My Google Reader is feeling slim. Comment counts are down. Many of my blogging friends have either officially or unofficially hung up their hats. The ones who do blog do so far less often.
Two years ago I asked if blogs have peaked, and that seems like an almost quaint question now. My blog traffic isn’t actually down significantly even though I’m posting less often. According to Blogger this blog had 204,000+ pageviews in December, which is roughly where things were in 2010. But it feels like a lot more people are coming in via search engines and going through the archives than coming by day in day out.
I know my comments platform sucks, especially the unreadable CAPTCHA (I know, I know!), but what I find interesting is that more people now comment on the Facebook posts where I post the blog than they do on the blog itself.
Where have all the bloggers gone? What do you make of this change? Is everyone on Facebook and Twitter? Is everyone consuming more than producing? Am I just not in the right places?
And if you’d like to join the community on Facebook commenting you can follow me on Facebook here.
Need help with your book? Iām available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!
For my best advice, check out my online classes, my guide to writing a novel and my guide to publishing a book.
And if you like this post: subscribe to my newsletter!
Art: The Stone Bridge by Rembrandt
My comment count has never been high, but I know a lot of the problem is that it's easier just to leave a comment on my Google+ page than it is to go through all the clicking and what not on here. Only the folks who really want to comment will do so.
As for traffic: I've never had much of it, so I haven't noticed a significant drop. But there's certainly a feeling that people either aren't reading, aren't interested in reading, or have found different ways of getting content (mega sites might have something to do with that — like io9 for genre folks).
One thing I've wanted to try is to make my blog easily accessible for people with mobiles. Hell if I know how to do that, though, without buying my own domain and hiring a web designer…
I think it just hit critical mass at some point. Everyone was running out of material to post so everyone was posting the same material. Once people started figuring that out, they got bored and moved on…from reading, and writing blogs. How many times can you get excited about the same book cover reveal, for instance? Seeing it all over just numbs me to it all.
I only blog now when I have something I really want to say. Enough people read it that it still means something to me. But I have wondered many times if it's worth it. At those times I remind myself that I just have to make sure what I say is worth saying so people will hear the message; whether they read it in a feed or click on the link because I posted it on Twitter or FB.
I live on Twitter, mostly. Best way to get to me as a writer, reader, and consumer.
~bru
I think that more people are engaging on Facebook and Twitter, rather than leaving comments on blogs. I've also found that, in order to meet my readers where they are, I am now producing two kinds of content … a longer story-based post on my blog, and a shorter photo-based version (with a quote along with a question) for my FB audience.
Nathan, I'm having same experience. I could have written your post. š I'm in the gardening blogger community. Bet they would say same. People EMAIL me comments or leave comments on FB. [Really? š ] I think they feel it's more personal than leaving a comment on the blog. More of a connection. And meanwhile folks land on my blog as they research topics. #1 most popular search is Wild Violets. Someone should start a biz based on them! Personally, the #1 reason I "don't leave a comment" on blogs are the hurdles I have to go through to do so. #captcha #justsayin
Part of that might be different habits on different platforms. People are used to posting short little replies on FB, or even just hitting "like", while on blogs I usually feel pressure to actually say something. Do you notice a difference in the type of comments you get on one platform or the other?
It's easier to leave comments on Facebook or reply or RT, Tumble, Pin, etc. I look at the hits per post and the outreach and try not to worry about lack of comments. People are still reading and sharing, just not the same as they were a couple years ago.
I update my blog more now than I ever have previously and do find traffic to my site dips on days when I don't post something new (although comparing my gross numbers to yours is something akin to comparing apples and spare tires). However, it does seem as though a fair amount of that traffic is contingent upon me posting the links somewhere else, particularly on Twitter.
I notice the same for my own blog — comment counts are down, but I get a lot of interaction on twitter and some on facebook. I think the conversational zones have just shifted — people are still reading, but the blog isn't the focus of interactions anymore, because there are better methods of communication elsewhere.
my pageviews are actually significantly higher than they were two years ago though, and I'm not anywhere close to hanging up my mythology-posting hat.
I think bloggers see how much work it takes to keep up a significant traffic, and other than a brief high when someone comments or when they look at the page views, there's little in return. People post their books on Amazon.con, and they see the sparse sales, and they get disenchanted with writing. The people who aren't committed to writing eventually drop by the wayside and move on to the next "phase" of their lives. And I don't believe people communicate all that much over Facebook, because I've seen the kinds of posts that my friends put up. It's the same kind of stuff that they used to get in e-mails that would make the rounds. Impersonal. Rarely entertaining in any true sense. I'd rather sit alone with my own thoughts and write. (OR edit, as I'm doing now.) Though,I still stop in here because you're interesting.
Facebook is more immediate, a far more efficient feed of all your friends's posts. And as said earlier, you can simply LIKE a post, feel you've participated, and continue to follow that conversation.
I will now prove I am not a robot.
I probably spend more time on twitter and Facebook than I do blogging but I still enjoy blogging and connecting with people I know through blogging. I feel like a lot of people are using Tumblr as well.
I'm not on Facebook, which I suppose is one reason why I continue to blog. I've noticed that only a few people actually read my posts, because most of them also come across my blog through search engines instead. Like you, I've noticed other bloggers disappear…except sometimes they'll show up with a couple posts after several months of being gone, and then they'll disappear again. I'm never sure whether to keep following them or not, because I don't know if they're still blogging.
Timely – just did a post this morning on my blog about Social Media for Writers. I waffle between FB, Twitter and blogging, wondering which is better for a pre-published author. After reading Kristen Lamb's 3 part series on blogging, I know that blogging is where my comfort lies. And there may not be a lot of comments, but my readership is growing (including a lot of non-writers who feel more comfortable e-mailing me their responses if they are so inclined).
FYI – I took out that captcha thing, my readers are very happy š
I love blogs because they provide more detailed information. That said, I feel like there is so much information for writers already out there. It's hard to add new advice.
As for commenting, It's certainly a lot easier on FB. Less clicks, no captcha, etc.
I barely log into my Google Reader anymore. Everyone I follow tweets links to their blog posts, so that's how I find them.
For me, I don't blog nearly as often as I used to, but that's due to me being busier than I used to be. I do wish more people left comments on blog posts in the comments section though. When they tweet them to me, the conversation stops after a day or two. Comments sections are attached to the post no matter when someone reads it, but FB statuses and tweets are rarely clicked on weeks after the initial post.
I've tried to take off the CAPTCHA but whenever I do I am positively besieged with spam. I just can't keep it off until/unless Blogger figures out better spam filtering (or makes those things easier to read)
Ah, Nathan, the difference between your mega readers and my 4 š Captcha it is!!
My blogging mojo is long gone, but I try womanfully to keep it going for I fondly imagine it's going to be a marketing tool when my book is published in a couple of months.
I used to put a lot of effort into writing quality posts, but any spare writing effort I have left after the day job I have to pour into writing novel #2.
I fear that blogs may have had their day.
I follow via google-reader and rarely click through to the actual blog unless I want to comment. And I rarely comment if there are a ton of other comments already. It feels pointless when whenever I say will get lost in the slush.
I've noticed this trend, too. Honestly I think people realized that epic amount of content wasn't quite worth the effort put into it. Blog takes a lot of serious work. People were burning out. I've noticed a lot of people moving to Tumblr, especially authors, and I think that works well because it allows people to share what's relevant to them, and have fans share in the experience, without having to try so hard. It's a bit more natural.
That said, I think blogs are going to stick around, but I think they're settling into a more moderate use as people being to use them in ways that are more natural.
-Mandy
I don't think it's a peaking of blogs as much as it is a supersaturation of blogs. Everyone has one and you can't visit every single one in a given day. I have my preferences and it's this one and used to be Bookends. I think that your readership is high on old posts is a testament to how you are in the literary world. You are like the Encyclopedia Britannica of all things literary. If i'm not sure about something, I search your blog and if I don't find an article that answers my question fully, there's a link to somewhere else.
re: your question –
"Is everyone consuming more than producing?"
Well, yes… I hope so!! Because, I think in the last year or two (when all writers were told that we must have a blog) it was the other way around. More blog posts than readers… which meant that most (not yours, Nathan, but most) blogs ended up with few or no readers. And that's a waste of time for the blogger.
As for commenting on blogs… well, I'm not even sure how worthwhile it is to do that. Here, it looks like I am going to come in at Comment #18 or so. Most of the comments are fairly long (compared to a tweet, anyway). I wonder how many people are even going to read down this far, and actually read my comment? Or is that a waste of time, too?
I think a few good and successful and established blogs will stick around (like yours). But for most of us, blogging is just a waste of time. I have other things to write…
Facebook and twitter, mos def. Also, I blame my blogging dry up on burnout. Blogging burnout.
On the commenting side, an acquaintance of mine puts it this way: "The party has moved elsewhere."
She notes that once significant structure is enforced in an online environment, a lot of participants will leave for an environment with less hassle. They're there for the party, and they're not going to jump through hoops in order to provide their own contributions for free. Besides, their partying buddies also are leaving.
Spammers are rude, obnoxious party-crashers. Once they show up, the party's basically over, and there's little that the host or hostess can do about it. Except to follow their friends to wherever the next party is.
I've been reading your blog for years, but I've been comment much less in recent years. I find that I get what I want out of the blog without commenting. I know that doesn't give you the feedback you'd like (I have a blog, and I know how valuable that is) but I don't always have much to add to the discussion besides, "That's a good point."
But I've recently run into another quandary when it comes to blogs. As I'm writing the book I'm working on, I would like to blog so that I can show potential agents/publishers that I have an active online presence, but since I have a full-time job and a family, my free time is very limited. When I have to weigh blogging time verses writing time, writing time usually wins. I have this nagging feeling, though, that is is going to hurt me later.
I tend to be a few years behind trends. Ergo, I only started blogging about a year ago. I write for the fun of it…because stuff is funny.
I started out on Blogger, but moved to WordPress a few months ago – which is kind of like a Facebook for bloggers. You do have the option to "like" individual posts on WP, and I have noticed that I tend to get more "likes" than comments.
(I'm also an avid reader of comments on other people's blogs, so, yes, Jacqueline, I did read yours.)
I personally am not blogging as much, but I'm in a season of life which has made it difficult to follow through. I want to blog, but usually don't have much to say.
Going along with that, I'm reading fewer blogs unless they're interesting to me. Even some of the ones I reading daily just a year ago, I may be lucky to check on them once a week–or once a month. A lot of that is just personal to me because of too many distractions in life, but I can see how time consuming it can be to read blogs regularly.
Personally, I prefer to read blogs than watch vlogs, mostly because my computer makes it difficult to watch much without throwing error messages at me or crashing Chrome. And, I do find that I may not have much to say to a blog, but I will Tweet the link if I think it's worthwhile.
Perhaps blogging has reached a critical mass. When blogging began, there simply were not that many people doing it. Now it seems like everyone and their dog and cat have a blog. Blog writers seem to greatly outnumber blog readers. You have a very popular blog, and one I enjoy reading, but it's easier to read it on my Facebook, which is where I saw this post. So many people say that it you wish to be a writer, you need to build a platform, which includes blogging. Lately I've been wondering how reasonable that attitude is in this day and age.
I've heard several writers say "blogging is dead", but I think they mean that they personally don't care to blog regularly š
Some comments work well as short facebook/twitter posts. Some thoughts are longer. Why does it have to be either/or?
I use Google Reader, so leaving a comment involves clicking through and navigating any of several potential login-type interfaces. I read way more than I comment. For my own teeny-tiny blogs I judge readership by number of page views rather than by comments.
Facebook is OK, but I prefer reading short, personal stuff on there, not a longer blog-type post. I usually read Facebook on my phone. And Facebook apps have annoying ways of sorting posts. I don't read much on Twitter, again because I usually use it on my phone and only see a dozen or so tweets at once. Maybe I would feel differently if I sat in front of a real computer reading Facebook and Twitter instead of 3-minute skims of them via phone 2x a day….
I've been blogging weekly (weakly?)for about two and a half years now, and don't intend to quit anytime soon. In fact, in the past several weeks I've jotted down several topics in my personal blog folder which will keep me going for many more weeks at least. I'm going strong now and haven't hit my peak yet.
I blog and write novels and short stories at the same time and I don't think it's all that difficult. I allocate my time. I limit my time on the internet (including Facebook) and set aside certain hours every day for writing. Twitter is a total waste of time. My feeling is that my blog is a way to get my views on writing and science out into public domain, and they'll always be there. Permanently and forever, world without end. Granted, I don't generate much blog traffic and that concerns me, but the blogs, along with samples of my writing, are there for anyone to see at any time. If you really want to write, plant butt in chair and write–blogs, short stories, novels, song lyrics, poetry, Hallmark cards, whatever. Just write.
By the way, this would be a good topic for another blog. That's one more!
I came late to blogging, starting May 2012. I make it a point to blog twice a week, Saturdays and Wednesdays (except for a Christmas hiatus). I look on my blog as writing practice as well as a way to connect. I can see how after maybe a couple of years I'll have run out of things to say, but maybe not. I'm quite opinionated. I don't use facebook or twitter (one of the few!)
Once you switched from agent to author, things changed.
Agent = insight
Agent = resource
Author = blah blah marketing blah
Author = textbook example of the incestuous corruption of the industry and the cynicism of "It's not what you write, it's who you know."
Agent to Author = Dude. Really?
I know for me personally it's a matter of time. There isn't any. I'm feeling very overwhelmed in 2013 already by all my commitments but I try to blog at least once a week. It used to be at least four.
Oh, and Anonymous at 1:46 is a total ASS. That's my insightful comment of the day.
I've noticed consistently among blogs I've read a long time that the majority seem to have about 4-5 years' worth of posting in them, and then life goes in a different direction, or they start to lose interest, or have posted about all the easy stuff, or whatever. This is true of me, too. I'm on my third blog; each has been on a different topic/interest, and each has lasted about 4 years before I moved on.
But I think, additionally, people are taking their interactions to different platforms – FB and Twitter and even Tumblr – where it feels more like a big common room where people mingle than someone speaking at the front of the room to an attentive audience.
I so wonder about this too lately, Nathan. It seems people are blogging and reading blogs less, which I find sad. I have to spend a lot of time reading and commenting on blogs to keep my readership up, which I'm glad to do. But it's sad to see people come by my blog less and I'm re-evaluating how much time I'll spend visiting their blog. My time is just as precious as theirs and I have to squeeze in the blogging between work and family and writing.
I think blogs are the best way to say any content of any substance. I'm not on Twitter but it, like Facebook, seems limited on what you can say. I guess we'll just have to see what happens with blogging.
anon-
And yet you're still here! Haha…
I'd say half the people I follow on blogger are no longer blogging on any sort of regular schedule. Some have given up on writing, some have gone to Twitter and Facebook. Those who have stayed, though, are still very much engaged. I enjoy commenting on their blogs and I get some good discussions going in my comments section too. I've thought about stopping the blog, but I enjoy the camaraderie with other writers too much. It's really not about platform or marketing, it's a social thing that keeps me connected with like-minded people.
Hi Nathan.
I continue to read and appreciate your blog and forums. I stay far far away from social networking outside of forums – too much is privacy invasive. I particularly appreciate both the expertise you share here as well as the politeness you command. I think when you left agenting, things got a lot quieter. You were a hero agent to many of us -and, to many of us, you still are. But life happens.
I do miss the excitement and the holding my breath and all that sense of risking and losing in your old contests though. And, also the cheering on of the winners.
I know you love your new job, but I thought you were awesome champion of writers as an agent, even those you rejected to represent. I wonder if you miss it too sometimes…
Thanks, anon@2:04! I miss parts of my old job, like working with writers, but I love my new job too much to look back. I remain extremely glad I made the change.
In the meantime, I think we're very, very overdue for a contest!! Stay tuned.
It's funny. I saw this post just as I was about to delete my blog.
In order for a blog to be worth one's while one of two things have to happen.
1-Decide traffic and comments are not why one blogs and blog anyway for one's self. OR
2- Put in the time to socialize with other bloggers on a daily basis and blog as frequently as possible which is time consuming. It's a job in of itself.
I'm a writer who wishes to be a published writer, so not having a constant readership defeats the point of putting it out there. On the other hand, writing every day is what I must do.
So I've decided to change my blog to that of my process and forget about who reads it.
Best of luck to you, and if anything, the volume of comments here proves that someone is still reading š
Now onto "prove" that I'm not a robot and go through the rigmarole of publishing this comment lol
It seems to me that a lot more people are using WordPress now than Blogger (myself included). I comment significantly less on Blogger and there have been multiple instances (usually here and at nataliewhipple.com) where I have written out an entire comment only to have it accidentally erased when the captcha doesn't work properly — and I usually give up and don't comment at all when this happens. WordPress doesn't have this Captcha business, and all the spam comments on my blog are filtered out.
Also, I agree with Sarah above that commenting on the blog itself lends itself better to continued conversation than tweeting or Facebook comments. I don't think blogging is on the way out; I think it's just a cyclical thing. Time will tell us on this one.
My blog visitation count (not remotely in your league!) has almost tripled over a year ago (perhaps in part because the book came out), but there are very few comments and very few followers. When I announce the new blog post on Facebook, that is where people comment, sometimes at considerable length. Facebook is certainly more social than blog comments (duh!).
I just find Tumblr to be more interactive. You can still lock informational pages at the top like a website or traditional blog. You can still build a traditional comments platform in addition to the reblog option. And it is a pretty interface for alternating long text posts with photos, links, and other easily shared media.
I fully intended to continue my blogger account and cross-post the more substantial blog entries, but it turns out that I am a little too lazy for cross-posting, especially because my content is more personal entertainment than professional platform.
I've been blogging for 10 years or so, but only a few among the writing community using blogger. I sorted through my blogger follow list and found probably 30 blogs that had ceased functioning or didn't have a post in the last 4 to 6 months. Went through my list again last month and found at lease 20 more. I think many blogs have a 2 year shelf-life; the ones that stick around are higher volume review sites and authors who are really interactive in the writing community (offering lots of guest posts, a variety of fun content).
To be honest, I get most of my information from Reddit or from websites like the ones Gawker uses. Blogs just seem to regurgitate something that someone else has said. So unless it's a really popular author like George R.R. Martin, and he's posting an excerpt of Winds of Winter, there's really no reason to go to an author blog. And Tumblr is basically overrun with porn. Anyone that doesn't see that is being ignorant of how much porn there is on tumblr. You can combine any two words together (and I mean "any") and add tumblr after it in a google search and there's pages of pictures that will make you claw your eyes out. Twitter sucks unless you want breaking news or to have a conversation with anyone. It's mostly been ruined by this thing called Triberr that a bunch of writers signed up for so that they can spam you to sell their book. Facebook seems to be pretty good though, especially if you want to argue politics. That really engages people.
It's the time. Blog reels are more time consuming to read. Do I still love them? Yes. Do I read them as often as I used to? No. I think that's why FB is easier… you see the feed, you "like" it, you continue reading the feed. The more info jammed into one place, the more convenient it is. (When it comes to being social, however, I'm still undecided on whether that's a good or bad thing.)
Jessica
I don't know. I've noticed some big bloggers and agents hanging up their hats, but I still blog as often as I did in 2010 when I started my blog.
Interesting topic (and I appreciated Marsha's insight). I'm planning to shut down my dream blog when I run out of the old dreams from last year that I keep posting. I don't know why other people may be shutting down their blogs, but for me, blogging was an experiment to see if I got:
a) Money from advertising.
b) Attention so I could make money in book sales.
c) To connect with people who like to read what I write.
Sadly, I succeeded in none of these things and taking the time and risking my privacy to put myself out there aren't paying off. It was an experiment I wanted to commit a year to and it's not working out. That's why I'm planning to cool off of Blogger significantly.
Also, a lot of the cool blogs I really enjoyed don't seem to be posting as regularly! I think I'm going to chill out, work on what I really want to do (write novels) and post and comment at my convenience.
200,000 is still going pretty strong though!
Here's my entirely anecdotal opinion, as a happy blogger of eight years:
The Internet has, thus far, been so busy revolutionizing communication that the dust is no more than beginning to settle. When blogs came out, everybody had to have one. When Myspace came out, everybody had to have one. Ditto Twitter and Facebook, and Facebook was good enough at what it did to make the similar Myspace obsolete. It remains to be seen if Tumblr can do that for blogs. It had a short chance to woo me over from Blogger in the early days, but I've lost interest in it for now.
With the newness worn off, there's been a natural exodus from long-form blogging platforms. But the function of the blog is of value enough to keep some of us. It's kept me. I can't handle Twitter; it breaks up my concentration too much. I like Facebook only if people are being friendly and funny (down with political rants!) But I adore my blog as a means of expression, and a number of other people's as a form of interaction and thought exchange.
Perhaps a good analogy would be in the social framework of a rapidly growing town. At first there were a few houses, and people gathered most often in living rooms. Then they built a tavern, and everyone went there for a while, but the introverts couldn't hack the noise and rambunctiousness all the time and decided to leave their own comfortable firesides only on Saturday night. Then the town started hosting a county fair, and everybody went to the fair, but some rode all the rides and threw rings in all the prize booths and took bets on the demolition derby and then went to the tavern to talk it all over, and others ate a spool of cotton candy and looked at the horses and went back to their own living rooms with their close friends and kin.
I think I'm having too much fun with this. š
All that to say–blogging is, for me, the best form of self-expression currently available on the internet. As long as it's that, I don't expect to leave it for the noisier, shorter-form platforms like Twitter and Facebook. And Tumblr's interactivity and flexibility are cool, but not cool enough to convince me to migrate over from my Blogger site, where I've presently got nine hundred and ninety-nine posts and a small but warm community of fairly regular commenters and friends.
It's about social media. I still blog regularly (at my travel blog at https://www.aerohaveno.com/), but people are usually visiting it in response to by a tweet by me that points them to the latest post. Having read it, it's then much less effort for them to leave a comment via, say, Twitter than to go through the hassle of filling out fields and/or logging in to comment below my blog. With Twitter in particular, there's a great symbiotic relationships with blogs, which can express at length what 140 characters can't. It's just that times have changed and blogs no longer have the field to themselves.