The beginning of the end for blogging?
Blogs, or Web logs, are all the rage in some quarters. We’re told that blogs will evolve into a unique source of information and are sure to become the future of journalism. Well, hardly. Two things are happening to prevent such a future: The first is wholesale abandonment of blog sites, and the second is the casual co-opting of the blog universe by Big Media… According to the survey of bloggers, over half of them are not updating any more. And more than 25 percent of all new blogs are what the researchers call “one-day wonders.” Meanwhile, the abandonment rate appears to be eating into well-established blogs: Over 132,000 blogs are abandoned after a year of constant updating… Perseus thinks that most blogs have an audience of about 12 readers. Leaflets posted on the corkboard at Albertsons attract a larger readership than many blogs. Some people must feel the futility.
It’s too soon to write the obituary for blogs. I do think they’ll eventually pass on, but surprisingly, I’m optimistic that they’ll be replaced by something even better. For now, I’ll just enjoy and not worry about the trends.
