Blogs are Dead; Long Live the Blogs.

Michelle Weber

Lately, I feel like I’ve read a lot of tweets and, ironically, blog posts, about how blogging is dead. Like newspapers, I suppose; we all know how hard it is to find one of those now. Although I’ll gladly take a blog or a copy of the Sunday New York Times over a future where plutocrat robot overlords beam 140-word communications directly into my brain from the wifi-enabled microchip that’s implanted in my wrist. (I assume that or the Sunday Times are the only two options, yes?)

Then I remembered this thing I wrote at the beginning of 2012, when food blogging was declared dead, and thought: la plus ça change:

Which all makes me wonder, why do people start food blogs in the first place? Are we to assume that the goal is always to become a household name? I mean, I know this is America and we’re all trying to realize the American Dream of being rich enough to live a life of leisure, but maybe people just like to share recipes. And maybe, since we all eat multiple times per day for our entire lives, we happen to have a lot of interesting, relatable stories that intersect with food. Or we just love to write, and food seemed like a fun topic.

To sum up, food blogging is:

  • likely mostly dead if your goal is to become an overnight global brand, AND
  • fun for the rest of us, THEREFORE
  • let’s stop gazing at our collective navel and get on with shit.

Technology may change, but stories will never be dead. Stories make us human. Sharing stories helps us create meaning. Don’t crow about the death of valuable tools that help us do that; we’re not all in a headlong rush for the singularity.

9 Comments

  1. Well said. Is there still value in sitting down and assembling your thoughts into a coherent piece? Will there ever not be?

    It’s very easy to find motivation in blogging solely via pageviews, likes, shares, whatever – and to hold out hope for the fame and fortune that come with them. If these are your only goals, maybe blogging is dead. I doubt it, but maybe.

    But if blogging is a way to clarify and express your thoughts and opinions, to chronicle your life, to keep family and friends up to date on your daily goings-on (the way letter writing may have before), or just to practice the increasingly valuable skill of coherent written communication, I’d argue it’s as valuable and robust as ever.

    Which is all to say: Don’t stop blogging, please :).

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  4. I’m participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time and it has reminded me of why I started blogging in the first place; practice for writing books. Little did I know what an incredible virtual community I would find.
    I cranked out my words for the day and headed right back to WP to see what everyone blogged. This is my reward!
    Long live blogging…

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  7. I know a founder of a new business who uses food bloggers as part of their model to ‘be in the know’ with top, fresh and exclusive restaraunts. Blogging is dead: tell the founder and he’d laugh in your face! Great post, I enjoyed it!

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