When FB & Twitter’s “social networking” craze began to boom, I thought they would be a wonderful addition to the wonderful world of blogging. Initially, there was a nice enhancement effect. The tid bits of the day which were cute or funny, but not being hearty enough to dedicate to an entire post, were shared. A few of us made a playful game of posting hints on our FB status or Twitter updates as tasty little bread crumbs enticing our readers to come looking for the rest of the story.
But somewhere along the way, everything changed, and a number of my favorite bloggers got lost. It could be just me, but it seems that people just aren’t blogging anymore.
Have we really been reduced to 140 characters or less? Don’t we have more to say than that?
I know that our lives are busy but, for me anyway, writing is an invaluable part of my life. In addition to the bond I have created with many of you, blogging helps me to carve out some “me time” and look inside for perspective. In a way, it’s like social networking with me, myself, and I.
What shows up here (or in the pages of my private journal) may only touch all which I have reflected on. It is the process that is invaluable. Moreover, when I look back in time through older entries, the unwritten comes rushing back.
One final note: I find it interesting that many of my most pointless posts to FB generate an excess of comments while the most thought out blog post gets none. Today, just for fun, I posted a nonsensical stream of random letters to FB. Within minutes, I had 4 comments. It has a way of validating a simpleton approach to life. I’m just saying.
Anyway…it’s a matter of opinion. Mine and mine alone. What’s yours?
For those of you still blogging (or reading at least), I welcome your thoughts. What value do you give blogging? Do you think social networking has had an impact on blogging? If yes, how? If no, why not?
I finally made it to your blog!
To me the difference between FB/Twitter and blogging is a question of discipline and commitment. There’s also a bit of narcissism involved in putting in your “2 cents” (she says as she writes a comment!)– and it’s so much easier to do this in 140 characters or less than in thoughtfully crafted sentences with an overarching theme. It’s the difference between small talk and a good dinner conversation with a friend.
It’s true -I’ve become a simpleton. Somehow I lost all my energy for writing about my life although if I did post the stuff I think about posting it would probably be interesting. More interesting than just talking about my training. It’s so hard to keep up with 300 ‘friends’ and have time to write, though. Perhaps I should, once again, realign my priorities.
Truth is I never liked Twitter and I don’t comment or post that much on FaceCrack any more.
First, I read and love your blog-but sometimes your posts are deep and thought-provoking, requiring more thought on my part than just a quick comment I can post. On FB comments are brief and if the event is positive, a simple button can be clicked to let others know I’m happy for them. :) I haven’t been facebooking, or blogging much. This teaching job has swamped me and I hadn’t found a way to fit time in for both, or the mental motivation. I will get back to both during the summer. :) I still blog and read blogs when I can. :) Glad you do, too!! :)
FB is for happy things. You can’t rant on FB without someone getting their undies in a bunch. Its the place where you put happy little superficial thoughts that popped into your head. “I just love my new slippers, they are so soft!”
Twitter is for mindless updates on daily life. Things that we do all the time but never had a medium before to broadcast them to the entire world. “I just opened the fridge for some milk.”
Blogging is for telling story. Its your journal. Good or bad. Happy or sad. Its for talking about your life, your thoughts, your plans, your everything. Comments are just icing.
Well keep writing… (FB length response to a very thoughtful post).
Yes, I agree. I still read, but seldom comment. I read once, a long time ago, before fb even, that blogs had a natural lifecycle – start up, very intense for a while, then a slow fade to nothingness. I could see that happening with some before, and with lots now. I think part of it is that fb is timesaving – it takes time to read multiple posts, or long posts, where the quick fb update lets me know what’s going on. I can be on and off in 10-15 minutes or less. That’s kind of nice. I still check in on all the old bloggers though!
I started to notice the decline in blogging a couple of years ago, just as FB and Twitter were ramping up.
I agree with Michelle that combined, all the social media can be very time-consuming and that also accounts for the reduced blogging. Good blogging takes thought, while I’m not so sure about the other applications and platforms (which you confirmed with your Twitter experiment). I miss some of the ol’ bloggers, but I get that there’s just so much time in a day or week.
Or,…I meant your FB experiment. That’s another hazard of this “social life” – plenty of studies now confirm we have access to much more information but can no longer digest it in decent chunks.
Commenting is weird…I am always moved by what you share, Juls, sometimes because you write such evocative entries that I can’t help but feel an emotional connection, sometimes because an entry is so *you* it just makes smile, happy to know you. But, I find myself unable to comment (I read everything you write!) because I feel like it’s weird to comment *every time* you write, like I’m a stalker or something, and so many times the comment comes out as “me too! me too!” or just lame-sounding, or whatever. Yet, I’ve been keeping an online journal since 2004. My running blog got a couple dozen comments most every single entry. Now, there are very few comments. But it’s funny because I feel the *exact same way* writing in both of them… whether or not there are comments. If there’s a difference, it’s how hard I try not to swear in my new blog. Ahem. It’s an interesting exercise in self-expression, trying to find just the right replacement for a curse. LOL Still, comments are funny and helpful and so often sweet, and I do like knowing that there’s a connection between me and the people who read what I write. Even when there are just a few people reading it.
Okay. Huh. Sorry about this obnoxious comment. *blush* I like reading facebook updates (I hardly ever post anything there, though, and I always feel bad because I don’t actually know how to use it and every once in a while I’ll find a dozen messages in my inbox. Whoops.) and I have the most least-used twitter account on the planet, I’m pretty sure. Every time somebody follows me, I block them, because I never post there, and it’s always some creepy porn spam or something.
I don’t know. You must have rattled my cage with this one! Sorry. :)
I’m still partial to blogging, though I love the convenience of facebook for keeping up on my non blogging friends. I’ve made a lot of friends through blogging, and I’ve been able to catch up with lots of old friends who don’t blog through facebook.
I guess for me, they are two very separate venues.
Blogs often tell of a specific journey, one of running, gardening, life, etc. While facebook tells what your friends are having for dinner, it’s a fast way to communicate with a group of people on a short topic, and often those people are alerted to your short topic by phone app or a status update.
I still read and enjoy my blogs, yes I agree some seem to be petering out, but I also agree with the commenter who says some of the blogs just have lifecycles. Especially specific blogs..if a runner becomes injured or whatnot sometimes there running blog ceases to interest them.
:)
People are definitely blogging less… or not at all…