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Recently, Wired.com had a post on their own blog called Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004. I actually hate to even give them a link to their post because once you read it you might agree. They posted it strictly to get attention and links. Can you say “link-bait?”
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 account.
And just because Robert Scoble says he “keeps [his] blog mostly for long-form writing,” we should dump our blogs. Quite frankly, the “bloggers” at Wired miss a really good opportunity to sing praises that blogging is just one of the social media tools businesses and other professionals should be using to promote their businesses or firms.
Here is one of the statements made by Wired:
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.
Maybe the “post” on Wired’s “Blog” made me cranky, but I really think they are full of crap. While I might agree, personal blogs may not be what they use to be. That is mainly caused by the very fact, blogging will not be replaced by twitter and its other social media cousins. Maybe the personal blogs will be a thing of the past, just as the Wired news stand magazine is being replaced by well designed and maintained blogs. Perhaps that is the real grip behind Wired’s “post” on their own “Blog.” Only they know what their true reasons were.
I also think it might have irritated Paul Stamatiou a little bit too based on his post, Shutting Down My Blog. Paul writes:
Boutin, the hypocritical author of a New York Times article published in March aimed at showing you how to blog, now asserts that you should quit your blog right now.
If bloggers today will not be able to compete with the Huffington and The York Times, tell me this. Why is it that the Wall Street Journal and other major national newspapers link to and quote from blogs almost on a daily basis. Tell me why reporters are now using a RSS reader as one of the first sources of news they go to? Blogging is far from dead.
Blogging will remain a viable marketing tool for those businesses and professional service firms who are forward thinking enough to realize it is a powerful marketing tool. One that will reach out and grab the attention of a huge audience and actually bring in business.
Yes, I would agree that the other social media tools, such as twitter are very significant and should not be discounted themselves. However, they are also tools which should be utilized right along with a well done blog. Instead of replacing blogging, these other social media tools will only add to the reach of the smart social media user. And blogging, in my humble opinion is the grand daddy of all of the social media tools available.
Instead of saying blogging is so “2004.” Perhaps Wired should have said blogging without using the other social tools is going to leave you behind your competitors.
What WIred also fails to mention is the very fact that twitter is not a platform where you can provide a huge amount of information. In fact, if you are familiar with twitter at all, you know it is limited to 140 characters. And unless someone is following you, they will not get your twitter message at all. You simply cannot transmit a message on twitter with the same impact you can on a well designed, maintained and relevant blog.
Blogging is not dead as a viable tool for the progressive business owners or professional service firms to use to market their products or services. Blogging will never be completely replaced by social media tools such as twitter, flickr and Facebook. It is not possible. Might it replace the personal “journal” blog, yes. But that has happened already by those who are using blogging as a marketing platform.
My advice to all of those who have blogs, keep doing them. However, use the other social media tools with them too. And for those thinking of starting a blog, start one. Who really cares if Jason Calacanis “retired” his and I certainly don’t care if Wired used their own Blog to post about blogging being dead or so 2004. Ironic isn’t it, they used a blog to try to convince us blogging was dead.
I am Grant Griffiths and I blog and co-own a blog consulting and design firm.
I started my first blog February of 2005. My first blog was a blog I used to market and promote my family law practice. And blogging soon became my only form of written advertising. What I also discovered was that blogging is one of the most effective marketing tools available for the small business, home business and professional service firm. In fact, I was am so sold on the effectiveness of blogging, that I am co-founder of G²WebMedia.
Totally agree, Grant, and I too felt very cranky after reading his article earlier this week. Here is my response:
http://advocatesstudio.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/pull-your-blog/
My sense is, why dis’ the screwdriver while you are using the hammer? For some jobs, the hammer is going to get you further than the screwdriver. Keep a full toolbox and you will be the Norm Abrams of the on-line world!
Best regards!
Martha
“Blogging is dead, long live the Blog”. Sheesh. I think that perhaps Wired is dead. Now I remember why I stopped reading the magazine - irrelevance!
Your last line says it all, “Ironic isn’t it, they used a blog to try to convince us blogging was dead.”
Cheers,
Kelley
As noted, there’ s more than a little irony in using a blog to tell the blogosphere — because that, after all, was the real target audience — that the blog is dead.
As also noted, it’s a bogus idea, good for little more than getting us all to talk about their blog. And in that respect, it’s worked out quite well for them.
Neither Twitter nor any other similar type of site can provide enough information to potential clients (in my field, anyway) to allow them to decide whether or not to utilize your services versus the services of someone else. My blog (hopefully) does; it at least allows people to know more about me than they can know about my competitors, before they even call.
Rick Horowitz´s last blog post..Spam Justice
The irony really is that Wired.com used a blog to try to tell us blogging is dead. And what is even funnier is the fact the one who wrote the post is the same reporter who just a few months ago was trying to tell us how to blog.
Thanks to all of you for your comments and for keeping the conversation going.
I talk to people in the “real world” every day who still aren’t sure what a “blog” is. Upon further inquiry, it turns out they read a blog that very day. But no they didn’t - they visited a site that had content they found compelling.
I think one has to be careful not to assume that, because it’s “old news” for you, it’s old news to everybody. That seems to be the case for the author of the Wired article.
There are many more readers / listeners / viewers still getting into this new world of “blogging”.
There was one thing in the article I found particularly instructive …
“… personal sites have been shoved aside by professional ones. Most are essentially online magazines: The Huffington Post. Engadget. TreeHugger. A stand-alone commentator can’t keep up with a team of pro writers cranking out up to 30 posts a day.”
While most bloggers I’ve met are among the most generous in the world, I think this tells us that it’s even more important that we find ways to work together and cross-promote each other sites. If we want to remain independent, we need to ramp up our efforts to work interdependently.
Thanks Grant for another great post!
George Krueger´s last blog post..Seth Godin on Tribes: Part 2
Thank you George for another great comment. Keep them coming.
I suspect the Wired folks are mostly trying to generate interest in a topic via provocation. It worked.
Amazing rant (erm…post) dude! I totally agree in that there’s no reason for them to use a blog to stop people from blogging. As well, I don’t see how flickr, twitter, or facebook could replace blogging. You have to think about the purposes behind each application. Twitter is for updates, flickr is for photos, and facebook is for networking purposes. A blog, however, combines all of these elements to deliver information in a way that each platform couldn’t. These social media tools should be an extension of the main site: the blog. It’s like saying “stop driving cars, just roll around the tires instead.”
It’s really interesting to see the reactions around the net to Wired’s post. I’m certain many people feel similarly to yourself.
Corey Freeman´s last blog post..First of the Month - The Good, The Bad, and the Coming Up!
Blogging is dead only if the blogger is dead.