In the early-mid 00s it seemed to really take off, and there was a lot of real energy and fascination. It seemed like discourse and criticism had shifted to that whole arena, voices were emerging, etc.
Then in the late 00s it suddenly just dried out. Like it seemed like everyone burned out or ran out of things to say, but also that the wider audience migrated more to twitter and to youtube etc. Now it's more youtube personalities and twitter comments.
Did twitter, youtube, and social media kill blogging?
Brandon Martin
Money killed blogging. People stopped writing what they wanted and started writing what would get views and clicks.
/thread
Xavier Flores
facebook killed blogging. No one wants to read a blog anymore, they want to scroll a newsfeed and watch funny videos.
Cooper Clark
twitter
just fucking blurt out whatever and get it out of your system
Henry Sullivan
>Did twitter, youtube, and social media kill blogging?
Yes
No one wants to read anymore, videos are the superior form of media. Easier to digest, easier to transfer your ideas to the masses.
Wyatt Wilson
Nobody reads blogs because YouTube is more accessible and lower effort.
Christopher Russell
Hm. Good point.
There's a real exhaustion that comes with it too. From this awareness you get suddenly to constantly have this stream of content coming out regularly. And how many things can a person really say after 5 or so years, at that pace?
Jeremiah Roberts
That aspect of it is kind of like when Mtv happened.
The only remnant of blogging still in existence are youtube personalities, but in that case then things like charisma and it-factor come into play. A person can't just anonymously write up their interesting thoughts, suddenly they have to perform or be beautiful or likable or entertaining.
Charles Ortiz
The phenomenon of blogging was not going to last forever. 10-15 years, max.
Amid the rainforest of hipster photography/poetry/fashion/lifehack blogs that all recirculated the same content, some users did actually put work into curating a passion: OC art, records, homesteading, travel journals, early social media hooliganism, etc. Once the social cred of being a blogger evaporated, so did their work.
Anthony Howard
Yeah. I feel somewhat bad for people for whom it was their ideal platform, and everything that 'made' them. It was particularly suited for a type of bookish autodidact, who maybe was too peculiar for another writing or journalistic format.
I mean, if one were a successful critic or writer already outside it, then that's okay (although things are pretty bad for critics and journalists these days too). But otherwise, bloggers are usually just commentators or curators, not often creators. Even on youtube, it's mostly just reacting to stuff. But on youtube, at least, there's the added dimension of entertainment and charisma, which is kind of a thing itself to work from, and most of the appeal. Bloggers weren't the types (physically) built for success in front of the camera. And if they otherwise weren't, y'know, actual talented artists or creators (and 'critics' never are), then what else do they have? Commentary has shifted to social media, to twitter, etc.
Charles Morris
>voices were emerging lmfao people are nostalgic for fucking bloggers now
Wyatt Gutierrez
(OP here)
Haha, I'm not nostalgic for it at all, but there really were little communities and minor celebrities emerging in it, and some real life there. And then it just petered out.
They were all cunts, though, desu. No nostalgia here!
Joshua Bennett
Nowadays people prefer things like Twitter because retweets and favorites offer instant gratification.
Ryder Myers
Totally. I think a big part of it for a lot of people is the dopamine reward of getting retweets etc. and how this builds or at least maintains their confidence. It's a very vulnerable position for them, with their fragile egos, to give of themselves, especially something they really might have invested thought or something personal into, only to be met with silence. And long-form writing, especially that's not directly plugged into a hyperconnected, highly-watched feed, is by nature not going to deliver that immediate gratification. Blogging wasn't designed for the new feed-oriented social media paradigm, it emerged right before that established itself, and therefore didn't manage to survive in that new landscape.
I think actually that the instant gratification thing is why a certain kind of bite-size virtue signaling political 'commentary' has really spread on twitter. It's tailor-made for provoking approval and assurance from others. Which is why it makes my skin crawl so much. There's no real "virtue" in that at all.
Nolan Richardson
I wonder how many characters from the blogger days will commit suicide. One somewhat prominent one (prominent back then) already recently did. Seems only a matter of time for the rest. :/
Nathan Morales
Blogs are harder to control than social media. Social media keeps people stupid and complacent.
Caleb Jones
underrated post
Evan Hall
>interesting thoughts you meant there were no meme culture?
Ian Green
Twitter is blogging
Easton Walker
blogging was fucking lame
Luis Collins
not enough attention
James Jenkins
Blogs aren't dead you retards - they've just evolved crossplatform tools where a blogger is active on twitter / facebook / youtube / with a professional homepage due to tools like squarespace etc..
