Since the beginning of the year I have noticed a marked decrease in the number of entries on many of the personal blogs I read, my blog here included. I have spoken about this before and I still attribute this shift to the rise of social media, namely Facebook and Twitter and the like. I’ve wondered if our increasing expectations of immediacy and short blasts of information in life are fueled by the instantaneous nature of social media or vice-versa. Whatever the reason, I’m sure they are here to stay for a while.
Another contributing factor to the decline in personal blogs is the shuttering of Google Reader a while back. Google Reader was an excellent aggregator of RSS feeds, or blog data, and when Google shut down the application they did a real (purposeful) disservice to the blogging community. Google Reader was thorough in its capabilities. I have tried other services, Feedly and a couple of others, but I reinstalled my own copy of Tiny Tiny RSS, a Google Reader-like aggregator that runs on one’s own web server space.
When I was looking for a solution to replace Google Reader I found Feedly too cumbersome with its way of organizing incoming feeds; Tiny Tiny RSS fits the void left by Google Reader quite well.
I don’t know who still reads me blog but by whatever method you have arrived, I’m appreciative of the fact that you read my ramblings. Though I routinely contemplate the closing down of this blog, in the long run I feel that I still have much more than 140 characters to say.
So I guess I’ll just keep on doing what I’m doing.
I know just what you mean. Oddly I was thinking very similar just last week. But I think that having a blog is a useful and cathartic thing which a tweet or Facebook or Google plus post just cannot replace. I’m glad you’re staying and I think it’s a welcome reminder that actually it’s good to write.
Now, I wonder what I shall blog about this week..?
I find that I can readily come up with topics after writing in my blog for a couple of days in a row. It’s a matter of sticking to the blogging and settling into a routine. Like you, I find blogging to be cathartic, though I do worry that some might find me to be quite a mess with the way my head goes around in 10 directions at once. But to represent myself differently would not be an honest representation of who I am, so I go the honesty route. I enjoy your blog very much and I hope you keep at it as well!
I have noticed the same thing. Some might say that blogs are dead. But those of us who have been around for 10 or more years now are diehards. We will keep blogging if for nothing else then to record for history sake.
I was very upset that Google Reader shut down. I now use Feedly and have gotten past the parts I don’t like. I’ve made it work for me. I do read your blog through the reader but sometimes (like now) go directly to your blog. I still read and still enjoy!
Hey Paul,
Thank you so much for stopping by the site. I agree with one of your purposes of blogging: “to record for history sake.” I hadn’t thought about this in a long while before you brought it up, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve gone back to the blog during a discussion with Earl about a past event and refreshed my memory of what actually transpired. This is yet another incentive for me to keep blogging.
I look forward to catching up on your blog!
I don’t usually read blogs on a regular basis, but I do read yours and seeing a notification in my inbox that there’s a new post from you always makes me smile. Thank you and please keep on going. 🙂
Hello there,
I’m happy I can make you smile. Your feedback just made me smile. Smiles are good. Let’s keep smiling.
I know I have been a little lax in posting more than Fluff pieces for the last month. I promise to get back to it, I do have some things to blog about, my mind just won’t let me. I do read your posts every time there is a new one.
I enjoy your blog no matter what it contains. I’m happy that you read mine, thank you for that. I believe that blogging doesn’t have to be serious all the time and quite frankly, I seem to be quite good at writing fluff pieces myself.
I read you via Feedly.
I had a really hard time wrapping my head around the Feedly interface and it seemed uneven in the way it retrieved blog entries. I couldn’t find a way to sort them by publish date.
I’m what I call a lurker. I enjoy reading your blog, but rarely comment.
Lurking is perfectly acceptable in these parts. I’m happy you’re stopping by!