Blogs could be in for a second wind. I am seeing more and more bloggers coming back to blogging with renewed energy and certainty that it is the right thing to do.
There are probably many reasons for this, and some cite the economic fragility for part of it, but I do not think this is the whole story. Why are people coming back to blogging after a time in the wilderness?
For a while people were saying that blogs were “so last year” and that they were moving to Twitter or other “micro blogging” services. I am finding increasingly though that those same people are feeling limited by 140 characters.
Then there was the “moving to video” revolution just a little before the 140 character revolution. What happened to that? Yup, video is growing but the producers of these vodcasts are increasingly hosting new episodes on their own sites as well as in iTunes, YouTube and such.
A lot of bloggers decided they were going to publish email newsletters then found that email lists are great as a compliment but are a poor replacement for a blog.
I think the last point is the key. We can do all or some of these things and have great success, but they all work best when combined. Doing something new does not have to mean throwing out what you did before. A blog along with email, video, AND social media is a powerful asset, and much more than the sum of the parts.
Do you see people coming back to blogging? Or are you considering it yourself? Or have you left blogging for good? Please let me know in the comments …