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The Return of Blogs

AFMKelvin

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Hi, today I want to talk to you about why we might see a second wave of blogging soon.

The first wave happen around 2007-2012.

Than social media platforms begin to pop up and many bloggers switched over to those. Specially bloggers that were in video, photography and even journalist. Instagram for models and the visual arts. YouTube for videographers. And Twitter for journalist, authors and other assorted content creators.

It's easy to see why bloggers would rather switch to the most popular platforms. You have access to a bigger audience and you're able to monetize your brand faster. Specially in the early days of social media platforms. The early adopters could quickly grow their accounts because they had no competition. Some even made it big with bots by buying followers, subscribers and views. Essentially boosting your account to the most popular lists in any social media platform.

But things are different now. Bots hardly work anymore. Facebook and Google now have stricter regulations. You can be banned for any number of offenses. And if not banned demotinized.

Last year there was a purge of right leaning channels on YouTube. In 2020 another purge will happen. If your videos don't comply with Coppa regulations regarding content for children they can fine you up to $42k for every video that's found violating any of all the vague regulations.

top-100-websites-1.jpg

If you take a look at this graph you'll see that social media platforms are some of the most visited websites on the internet. With Google having the biggest share. And in a way having a monopoly on the internet because most traffic goes through them before reaching the smaller websites.

Worst of all some of the websites are owned by the same companies. Get banned by Google and now you're also banned on YouTube. Get banned by Facebook and you're also banned on Instagram.

You have NO control.

That's why we might begin to see a second wave rise in the blogsphere. With a blog you have control over your content. You can publish anything you want without worrying if you'll be banned or not.

Best of all you have control over your money. Your fans are yours. They are not owned by Google or Facebook. If Google or Facebook bans you lose all your fans.

Why?

Because you never knew your fans. You never had a way to contact them directly. Google and Facebook know them because they have their email, phone number and personal details.

Neither your followers nor you know how to contact each other outside of the bigger platforms.

I'll be starting a blog soon. My strategy will be to drive traffic to my blog above all else. I'll use all social media platforms but I will not give them control. I'll use the top five photo sharing websites and upload my content in it. I'll use the top five video sharing websites and upload my content in it. Maybe I'll even use other blog platforms like Medium and upload my content on it. If one platform bans me I'll have four others holding me up. My objective will be for anyone who enjoys my content to head over to my website and subscribe via phone, email or mail to my mailing list. That way I know my fans and I won't depend on the Corporotocracy that were slowly becoming for my survival.

2020 might be the year that we begin to take back the internet.

What do you think? Will blogs have a comeback?
 
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Nick M.

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The Lindy Effect: the longer something's been around, the longer you can expect it to stay around.


Blogs have been around for 25 years now, so you can expect it to stay for another 25 years.

In contrast…

YouTube has been around for 14 years. Facebook for 15 years. Twitter for 13 years. Instagram for 9 years.

Social media may be strong now, but blogging will likely stay for much longer than social media. I wouldn't necessarily call it a second comeback of blogging. I also wouldn't say that COPPA or other "lack-of-control" scenario is going to cause social media users to switch to blogging.

Blogging has been strong for several decades, and never really got weaker since the "first wave". It was just never in the spotlight. It just wasn't the fad. But I guarantee it's still working for businesses even as people flock to social media.

-----

Just for sake of discussion, blogging also doesn't prevent you from violating the commandment of control. You still need to get people onto an email list you control or something similar. You can't rely on organic searches or SEO for blogs to work. If you do, it's still violating the commandment of control.
 

MattR82

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Hell yeah. I really agree on making an seo optimised blog which is part of a content strategy (awareness authority engagement conversion) the backbone of any social media content that then gets spun out.

Make the content the asset rather than the platform if that makes sense.

Why put all that work into creating content for one or two social platforms, it's worth taking the extra step and prioritizing the content on your website.
 

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For most people (both readers and authors), the reason why blogs never blew up like social media did, is because majority of the blog readers in the world are visiting a minority of the world's blogs. To give a metaphorical example, that would be like 99% of the blog readers visiting 0.01% of the world's top blogs.

I see a lot of companies that have blogs. E.g: indie coffee brands with blogs that consist of content like coffee history, recipes and other niche-related stuff. But when I look at the comment section of every blog, even many popular ones, it's always "0 Comments".
It feels so dead to me.

The only blogs that have at least some comments are those that are like Shopify and other money-earning blogs.

The other thing with blogs is that, there is no reach. At least with social media, even though organic reach is pretty dead nowadays, you might still get 9 Likes and 1 Comment on something like Instagram.
Or maybe 94 Views on Youtube.

Blogs? I dunno, maybe 0 Views for 365 days? Seems that one has to pump in a shitload of $$$ and effort into SEO and social media to get the blog discovered in the first place (which is an additional step).

I'm not sure what's the ROI for most companies when it comes to blogging.
 

AFMKelvin

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For most people (both readers and authors), the reason why blogs never blew up like social media did, is because majority of the blog readers in the world are visiting a minority of the world's blogs. To give a metaphorical example, that would be like 99% of the blog readers visiting 0.01% of the world's top blogs.

I see a lot of companies that have blogs. E.g: indie coffee brands with blogs that consist of content like coffee history, recipes and other niche-related stuff. But when I look at the comment section of every blog, even many popular ones, it's always "0 Comments".
It feels so dead to me.

The only blogs that have at least some comments are those that are like Shopify and other money-earning blogs.

The other thing with blogs is that, there is no reach. At least with social media, even though organic reach is pretty dead nowadays, you might still get 9 Likes and 1 Comment on something like Instagram.
Or maybe 94 Views on Youtube.

Blogs? I dunno, maybe 0 Views for 365 days? Seems that one has to pump in a shitload of $$$ and effort into SEO and social media to get the blog discovered in the first place (which is an additional step).

I'm not sure what's the ROI for most companies when it comes to blogging.

That's why I think blogs will make a come back. Pre 2012 blogs had a lot of engagement. I remember reading blogs and it would take me longer to read all the comments than it did to read the post. They were very active back than. When social media came on the scene that's when they died with a whimper. Even the most popular blogs before 2012 just dropped in engagement. A lot of great blogs that I use to read are not even online anymore or the authors stopped updating it. I'm specifically talking about personal blogs not company brands that sell a product.
 
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100k

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I. Am. Tired. Of. Facebook. Banning. Me. Every. Other. Time. I. Run. A. Campaign. With. Them.

So I totally feel what you're saying.

We've been giving them too much control for too long.
 

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A lot of great blogs that I use to read are not even online anymore or the authors stopped updating it. I'm specifically talking about personal blogs not company brands that sell a product.

Or they turned into podcasts which I don't understand. First you build your brand providing great written content and then all of a sudden you change into a podcast and alienate most of your audience. I read blogs because they offer structured content you can read quickly. Podcasts are random in nature, it always takes more time to listen to them than to read, and even if there's a transcript, the conversations are always all over the place and it's much less valuable than a proper thought-out blog post.
 

RazorCut

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Because you never knew your fans. You never had a way to contact them directly. Google and Facebook know them because they have their email, phone number and personal details.

This is one of the reasons why I don't understand businesses driving their fans to a Facebook Group rather than their own standalone forum. Yes it's easy but you have zero control and if you lose your account you lose everything.
 
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Einfamilienhaus

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see a lot of companies that have blogs. E.g: indie coffee brands with blogs that consist of content like coffee history, recipes and other niche-related stuff. But when I look at the comment section of every blog, even many popular ones, it's always "0 Comments".
It feels so dead to me.

Have you seen the metrics of these Blog Posts? 0 comments on a blog post is not the same Like having 0 comments on Youtube.

You can have a blog post with no comments and you will still have a great range and a good conversion rate. It depends on your writing skills, your purpose why you write and your target group. The user behaviour for blogs is also different. The reader needs in the most cases quick information.

YouTube otherwise is more for entertainment. People get emotionally hooked and the response rate is automatically higher.
 

MJ DeMarco

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What do you think? Will blogs have a comeback?

Interesting take with some good reason.

The problem is, will anyone find your blog?

If the though policers at Google and FB find your content not in line with the narrative, they won't show your blog to people searching. If they don't agree with your opinion, no matter how ridiculous, they will ban you or label you fake news.

As anyone knows, I'm all for controlling your own content.

However I'm not sure if most people will make the distinction. It's easier to start a YT channel and instantly reach an audience than it is to start a blog and have zero traffic and zero built in audience.

I can see, however, some more established channels/personalites waking up and saying, "Woah, I better start creating my own asset, as opposed to having it 100% in someone else's control."
 

Andy Black

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What do people mean by “blogging”? Is it creating regular content that they hope will get picked up by search engines, shared on other sites, and shared on social media? I presume people do that to turn visitors into leads and customers for their business somehow.

My plan is to create content on a site I own and drive paid visitors to it so they find a solution to whatever they were looking for, and I’ll attempt to get their email address in exchange for a content upgrade.

Does that count as blogging, or does using paid advertising to get visitors from Google mean I’m running Google Ads campaigns and not blogging?

If what I’m doing isn’t blogging then is blogging creating content on your own site to try and get visitors from Google via SEO? So businesses pay for content to get free clicks from Google?

My head hurts.
 
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100ToOne

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I think the general public will always stick to an all in one website/network like FB, YT etc rather than go back to blogs.

Like a monopoly, you either follow what they say or your chances of succeeding are lower. Look at Alex Jones.

Maybe a new Russian/Chinese social network will take a piece of the global market?
 

SEBASTlAN

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Ideally you'd leverage the audience on the platforms to build your brand + siphon control back to you.

some examples:

Amazon FBA -> Your ecommerce site
FB groups -> Your forum
SEO -> Your email list
YouTube -> Your membership site/course
 
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AFMKelvin

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What do people mean by “blogging”? Is it creating regular content that they hope will get picked up by search engines, shared on other sites, and shared on social media? I presume people do that to turn visitors into leads and customers for their business somehow.

My plan is to create content on a site I own and drive paid visitors to it so they find a solution to whatever they were looking for, and I’ll attempt to get their email address in exchange for a content upgrade.

Does that count as blogging, or does using paid advertising to get visitors from Google mean I’m running Google Ads campaigns and not blogging?

If what I’m doing isn’t blogging then is blogging creating content on your own site to try and get visitors from Google via SEO? So businesses pay for content to get free clicks from Google?

My head hurts.

What I'm referring to as blogging is a personal blog like a diary. A simple website to share information. The website's focus is not on a product or service but you can offer products and services to monetize it. A home base on the internet. So instead of posting on YouTube, Instagram and twitter you post all the content on your blog instead.




I think the general public will always stick to an all in one website/network like FB, YT etc rather than go back to blogs.

Like a monopoly, you either follow what they say or your chances of succeeding are lower. Look at Alex Jones.

Maybe a new Russian/Chinese social network will take a piece of the global market?

I understand that people will not leave the popular networks. Alex Jones is a good example why as a content creator you need a blog. He got banned from all the networks and if he didn't have a blog he would had lost his revenue overnight. But his blog has kept him afloat. So we should just agree to whatever they tell us because we want success?

That's why I think established content creators and new ones will go back to blogging. Because Google will strike you down for no apparent reason. With a blog the content creators can take a hit from Google easier.




Interesting take with some good reason.

The problem is, will anyone find your blog?

If the though policers at Google and FB find your content not in line with the narrative, they won't show your blog to people searching. If they don't agree with your opinion, no matter how ridiculous, they will ban you or label you fake news.

As anyone knows, I'm all for controlling your own content.

However I'm not sure if most people will make the distinction. It's easier to start a YT channel and instantly reach an audience than it is to start a blog and have zero traffic and zero built in audience.

I can see, however, some more established channels/personalites waking up and saying, "Woah, I better start creating my own asset, as opposed to having it 100% in someone else's control."

Most likely people will not find your blog. There's many ways Google can ban you on the internet because they are the gatekeepers to traffic. They can give users a warning that the website they're visiting is not trusted, label you fake news or not show you on the search results at all.

And yes that's why a lot of bloggers of the past moved to social media platforms because it was easier to grow an audience there. But they lost their commandment of control.

Now some creators are paying the price of using those platforms. They have been banned and left out on the streets with no connections to their fans whatsoever. All their content locked in some drive in Google's servers with them unable to access it. If they did not backups at home they lost that content forever.


That's why I think most creators and influencers will bring back blogging. So they have a place where there content is available outside of the Googles of the internet. So instead of been dependent on social media platforms you only use them to drive traffic to your blog. Because now you won't get banned just for thought crimes. With the new Coppa regulations coming to youtube and google in general you can be banned for not following federal and youtube regulations.
 
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Interesting take with some good reason.

The problem is, will anyone find your blog?

If the though policers at Google and FB find your content not in line with the narrative, they won't show your blog to people searching. If they don't agree with your opinion, no matter how ridiculous, they will ban you or label you fake news.

As anyone knows, I'm all for controlling your own content.

However I'm not sure if most people will make the distinction. It's easier to start a YT channel and instantly reach an audience than it is to start a blog and have zero traffic and zero built in audience.

I can see, however, some more established channels/personalites waking up and saying, "Woah, I better start creating my own asset, as opposed to having it 100% in someone else's control."

I've built a fairly successful *very niche* blog this year, and this is something to keep in mind. Does it matter if you control your own content if no one is around to read it?

In my case, I got a bingo in terms of content that is unfavourably looked upon by the tech companies. I have managed to get around it by growing a small group of loyal readers that organically share the content themselves, or at least check in regularly on the website. But even though readers come to the blog through other channels, I still feel the hits from yet another change to the Google algorithm.

Very likely would I have had an easier time building a following if I had chosen to get on YouTube and push content in the same way as I have on the blog. Even with controversial content you could still walk the line on YT, and pull the audience toward your own domains for when shit hits the fan.
 

AFMKelvin

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I've built a fairly successful *very niche* blog this year, and this is something to keep in mind. Does it matter if you control your own content if no one is around to read it?

In my case, I got a bingo in terms of content that is unfavourably looked upon by the tech companies. I have managed to get around it by growing a small group of loyal readers that organically share the content themselves, or at least check in regularly on the website. But even though readers come to the blog through other channels, I still feel the hits from yet another change to the Google algorithm.

Very likely would I have had an easier time building a following if I had chosen to get on YouTube and push content in the same way as I have on the blog. Even with controversial content you could still walk the line on YT, and pull the audience toward your own domains for when shit hits the fan.
How are you getting traffic to your blog? Is it organic or are you promoting your blog in other websites paid or unpaid?
 

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Blogs will stay but it seems that the cake was eaten by vlogs.

Just my perception as I am no expert in this.
 
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I don't think that blogs are going to come back to life in the way they have previously but I do think they have their place. I am in the midst of bringing one back to life, but I definitely don't see it as the answer to all that it was once for me (oh those days when I just typed some words, Google indexed it and people spent all the money).

My aim with it now is to build authority. In terms of getting traffic I use multiple methods - paid advertising to get it to the education pieces that can I can then grab details to push to paid products, through vlogs to get the written versions of what I babble on about and organic swipe ups, button hits and any other method social media comes up with to get people to the site to learn the answer to the cliff hanger I put out there.
 

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What I'm referring to as blogging is a personal blog like a diary. A simple website to share information.
This is what I’m confused about when people talk about blogs.

Is a blog a diary? I presume businesses have blogs, so I guess it doesn’t have to be a personal diary.

What if I created a website around one certain topic and created articles for it?

What if I then stopped posting to it once I’d covered the subjects I wanted to cover?

I presume that’s a niche or authority site rather than a blog?

What about when businesses are advised to “blog”? What’s the benefit to a business of continually creating “diary like” content versus creating content that gets and helps visitors, and then stopping?

What’s the benefit of posting a regular personal diary on your own site?
 

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Google will still control blogs , as they do nowadays by showing their approved websites in news feed.
 
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Blogs are all part of the larger funnel. They're 100% not going anywhere.

Like many have said, the greater question is getting people to read it. That's where social can help, if you're entertaining. They can actually benefit each other, social and blogging, and probably should.

When you're noticed by enough people on enough platforms, it's tough to get ignored by the push-button big boys because you're pulling traffic from everywhere.
 

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Hi, today I want to talk to you about why we might see a second wave of blogging soon.

The first wave happen around 2007-2012.

Than social media platforms begin to pop up and many bloggers switched over to those. Specially bloggers that were in video, photography and even journalist. Instagram for models and the visual arts. YouTube for videographers. And Twitter for journalist, authors and other assorted content creators.

It's easy to see why bloggers would rather switch to the most popular platforms. You have access to a bigger audience and you're able to monetize your brand faster. Specially in the early days of social media platforms. The early adopters could quickly grow their accounts because they had no competition. Some even made it big with bots by buying followers, subscribers and views. Essentially boosting your account to the most popular lists in any social media platform.

But things are different now. Bots hardly work anymore. Facebook and Google now have stricter regulations. You can be banned for any number of offenses. And if not banned demotinized.

Last year there was a purge of right leaning channels on YouTube. In 2020 another purge will happen. If your videos don't comply with Coppa regulations regarding content for children they can fine you up to $42k for every video that's found violating any of all the vague regulations.

View attachment 29031

If you take a look at this graph you'll see that social media platforms are some of the most visited websites on the internet. With Google having the biggest share. And in a way having a monopoly on the internet because most traffic goes through them before reaching the smaller websites.

Worst of all some of the websites are owned by the same companies. Get banned by Google and now you're also banned on YouTube. Get banned by Facebook and you're also banned on Instagram.

You have NO control.

That's why we might begin to see a second wave rise in the blogsphere. With a blog you have control over your content. You can publish anything you want without worrying if you'll be banned or not.

Best of all you have control over your money. Your fans are yours. They are not owned by Google or Facebook. If Google or Facebook bans you lose all your fans.

Why?

Because you never knew your fans. You never had a way to contact them directly. Google and Facebook know them because they have their email, phone number and personal details.

Neither your followers nor you know how to contact each other outside of the bigger platforms.

I'll be starting a blog soon. My strategy will be to drive traffic to my blog above all else. I'll use all social media platforms but I will not give them control. I'll use the top five photo sharing websites and upload my content in it. I'll use the top five video sharing websites and upload my content in it. Maybe I'll even use other blog platforms like Medium and upload my content on it. If one platform bans me I'll have four others holding me up. My objective will be for anyone who enjoys my content to head over to my website and subscribe via phone, email or mail to my mailing list. That way I know my fans and I won't depend on the Corporotocracy that were slowly becoming for my survival.

2020 might be the year that we begin to take back the internet.

What do you think? Will blogs have a comeback?

All great points. Also, writing for a blog doesn't make you feel depressed and anxious like when you use social media. I sincerely hope less people would use social media, writing something longer requires more deep work and to use our brain more = higher quality content.

Problem is, most of the new generation of kids will not have the attention to read something longer than 200 words. That's why video and YouTube will be always more relevant in my opinion.
 

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.. I wouldn't necessarily call it a second comeback of blogging. ..

Blogging has been strong for several decades, and never really got weaker since the "first wave". It was just never in the spotlight. It just wasn't the fad. But I guarantee it's still working for businesses even as people flock to social media.

I agree. When blogging got noticed around 2006-ish, it got labeled and became a "thing." It has since receded in popularity but is still around.

It's simply another tool in the online toolbox instead of a fad. It's not as sexy as it once was, but it's every bit as effective in the right cases.
 
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Blogs are here to stay but I believe they won't go back to the popularity they once had.

Strictly because of convenience. Want to listen to a book on your commute? Audiobook?

Want ideas, motivation or keep up with relevant news? Podcast on the commute or in the gym.

It's less friction compared to sitting down and reading a book.

I just don't see a world with all this technology where the majority are sitting down and taking time out of their day to read a blog... but with certain niche topics I believe it can work.
 

AFMKelvin

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Blogs will stay but it seems that the cake was eaten by vlogs.

Just my perception as I am no expert in this.

That's my point everyone moved to vlogs or podcast. With so many regulations coming for social media platforms you must have a homebase.

Meaning upload all your content to your blog. When you do a blog uploaded to both YouTube and your blog simultaneously.


I don't think that blogs are going to come back to life in the way they have previously but I do think they have their place. I am in the midst of bringing one back to life, but I definitely don't see it as the answer to all that it was once for me (oh those days when I just typed some words, Google indexed it and people spent all the money).

My aim with it now is to build authority. In terms of getting traffic I use multiple methods - paid advertising to get it to the education pieces that can I can then grab details to push to paid products, through vlogs to get the written versions of what I babble on about and organic swipe ups, button hits and any other method social media comes up with to get people to the site to learn the answer to the cliff hanger I put out there.

Why not upload everything to your blog? Don't just use it as a second tier platform where only your notes and transcripts go. People forget that blogs can also handle video and audio. Whatever content you upload to social media include it in your blog.

This is what I’m confused about when people talk about blogs.

Is a blog a diary? I presume businesses have blogs, so I guess it doesn’t have to be a personal diary.

What if I created a website around one certain topic and created articles for it?

What if I then stopped posting to it once I’d covered the subjects I wanted to cover?

I presume that’s a niche or authority site rather than a blog?

What about when businesses are advised to “blog”? What’s the benefit to a business of continually creating “diary like” content versus creating content that gets and helps visitors, and then stopping?

What’s the benefit of posting a regular personal diary on your own site?

The benefit is that you become an authority. Your blog is a lot more personal than say a website that answers questions or teaches you things. With a diary style blog you can still help others but they know it's coming from one person and it's the opinion of one person. With a diary style blog your followers know that you'll updated and add information this learning together.

Blogs are all part of the larger funnel. They're 100% not going anywhere.

Like many have said, the greater question is getting people to read it. That's where social can help, if you're entertaining. They can actually benefit each other, social and blogging, and probably should.

When you're noticed by enough people on enough platforms, it's tough to get ignored by the push-button big boys because you're pulling traffic from everywhere.

I understand that. I never said don't use other social platforms. But if you're ever banned from any of them your content and livelyhood is safe in your blog.

All great points. Also, writing for a blog doesn't make you feel depressed and anxious like when you use social media. I sincerely hope less people would use social media, writing something longer requires more deep work and to use our brain more = higher quality content.

Problem is, most of the new generation of kids will not have the attention to read something longer than 200 words. That's why video and YouTube will be always more relevant in my opinion.

Yes the attention span of people has dropped significantly since the early days of the internet. But with a blog the people visiting you most likely will be people that are highly interested in whatever subject you write about. Call them your superfans. They'll take the time to read your posts. You'll just be using social networks to catch those superfans.


Blogs are here to stay but I believe they won't go back to the popularity they once had.

Strictly because of convenience. Want to listen to a book on your commute? Audiobook?

Want ideas, motivation or keep up with relevant news? Podcast on the commute or in the gym.

It's less friction compared to sitting down and reading a book.

I just don't see a world with all this technology where the majority are sitting down and taking time out of their day to read a blog... but with certain niche topics I believe it can work.

You can uploaded videos and audio on a blog. My point is that you have a central hub for all your content. If a piece ever goes down in another's platform it'll be safe in your home blog.
 

Andy Black

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Your blog is a lot more personal than say a website that answers questions or teaches you things. With a diary style blog you can still help others but they know it's coming from one person and it's the opinion of one person. With a diary style blog your followers know that you'll updated and add information this learning together.
Ah. Gotcha. So it’s a bit like progress threads in the forum where the posts are less polished, and more conversational. I’ve been doing that in my email newsletter rather than available for Google to index.

I take your point about keeping copies of your content on your site in case the platforms you’re posting to delete your content there. I had that where I posted a lot of articles inside a paid forum and had to scramble to save it all before they shut it down.

So yeah, I can see more people having a hub for their content that they own.
 
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lludwig

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Interesting take with some good reason.

The problem is, will anyone find your blog?

If the though policers at Google and FB find your content not in line with the narrative, they won't show your blog to people searching. If they don't agree with your opinion, no matter how ridiculous, they will ban you or label you fake news.

While this is true to a degree, with organic search it's less control than say a direct post on Facebook or YouTube. Plus you can send ads to that page as well (at least if it's within terms of their advertising :) )

The same applies to email BTW. Everyone says own a mailing list. You have 100% control over it.

That's not true, guess who's the #1 email provider?

Gmail.

And if they don't like your email they'll put you in the Promotions or Updates tab. Or worse, send you into the spam folder to die.
 

AFMKelvin

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While this is true to a degree, with organic search it's less control than say a direct post on Facebook or YouTube. Plus you can send ads to that page as well (at least if it's within terms of their advertising :) )

The same applies to email BTW. Everyone says own a mailing list. You have 100% control over it.

That's not true, guess who's the #1 email provider?

Gmail.

And if they don't like your email they'll put you in the Promotions or Updates tab. Or worse, send you into the spam folder to die.
Can you elaborate on Google sending your email to spam and promotion. I know Google will delete your Gmail email if they don't like it. So you're trying ng to say that if Google blacklists your example@yourbuisness.com email they'll classify that email as spam and promotions?
 

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