The future of blogging
Periodically, I go through this on the blog where I ask whether or not it makes sense to keep blogging. It seems as if group blogs, for example, come and go these days. One group of critique partners or contest finalists or friends decides to start a blog. Another group reaches the end of the line and shuts down (the Wet Noodle Posse, for one).
What causes a blog to sputter to a close? Is it a lack of readers? A lack of new topics? A feeling you've trod that ground before?
I think it's probably a combination of all these. There are a lot of blogs out there calling for attention, and readers only have so much time. I know that's the case for me. Some blogs I used to follow religiously, I'm lucky if I get to once every couple of months now.
Sometimes, you feel as if you're recycling the same topics again and again.
With Facebook, Twitter, and even that old dinosaur My Space, time is fragmented. Blogging no longer has the appeal it once had. Oh, I have no intention of shutting this blog down just yet. I've long since stopped updating daily. I try to do so weekly, and I love the immediacy of being able to communicate about my releases or contests or just something on my mind and engage in a conversation with the people who comment.
So now I'm interested in what you think about blogging. Do you read as many as you used to? Do you spend more time on social media sites now? What kinds of things do you want to know when you visit author blogs? Are you interested in the author's process and posts on writing? Or do you want to know what it's like writing for a major publisher? Maybe you want to know how the author creates her stories.
Or maybe you just want to know she's human and has a crazy life just like yours. That she doesn't have breakfast in bed every morning, doesn't climb into her limo to go shopping, and doesn't jet off to fabulous locations at the drop of a hat.
What is it that brings you to this blog? If you blog, what are your feelings about the process?
