How many of you remember back in October of 2008 when Wired said blogging is dead? Here is what I said in my post in response to their dribble.
The premise of the post, which is ironic in and of itself, is that blogging is dead and being replaced by all the other social media tools out there. And just because Jason Calacanis dumped his blog we should all go out and get a twitter, flickr, and facebook accounts.
Wired seem to have the position that just because people like Calacanis and Robert Scoble decided blogging was no longer a viable media, it was dead.
Writing a weblog today isn’t the bright idea it was four years ago. The blogosphere, once a freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought, has been flooded by a tsunami of paid bilge. Cut-rate journalists and underground marketing campaigns now drown out the authentic voices of amateur wordsmiths. It’s almost impossible to get noticed, except by hecklers. And why bother? The time it takes to craft sharp, witty blog prose is better spent expressing yourself on Flickr, Facebook, or Twitter.
What was even more idiotic was the fact Wired told us blogging was dead on a freaking blog. Seriously, people. If you want to tell us blogging is dead, go on the tonight show with Leno and tell us there. Than maybe NBC might get some viewers as those of us who blog tune in to see how full of bull shit you are.
That was then, this is now.
All of that happened over a year ago. And look, blogging is still a viable tool for business, large and small to use for marketing and to connect with their intended audience. In fact, most of the so called “mainstream media” have blogs now too. Could it really be true that using a blog to connect and provide information to your intended audience is a viable media in 2010? I and a lot more believe this to be true.
Well, not all of us. Steve Rubel seems to be on the band wagon now that blogging is no longer the way to go. In a nine minute video recently on Social Media Examiner, Rubel tells us among other things why he stopped blogging and started lifestreaming on Posterous.
What was also interesting the last few days, was watching some of the conversations on twitter about this post. Even more troubling was the fact, I am not sure anyone caught the fact that some of these self-proclaimed blogging and social media gurus feel blogging is over, old hat or dying all together. Blah, blah, blah. Really, blogging is dead. Not only was Rubel’s interview on a blog, god forbid. Most of those saying blogging is dead are using a blog to say so. I just don’t get it.
Is the face of blogging going to change over the next few months or years? Yes it will. Is blogging dead or old hat? No, no it is not.
Businesses should forget blogging and focus on more diffuse approaches to social media, says Steve Rubel, who advises brands including Pepsi, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft. SmartBrief
Seriously, is this really what the blogging/social media “gurus” are telling their business clients. If it is, you are doing them all a disservice and they should demand their money back. Tell me exactly how a business can get their message out to their customers and potential customers in only 140 characters. Tell me how they can deal with company news and new product updates by only using social media.
I will be the first to admit that social media tools like twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are valuable and have an important place in any business’ overall marketing plan. However, I fear the “gurus” are not looking at the total picture when they say blogging is a dead horse.
In the interview, Rubel gives some of the reasons he stopped blogging.
- World is moving to a world of streams
- Posterous allows him to post by email and iPhone. It allows him to post video, audio and photos.
- Hub and spoke model
- Where people are
- Now does shorter post
- Digital is mandatory and not optional
Maybe I am just slow, but don’t all of his reasons for not blogging point right back to blogging? I can do all of what he describes with my WordPress blog and my iPhone. And if someone can show me where Posterous is not a blogging platform, please do. I have heard some lame reasons for not blogging, but those 6 listed above are just plain ass stupid.
Blogging was social media before social media was
There is not one thing listed above that I can not do with a well thought out blogging/social media/marketing program. And any small business marketing professional who is telling a small business that blogging is dead and to not blog is out to lunch. Where else can you start a conversation with your customers and give them the opportunity to jump in and comment. And comment with more than 140 characters too. Where else can you communicate, connect and build a relationship online with your customers and potential customers than with a blog? And where is it written that a blog is not the “hub and spoke model” mentioned by Rubel in this interview.
In fact, I do believe the hub and spoke model has been mentioned previously by such bloggers as Michael Martine, Darren Rowes and Chris Brogan and even myself. You don’t have to use Posteous and Steve Rubel’s model to take advantage of this hub and spoke model.
Social Media and Engagements
PostRank recently did a post called Measuring Engagement of the Social Web: ‘07 – ‘09 It contained some great stuff and good points. However, the key is the engagements always started some place. And that some place was on the blogs.
An interesting side effect of the widespread adoption of more pervasive communication tools (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is the increased lifespan of a typical story. Back in 2007, we observed that over 94% of all the engagement occurred within the first day of publishing the article.
The post goes on to state:
Fast forward to 2008 and 2009, and we’re seeing a steady increase in the lifespan of a story: down to 83% of total engagement for the first hour in 2008, and 64% in 2009. While the real-time web is all about lowering the latency, the pervasive nature and number of people engaged in their communities and conversations (the Social Web) is helping with information discovery.
What this all means is the best statement Rubel made in the nine minute interview: “Digital is mandatory and not optional.”
What all of this doesn’t mean is that blogging is dead. Yes, social media can cause the conversation to go to different places. It doesn’t mean the conversation is going to start on twitter, Facebook or Linkedin. Yes, “social media” may extend the convesation and lengthen the lifespan of a story. However, the story has to start somewhere and they are not going to always start on social media. They are going to start on a blog. You simply can not expect twitter for example, to give you the space you need for the long conversations you need to build the trust with your audience a blog affords you.
Blogging is not dead. In fact, it is and should be the center of any good social media and overall marketing plan for any small business.
Small Business Need a Web Presence
Less than half of small businesses have a web presence, Without a web presence, small businesses lose their ability to:
- Separate yourself from the crowd
- Build trust and create authority
- Spread ideas and information about your business
- Connect with the other social media tools.
- Take advantage of being found by search engines
- Being found via local searches thanks to search engines
- Build your own community around your product, service and brand
- Provide a way to answer FAQ’s you see on a regular basis
- Target marketing to your specific location
- Build and market to an email list that has come to trust you
All things you can do with a well thought out, well planned and well designed blog or blogsite. Not something you can do using the digital methods discussed by Rubel. People, you have to have a web presence if you want to compete. You have to have a web presence if you want to build trust with your target market. And you have to have a web presence that is also integrated with a total marketing plan, including the other social media tools.
And one more thing. If you are wondering how to measure the ROI of social media and blogging, please listen to this great three minute rant by one of my favorites, David Meerman Scott.
Final Thoughts
I almost didn’t write this post. Needless to say, I figured it would tick some people off. However, I felt it was something which needed to be said. I for one am sick and tired of the so called and self-proclamined social media gurus telling us every few months that blogging is dead. What is also funny, Rubel admits in his interview that he reads at least 1,000 blogs. Really, I thought blogging was dead.
You are dead on that Rubel's reasons for going posterous are fine reasons to blog.
I completely disagree with Rubel's advice to businesses. His call for “more diffuse approaches to social media” may work great for his super giant clients (Pepsi, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft), but it is foolish for small businesses. Most small businesses are better served by focusing their approach on a central home base. (Part of that hub and spoke mentality is to have a hub!)
Grant,
This is a well thought out, wonderful post. You have provided the very reasons why blogging will remain the publishing platform and delivery system for a company's content for the foreseeable future!
Blogging separates the “bes” from the “wanna-bes” Besides if you want to deliver your content in a eloquent manner, filled with detail, you can not do it with 140 characters– or by streaming your life.
Well done!
Its not an “either” or “or” scenario; a savvy entrepeneur will both blog and engage in other forms of social media. Blogging, most definitely, is not dead; the game has just changed bit.
A more accurate statement from Steve would have been “the way I used to blog is dead”. Blogging has radically changed just in the past year:
] turn WordPress blogs into something as complex as an ecommerce site, or something as simple as a landing page (inboundzombie.com).
1. Mobile apps make posting easier.
2. Post can be videos or pictures and not just text.
3. Themes like Headway [
4. The real time web gives bloggers a richer source of content.
Grant – I agree with you on the business aspect of blogging. Businesses (and non-profits) need a brandable place on the web where they control the content, conversation and SEO. It's not like you're going to tell Scott Monty to run Ford with Tumblr. Uh… wait. Isn't Posterous a freaking blog?
Grant,
The irony is striking, isn't it? I do believe that blogging will continue to morph and who knows what the critter will look like. Putting stuff on a site like Posterous is still blogging – just under a different moniker. It hink these folks are doing their best to make a splash and stir the pot.
And – off topic – I love Headway. Thanks for all of your hard work.
George
Oh, come on, Grant, don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel. I watched that video too, but perhaps since I was multitasking I didn't pay as much attention as I could have. I did hear him say that he switched to Posterous for his own life-streaming, okay, whatever.
I stream my life to Twitter and Flickr (which pushes to Friendfeed and then to Twitter) with my phone, but I would hardly call that “writing” or “creating something of value”. I still need and use a blog for that. It is what blogs are perfect for.
Blogs and the CMS that blogs run on have changed a lot since their inception, but the primary purpose for individuals, small businesses, and communities remains the same – a deep and accessible channel for communication and engagement.
George, thanks! One thing people seem to forget about with Posterous is this. Who actually owns the content you put on your Posterous blog? With your own domain and your own blog, you do. Not sure that is the case with Posterous. And what happens to your content on Posterous if they shut down? Oops!
Believe it or not, I did hold back.
It is annoying when someone is actually making a good point, but makes it in a TERRIBLE way… Steve is onto something. Blogging tools and blogging itself are evolving as technology changes and peoples consumption habits grow. We are beginning to approach the point of content overload and there is a need for light weight solutions and light weight content.
John makes a great point in his comment that all he is really saying is that Blogging has changed. Smaller snack sized content is becoming a key to capturing attention and tools like Posterous make that easier. That being said, look at Steve's Posterous posts, they are longer than the average blog post.
Although there is one thing to consider, even if there was no difference between WP and Posterous, there does seem to be a difference in the way we are using these tools. Also the community and subscription nature of services like Posterous and Tumblr have obvious benefits.
I've been hearing the “blogging is dead” argument for awhile. It ranks right up there with the Y2K BS in terms of truthfulness, IMO.
And anybody who goes to Scoble for advice on this…. well, look…. he has major influence, yet he pulls a paycheck from Rackspace. He's not exactly a raving authority here, in my eyes.
I agree with you Grant… I believe blogging will never die since it's a way to say something and make it last… even though I use Twitter, I cannot follow the conversations all day long… it's too dinamic and blogging lets us stop and read with no hurry.
Regards from Mexico.
I think you might be missing his point a bit, Grant. While Steve may be pressing, all he really is saying is that he has stopped long-form blogging and moved to short-form blogging or life-streaming on Posterous in a big way. I think that Steve is saying that for many (including himself), lifestreaming via microblogging or short-form blogging is the wave of the future. And, for many, long-form blogging may not be the way to go. How does this translate into “blogging is dead?”
Why can't a small business (or any business) go for the short-form blogging? It addresses nicely the oft-repeated concern that they just don't have enough time to do it. I think short-form opens access to those with time-objections because it is fast and easy. Many large companies are taking notice of this trend – I read yesterday that Coca-Cola just became Posterous' first paying corporate client and will be using short-form blogging to moderate a Posterous blog into which its customers can contribute. Plus, multi-media life-streaming is colorful, quick and catchy. What's wrong with that? Ownership of content on the Web? Good luck to you. And aren't you emailing your content on Posterous? I back up my email regularly.
I still love the long-form blog post, and I still read many traditional blog sites and RSS feeds. If you have the time to devote to maintaining a long-form blog, go for it. But if you don't or can't, …..
Just my thoughts (from a long-form blogger who uses Posterous and won't be dumping either form anytime soon).
Martha
@advocatesstudio
Martha – While I appreciate your position and points, I strongly believe Rubel and others all wrong on this. Short form blogging, why do I need to use Posterous for this, when I can use my WordPress blog, which I own and control to do the same.
And ownership of content on a service like Posterous should be a major concern for businesses who are putting content out there. For the same reason I tell those businesses I work with to NEVER use blogger as their blogging platform.
I also find it funny that Rubel says he is using Posterous for short form blogging. If you look at his Posterous “blog” his post are neither daily, nor short form.
My point in my blog was the fact that those reasons Rubel and others are suggesting as reason to not use a traditional blog are also wrong. All of those reasons to not use a blog are actually reasons to use a traditional blog. And multi-media life-streaming can certainly be done with a traditional blog platform like WordPress which I own.
For the average business person, blogging itself still seems a scary proposition and getting familiar with a blogging platform and dashboard a daunting task. Email? Not so scary. So the hurdle to engagement for a newbie (not you or I, Grant) is MUCH lower. Better some engagement than none. And I would argue that it is better for a person to create their own content on a short-form / email-based blog than hire someone else to create their content on a long form blog (and that is in direct contravention to my OWN business of content creation). The goal is to create the content and get the word out there. My sense is it depends upon what kind of content you are creating and how great your concern about “ownership” – a concept that is clearly morphing on the Web and in real life at a rapidly accelerating pace.
You and Steve seem to me to be on the same page in arguing for having a Web presence, albeit you differ on the medium. Neither of you are saying “kill the blog.” And maybe, as you rightly point out, Steve isn't even saying kill the long form (I also chuckle every time I read on of his Posterous posts – I am a subscriber to his stream).
Maybe “long form” and “short form”, “Wordpress” or “Posterous” will become the new “Mac” or “PC” argument? Web geeks (and I say this in the fondest sense of the term) need their “platforms” or maybe “soapboxes”- what else would we have to discuss? No one is saying don't create content or don't use a computer – we all just have to find our own favorite method of getting the job done.
Regards,
Martha
Some of the same arguments are often used to prove that the news media is dead, replaced by social media, including blogs. Just as wrong. While the news media has its share of problems, most of the news stories passed on through social media originate in mainstream media. Sure, Twitter can be a place where news breaks these days, but then much of the tweets (and RTs) are links to news stories and blogs.
It never ceases to amaze me that so many use the tactic of claiming that the old tools are passe, outdated, dead, pick your word, to justify their adoption of a new tool. It's not about tools, it's about communication, and using the right tool for the job. Short form has its place but it does not replace long form.
And yes, I still read a printed newspaper in the morning.
These kinds of Blog Posts are a double-edged sword, by responding Rubel gets air time, by not responding people think he's on to something.
Many of these mainstream guys or so called early adopters like to hear the sound of their own voice, and even if I'm wrong, I'm still gonna use the Blog as my home base regardless of what Silicon Valley or any other so called expert has to say on the topic.
Live Long and Prosper Bloggers!
Blogging is never going to be dead anywhere sooner, For the people who say that social media tools have destroyed the blogging landscape completely, I think just the opposite has happened due to social media only good things get shared and its quite easy to figure out good ones out of the rest.
Blogging has changed many lives throughout its evolution and thats because of the recognition people get for sharing value.
Another important thing is that all the social tools are most of the times doorstep to blogs…….that is where lies the real value.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts,you have definitely made a big point here for all the so called big guys.
Scanning through prior commenters and noticing a handful of names WHO ARE BLOGGERS is proof blogging is very much alive. The fact you dedicated so many words to your drivel is a wonder.
Ari, as a fellow blogger I often think your lack of respect says a lot about how you view other bloggers and their readers. Points of view are great; respect for points of view are even better. Might want to keep that in mind when you're about to add nothing but sarcasm and crassness the next time.
The other issue is branding an customizing.
Also, for Coke Posterous is one way (among many) they connect with customers. For a small biz, a blog might be the primary way, like with my blog.
Maybe Ari was joking and forgot to wink?
Indeed, John. I was serious in my first sentence and sarcastic in my second.
To elaborate my first:
If blogging is dead, then Grant wouldn't have blogged a lengthy response to Steve.
If blogging is dead, then people wouldn't be adding comments to this blog post, or reacting across social channels.
To elaborate my second:
Because blogging is not dead, why write so many words (in an era of the brevity of Twitter leading to paradigm shifts across other media) in a blog post about blogging not being dead? [Insert wink]
Crass? Sarcastic?
Maybe tired is a better word. I wrote about this issue in November 2008 when that Wired article came out. You can see my still-relevant thoughts at http://ariwriter.com/why-blogging-is-not-dying/ which echo Grant's thoughts and echo yours.
If we're all saying the same thing, how can you claim I don't respect you? I'm agreeing with you.
Ari – Thanks for your comments on this post. And I too wish we did not have to write about this crap as we do. The problem is that I have a lot of new and just thinking about blogging bloggers who read BFP. When they see the crap that people like Rubel spout off, I feel they need to know that blogging is still and will continue to be a valuable marketing tool.
Like you mentioned, I wrote about this back in 2008 too. I figure that we will get blog fodder at least every 12 months or so due to these so called gurus putting this type of “stuff” out there. Thank god they continue to open their mouths so we have something to write about. LOL
That being said. One of the problems with comments as with twitter and with email is we don't get to see each other wink or smile when we say something. If anyone took your comment the wrong way, it is because of that.
We must disagree on drivel. Perhaps sarcasm in comments needs clarification more. Otherwise it just appears you're insulting the blogger. Just my two cents.
I mess with Posterous for some very short-form blogging thought (I liken it to too much for Twitter, too little for my blog). It seems to have a decent little audience; but it's still very much an outpost. Everything else I build from my blog.
Lifestreaming? On a separate outpost? Fair enough if you want to do that. Yet via my blog I can have:
* Photos? Check, that'll be my Flickr feed.
* Video. Hmm, check.
* Twitter. Yessir.
* Audio? Yep.
* Pretty much anything I want to add as a “life stream” but on my own domain? Check.
By all means, offer why you don't like a platform, or approach, or tool. But telling everyone else it's a dead goose? There's a kind of delicious irony about making that statement on a blogging platform that doesn't go unnoticed.
To make the point that blogging isn't dead?
Huh?
To support and discuss the point that blogging is not dead.
I wonder where @steverubel is? [ cc @grantgriffiths ]
To support and discuss the point that blogging is not dead.
I wonder where @steverubel is? [ cc @grantgriffiths ]
Hi Grant I couldnt agree with you more. If business is connecting on social media it must be the big guys doing it because it hasnt yet hit my town. People still have that wide eyed look when you mention either a blog or social media and have no idea how it can help them. It's my job to show them the way.
How anyone could say that blogging is dead is definitely full of crap!
I have been “online” for nearly 20 years. Not necessarily as a producer, but as a regular user, experimenter, and explorer of the Internet. I am considering blogging options now and recently joined Art of Non-Conformity and Big Bright Bulb.
I too, have had a lack of focus over the years, but that's nothing new to me in general. From the first time I ever heard the phrases “well-rounded personality” and “balanced lifestyle” I have always strived towards that.
Unfortunately, it does open me up for Attention Deficit Disorder type behavior. I know most people know what ADD is, but I've come to despise acronyms without at least a clue what it means somewhere in the same post. Mainly because my interests are so varied that many acronyms don't mean the same thing everywhere or I could get lost on the Internet if I try to go look it up. But I digress:-)
Anyways…What interests me is everywhere. Blogging does help narrow the focus. I'm guessing those guys you mentioned also think email is dead. I receive many blogs through email and they conveniently locate themselves in the right folder when they arrive for my perusal when I am focused. I also have several RSS feeds, but I rarely check them unless I have time to kill after reading my email and experimenting with things I've found.
I usually subscribe to RSS feeds when I want to be able to find something again, but not necessarily follow it continuously. I may go look it up if I see something that reminds me of it.
I think a lot of “online people” lose sight of the fact that many people still are not on the Internet. They might have an email that a relative or friend setup for them. Some barely know when they're using it if they're using mobile apps, GPS, etc. They think it's a magical cell phone service provided by their cell provider.
Bottom line is I haven't seen much on the Internet that is dead. Just misused. I think almost all mediums are still functional, and practical as long as they are simple to use and complement each other.
Hi Grant I couldnt agree with you more. If business is connecting on social media it must be the big guys doing it because it hasnt yet hit my town. People still have that wide eyed look when you mention either a blog or social media and have no idea how it can help them. It’s my job to show them the way.
How anyone could say that blogging is dead is definitely full of crap!
I have been “online” for nearly 20 years. Not necessarily as a producer, but as a regular user, experimenter, and explorer of the Internet. I am considering blogging options now and recently joined Art of Non-Conformity and Big Bright Bulb.
I too, have had a lack of focus over the years, but that’s nothing new to me in general. From the first time I ever heard the phrases “well-rounded personality” and “balanced lifestyle” I have always strived towards that.
Unfortunately, it does open me up for Attention Deficit Disorder type behavior. I know most people know what ADD is, but I’ve come to despise acronyms without at least a clue what it means somewhere in the same post. Mainly because my interests are so varied that many acronyms don’t mean the same thing everywhere or I could get lost on the Internet if I try to go look it up. But I digress:-)
Anyways…What interests me is everywhere. Blogging does help narrow the focus. I’m guessing those guys you mentioned also think email is dead. I receive many blogs through email and they conveniently locate themselves in the right folder when they arrive for my perusal when I am focused. I also have several RSS feeds, but I rarely check them unless I have time to kill after reading my email and experimenting with things I’ve found.
I usually subscribe to RSS feeds when I want to be able to find something again, but not necessarily follow it continuously. I may go look it up if I see something that reminds me of it.
I think a lot of “online people” lose sight of the fact that many people still are not on the Internet. They might have an email that a relative or friend setup for them. Some barely know when they’re using it if they’re using mobile apps, GPS, etc. They think it’s a magical cell phone service provided by their cell provider.
Bottom line is I haven’t seen much on the Internet that is dead. Just misused. I think almost all mediums are still functional, and practical as long as they are simple to use and complement each other.
I totally agree with David on this.
I totally agree with David on this.