I’ve been wondering lately about the future of blogging; overloading my mind with questions. What will it look like years from now? Will it fade away like a cyber fad? Will the bubble burst like Dot Coms of the late 90’s? Will everyone online have a blog and will we get sick of it? Will the market of blogs be so saturated that it experiences diminishing returns? Or will blogging develop into an art form over the years to the point where technologies are developed specifically for blogging. As many bloggers, I often find myself in a real life situation thinking to myself ‘I should be blogging this’, wish I could preserve every detail for a future post. If there was a technology that could make that happen at the speed of thought (metaphorically) I would definitely look forward to it.
Much of the Internet is changing to become more blogging-friendly. YouTube for example is so well integrated with blogging. Also, for the past 3 years or so there’s been a lot of criticism by the media that bloggers are passing for journalists, but without the credentials. Point being that if you didn’t go to journalism school then you don’t get to voice your opinion. Though some time has passed by and abra cadabra! Suddenly networks like CNN are reporting information gathered from a blogger somewhere in the far corners of the cyber world. This says to me one thing: you can’t stop this phenomena.
Even bloggers have made some changes to their blogging and blogs. If you’ve noticed a lot of sidebars are being cleared from the clutter of buttons and badges that used to be the colourful assortment on most blogs. Designs that were once complicated are now becoming more and more simple, possibly to focus more on the content.
But what will blogs look like years from now? Will they be more political or personal or observational or ramblings of incoherent minds?
More importantly, will they still be around?
Nice post. Keep the ideas flowing š
http://enhancelifethinktank.blogspot.com
I have a strange feeling that blogs will witness a paradigm shift in the sense that they will not be based on the blogger but on the topic and content so more specialised blogs will replace personal blogs although well established personal blogs will remain popualr. It will be difficult for a new comer blogger to produce a personal blog without having acertain level of creativity or an attractive topic to focus on and it may end up like a nature’s way of “natural selection” with the survival of the fittest.
As long as there are no-charge blogging experiences available, I think that the personal “diary” type blog will remain. People like to share their thoughts, and this provides an easy method and one which also allows for feed back, which a traditional handwritten journal does not.
My blog is never going to be a “top ten” blog anywhere, but it is nice to be able to share some of my own experiences and thoughts – and to share those of others.
I especially enjoy reading ones from people in other countries, places I’ve never visited and most likely never will. It does seem to solidify my opinion that “We are all sent into this world the same – naked and screaming, and have so many similar needs, desires and dreams, that it is truly a shame that we allow the few dissimilarities to enrage us to the point of violence.”
Batir,
A blog is personal in essence and will always remain as such…Afterall, bloggers choose to focus on topics that most interest them. You can make your blog or site diverse in content: personal, political, scientific, a mix of everything and you will always have someone to read because as you already know people’s tastes are never the same and will always differ. If I am interested in reading the news, I’ll simply go to bbc or cnn or aljazeera, but when I visit a blog or a personal site, I do so because I’m interested in reading that person’s thoughts and perspective on the diverse issues out there that the nedia reports on, the happenings around the world, etc…
In the future, we might see more of blogs being used for a purpose. For example, the CEO of my hosting service uses a blog with a personal twist to communicate to the public about the company. I highly doubt that there will be some type of ‘natural selection’ process of elimination occuring simply because some people may lost interest in blogging and there will always be 10 others out there who will replace them.
10 years ago people thought online shopping would replace conventional stores. Yet people still drive and walk to stores to get their groceries. This does not mean that in the far future Abu Maher’s and other Abu’s shops will be gone.
Yet, people will keep talking! Wither it’s in sign language,publicly,behind closed doors, message boards,chat rooms,etc!
Blogging will have a great role in the next world war (lets hope it won’t happen). Though, technically speaking, it would help if cell phones would become “blogging-freindly”, that is being equipped with a decent QWERT keyboard, and live video streaming…wait…this is actually called a smart phone?3G or something,non? Oh boy , whatever,my cell isn’t that bad, it actually show some colors. Just imagine how it would have been if Iraqis right now have the ability to broadcast live images and videos and stories of what’s going in there!
Why worry about blogging š
Tkae it easy
Where else woul I find out what a nice young lady in Jordan is thinking. I spent a year in Japan with us Army in 1944-45 and a Japnese blogger amazed with changes in Japan. A Somali blogger
talked about economics in a country without a Goverenment. The Big Pharaoh shareda vacation in Karnac with us. I confess that I get upset
with left wing socialist in my country and I release my steam with a blog. My local newspaper limits my leters to editor to one every three monts.
I enjoy your Blog and even agree with you now and then
Richard
I think that blogging is here to stay. It gives people a form of self expression and a chance to be famous in their own little way. That’s very appealing.
Blogging has become a life style for blogger.. it is the place where they can express themselves and their impression on things going around…
I have met friends who were sarcastic on blogging … and know they have popular blogs and they invite everyone to visit! … I think they find themselves in blogging and found a interesting way to communicate with the whole world.
Good Post š
I completely agree with the opinion of “emenoe”.