Is blogging dead?

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

 Is blogging dead? 

Google and the rest of the internet says not, it's just evolving. 

I remember when people would blog about their life, like in the old days of Instagram when people would just post up the dinner that night. Yes there were those out there wanting to and making their blog into a business but generally I loved the blogs that were just peoples updates, a recap of what they done at the weekend, their successful recipe the tried out, their trip with friends. We didn't know each other in real life but I "knew" them enough to want to know what they had done, to catch up.

I always thought the best blogs were those written as it was a letter to their friend or a diary entry. I recall my brother telling me I should start an "online" journal during one summer holiday to give myself something to do, he was clearly well ahead of his time. Although I do think that was the summer holiday I taught myself photoshop, so not all lost. 

Instagram and social media as a whole has rewired brains and our attention span is smaller, so actual blogs to read have fallen by the wayside. But I see a slow, I wouldn't say revival, but up tick in the written word again. Substack has become popular with those who want to write, it is a clever idea of having your work instantly be made into a newsletter which is emailed directly to your members? fans? listeners? 

I find everyone is out to get something. The large majority of Instagram is selling you something whether it is a physical item or the idea of something. Which leads me to something I have noticed in my hours of doom scrolling (I am trying to cut down) is that people are now telling you how to "live more authentically", how to "recover from burnout" mindfulness. Hello, pot kettle black. I am consuming your videos of you explaining how you perform mindful meditation in the morning, how you make your coffee at home a practice of pleasure, that you sit outside to read and just be. BUT I know and you know, that it has taken you numerous hours to set up the camera to film your meditation and coffee rituals, walking backwards and forwards to get it right, plus how ever many to edit your reel. This is the issue. 

Don't get me wrong, I do like Instagram and I think there are positives to it but I do think it has damaged blogging. Will we get back to those good old blogging days, I think so. Everything is a cycle and I suspect the instant life will disappear and people will get back to reading longer formatted social media.