on the “thing” and some people learn how to use the “thing” to produce some amazing results.
After a while, the focus becomes more on results than the “thing”. Some people incorporate that “thing” as one arrow in their quiver – some continue to use just that one tool, toy or whatever. Some get bored with the whole mess and move on.
I was involved in the popularization of the coaching movement in the mid-90’s. Several of us started a professional association, credentialing, the whole bit. After a few years I noticed that many of the folks who were there at the start no longer spent most of their time (or got most of their income) from coaching – they had branched off to writing, speaking, consulting, whatever.
I think this is a familiar pattern.

You got it, Hugh. I insist that blogs written by writers are not really blogs, just a medium for writing. Writing is writing, period. As you know, I go on hiatus regularly.

My blog is still the “core” of my online identity. And I think I am engaged in a conversation as much as I ever was. However, I find that posting links (via del.icio.us/rexblog) replaces about 50% of what I once blogged about and twitter (twitter.com/rexhammock) replaces about 25% more. And since I aggregate both of those on my blog, I can post still “blog” but not “blog” — if you know what I mean. (I hope you do, because I’m not sure anyone else does.) I think if I could draw pictures on the back of business cards, that would replace another 20% of my blogging — you’ve already cornered that niche, however. 🙂

After nearly four years of blogging, I’m finding the need for allowing myself a week hiatus here, a month hiatus there to be growing all the time. There has been a good deal of #1, but definitely Twitter and del.icio.us have taken some of the old content.
Also the part where having a personal life started getting in the way of writing a personal blog, which Accidentally Jewish is. That said, this weekend I started two more blogs for smaller, more focused discussions after getting asked this week, “Why don’t you ever blog about that?”
*shrug*
and, you know, it’s August.

My personal reasoning is thus:
I used to blog more and read more blogs back in law school (2004-2005). I had “free” time then. Most of the blogs I read were written by fellow law students.
We all graduated (presumably) and got jobs (again, presumably) and now do not have nearly as much “free” time (thrice, presumably) and/or interest in maintaining a blog.
Mine used to actually have “content”. Nowadays it’s reduced to intermittent updates about my personal life. I might say I only maintain it because I’m a narcissistic asshole but I still hold out hope for more substantive content. *shrug* Plus it’s still fun for me.

Hugh,
I think less blogging is happening for many of the reasons you mentioned.
As well as noting the relentless competition when other people state that they just got 100,000 hits in 7 days and I just counted 20 on all of my sites! That alone makes me feel like a failure!
Blogging is not new anymore, but it is still a good way to reach out and market yourself and just connect…with any quantity of audience. Hell, at least someone is listening.
Bloggings present state may be analogous to a marriage where you have to work at it as opposed to the one night stand of twitter, or other 2.0 tricks (so to speak).
Also, realize that people who have been blogging are ‘ahead of the curve.’ You are essentially very high tech and connected on many other fronts.
You have been doing it for years and now it is ‘mainstream.’
Therefore, pro-bloggers are on to the next faster, sweeter ‘hit’whatever that may be.
Adrienne

“Believe it or not, some of us have better things to do than to be continually justifying ourselves to a crowd of passive-aggressive, self-loathing, loser fucktards.”
If it’s all right with you, I’m just going to quote this (with attribution, of course!) the next time the opportunity presents itself in my comment threads. Could be a while — or, given the nature of things, could be tomorrow . . .

Velveteen Rabbit.
How we do anything is how we do everything.
We change the channel.
We punch a different button.
We trade in the old.
We quit.

Great post. I think there’s another element in play here. In my opinion, even if this is the 10th anniversary of “blogging” it is still extremely new for most people. Its not like you, or me, or Scoble or *most* bloggers were writing 800-2000 words or more PER DAY before the platforms came to be.
I firmly believe we are at the apex of blogging popularity, and many “established brands” of blogging will decrease the quantity of writing they do, if not stop altogether. If you look at this in an abstract, it seems highly unlikely and highly improbable that a few million people truly have an aching need to write this much…

Thanks for this post. You’re helping me put words to the pink elephant that’s been in my blogging room lately. 😉
Ah, August. And it’s been such an August-y August for me. I’d like to think that this is what is causing my blogging mojo to float away, but for me (and perhaps others), it’s more likely that:
1. Just as what is “cool” continues to change, so will everything that human beings find interesting continue to change. It’s not that we are fickle, it’s that this is how things are. We and the world are in constant flux — life is constant change, big and small. Go with the flow.
2. With that being said, I’m keeping my blog even though I haven’t been posting much lately. Everyone’s points about the conversation continuing to morph is right on. Blogging is a vital part of my conversations. It’s the only way I can keep in touch with some people, too. I’m not closing this door, though I am supplementing it with Twitter, now Facebook (who knows what is next).
3. We’re not robots (yet?), we’re human. This is good. Who can keep up massive post outbursts for years? Burn-out is real.
When cooler weather visits in a month or so, I still think I might start blogging more again. We’ll see.
P.S. Looking forward to your mysterious September announcement…

Just never stop creating cartoons.

I kinda saw this coming last year, but it’s been getting more and more real lately. I’ve got at least six “active” blogs but rarely get to focus on more than one at a time. That suits me okay, because I like to switch the focus now and then. Whatever’s hot at the moment gets my attention.
But this summer has been off the hook. I’m swamped with sales, clients, media requests, personal conversations and projects in development. It’s a funny dichotomy… the more I have to blog about, the less time there is to do it.
Personally, I miss blogging more. I actually enjoy it. Twitter’s okay, but doesn’t seem (yet) to generate the kind of benefits that blogging has. Facebook leaves me cold because it’s too much of a pain to add people, etc. Most of my time online seems to be about email now… because that’s the best way to close the deal usually (for me).

There’s something about the rush of chasing a topic that’s being widely discussed that gives you an adrenaline boost. But after 200 adrenaline boosts, the jolt isn’t as noticeable. Either you get past the adrenaline phase, or you look for a bigger jolt elsewhere.
I still love the focus, structure and interaction of blogging. Some days, though, it feels way too much like work….

7. Plain old fatigue. It can get tiring, being expected to have an opinion on every little thing. People need a break now and then.