Is Blogging Really, Truly Dead?
I've been giving this question some deep thought. Some might say this is a dangerous thing. I'm not planning on giving up writing on my website anytime soon but I am seeing an awful lot of articles wielding a heavy death knell over blogging.
From what I can work out, the problem has originated with Google. Ah yes. Google. As of March 2024, Google has deindexed many websites from its search results, websites the company felt were unhelpful, poorly written and used dodgy SEO optimisation tactics, whether AI or humanly written.
Sounds good, right?
The problem is many, many websites and blogs run by small companies were hit and saw their traffic drop for no apparent reason. Successful bloggers have seen their subscribers, views and income diminish significantly in this brave new world.
Video, video, video
We saw this with Instagram back in 2022 (or was it 2021?) when to compete with TikTok and YouTube, Instagram changed its algorithm to prioritise video content through its Reels feature.
Instagram, in its wisdom, was now an entertainment platform.
Many photographers who used Instagram to market and sell their work saw their views take a severe beating and their incomes drop through the floor. In my small way, I saw my views and likes plummet on every picture I posted as the rise of video content took over.
Instagram isn't fun anymore. I'm not sure it has been for a long time.
The Olden Days
A little personal history — don't worry it's not that personal — I worked in web design way back in the day, the day being in 1998. My daughters call this 'the olden days'. I taught myself how to build websites by writing HTML and making graphics, jpgs and gifs, using earlier versions of Photoshop and Illustrator.
My husband and I, being creative types, saw an opportunity to make websites for ourselves where we could showcase our creative work. For my husband, this included his comedy writing and design skills, for me, my freelance web design portfolio and photography. When I updated my website, which happened periodically, I would send an email to everyone on my contact list, friends, family and the people I had worked with.
Occasionally I would get a reply but I didn't put too much thought to it. We both had a visitor counter on our websites counting each visit. And that was it — no likes, no comments.
Simply — here's what I've done recently. Just thought I would show you.
Since that time I have had a website of some description. I've always liked to share my photography — I think most creative people want to share their work. From sharing and a lot of hard graft, might come paid work, perhaps an income of sorts. For myself, maintaining a website gave me some focus and a purpose when my daughters were young and I felt lost in the mire of young parenthood.
Now I post my writing too, on my blog and on Medium which I'm told is a good place for a writer to be, to gather, to comment and to make friends — like the olden days. Although I'm not sure it is. I find my feed is often populated with wild claims. There was a post just yesterday shouting in its headline 'How I Doubled My Email List in 5 Weeks'. The internet is a very different place than it was in the olden days.
So. Where was I?
Is blogging really, truly dead?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
It depends, as with all things, on what you want it to be.
Let's ask perplexity.ai:
"No, blogging is not dead in 2024. The data shows that blogging is still very much alive and thriving, despite claims to the contrary."
According to perplexity’s *sources, top-earning blogs are in finance ($11,292 average monthly income), marketing ($8,141), lifestyle/mommy ($5,174), and travel. I can't be sure if this is in the US or across the global population. However. Let’s continue.
"The key to blogging success in 2024 is producing high-quality, in-depth, niche-focused content optimized for SEO. Tactics like clickbait headlines, thin content, and lack of video/audio are becoming obsolete."
Well, I don't know about you but I don't write about finance or marketing or a particular type of lifestyle. I have written one post for Mother’s Day and another about parenting A Life’s Work. I try to make my content as good as I can make it and avoid clickbait headlines. But I rarely use video and audio. Which begs the question: Am I becoming obsolete?
I think the internet needs a more outside viewpoint, a rebel view if you will. If you're anything like me and enjoy sharing your poetry or photography or illustrations or sewing patterns or skateboarding journey or learning to play the piano, then I say, get to it and let us all know about it. Share those journeys. You probably won't make any money, you may find you're writing into a void. Does that matter?
In the olden days, no one knew if you played the piano unless you told them. Or knew you knitted until you showed up to meet your friend dressed in a beautifully fitting piece made with your own hands. But you did it anyway because of the sheer joy of it. And maybe this is what our online world needs now — sharing your creative work for the sheer joy of it.
Go on. I will if you will.
*
https://www.wpbeginner.com/opinion/is-blogging-dead/
