Is Blogging Still Relevant?
August 24, 2010 – 8:48 am | by Daryl Tay
I was listening to a great conversation between Mitch Joel and Joseph Jaffe on blogging and they talk about how blogging is still relevant and I certainly think it still is.
If you’ve been active online for awhile, why not start a blog now? It’s not too late. I think of local examples like omgzam who are “new” to the blogging scene but have integrated fairly quickly, or even international examples like Amber Naslund, who I referenced myself in an earlier post, “Twitter Numbers and Why You’re Being Fooled“.
When I came up with the 20 digital and social media bloggers to follow in Singapore, I originally wanted to hit 52, one for each week. Unfortunately there just was a lack of people who were committed to producing quality, long-form content. However if I had to make a list of Tweeters, there would be no shortage at all.
I think the biggest “sin” is to start blogging when you need to. When is that? When you’re looking for a job. I know of a personal example who didn’t have a blog while he was still employed, but after he left, wow, suddenly he was all into blogging so he could show prospective employers “hey look I’m active! I’m a thought leader!” Needless to say, once he landed the second job, the blog died.
This just isn’t how it works. We educate and encourage organisations to be present and create quality content, but for us, we’re allowed to blog when we need to just before a conference to look “current” or when we’re job-hunting, but fall off the bandwagon otherwise. I think that’s terribly hypocritical and smacks of double standards.
So do you think blogs have gone the way of the dinosaur in favour of more “social” channels like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter? I would love to hear your opinions on this, whether you’re a regular blogger or one who has fallen off the bandwagon or someone who just leverages other social media channels aside from blogging.
[image credits: Gaping Void]
Tags: @omgzam, amber naslund, blogging, digital media bloggers, double standards, hypocritical, is blogging relevant, joseph jaffe, mitch joel, singapore bloggers, social media bloggers, twitter numbers
7 Responses to “Is Blogging Still Relevant?”
By Jo Jordan on Aug 24, 2010 | Reply
I look at it the other way around. If you produce content, you should have a blog. A blog is just a software option that google pays attn to because of its diary, date order features; RSS feeds make sense sending people a msg when you have updated; and allowing readers to comment quickly and easily.
If you are not a content producer, then a blog doesn’t make sense. You might be a connector, or a forum host, or something – whatever.
By Daryl Tay on Aug 24, 2010 | Reply
@Jo: Thanks that is exactly the other side of the coin I was looking to hear. I definitely am in the camp that creating valuable, long-form content is a winning strategy, but as you have pointed out, there are other activities in the ecosystem that play an equally important role. Would love to hear from someone who perhaps just Tweets or just uses Facebook.
By Daphne Maia on Aug 27, 2010 | Reply
I must say that my blog tends to be updated less when I am employed. When I get home after a long day at work dealing with blogs, bloggers, and other social media channels, I more often than not just wanna switch off and not blog or have anything to do with that anymore.
I notice people tend to blog more when they’re on leave, or sabbatical, or holiday. I mean, really, work drains energy. So perhaps it’s not just that people only want to blog when they are looking for a job, but rather, when they get employed, it becomes too much of an effort to continue updating it on a regular basis.
However, I think I’m going to try to update all my blogs at least once a week from now on.
After all, if a guy as senior and as busy as Walter can do it a few times a week, I’m sure I can manage 1x a week. 
As for comparing blogs to other channels, I think it really depends on what you’re trying to achieve. I regularly share articles on Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz and even on Plurk, and that in a way shows that I continue reading a lot even if I don’t blog? But when I blog, I want to make sure that there IS something that I wanna say, instead of blogging just for the sake of blogging. Content’s got to matter more than frequency, to me.
By Walter on Sep 4, 2010 | Reply
Daryl, your post really hits the nail on my head, and it brought me back to my first epiphanous episode sometime in end 2005. Then, I recalled talking to Ivan Chew (aka Rambling Librarian) about why its so difficult to blog when I am neither a professor nor a guru in any areas of my life.
He shared that I should just blog about my passions and interests, and gave the exact quote above – Passion and Authority – which I believe hailed from Scoble and Israel’s “Naked Conversations”. Since then, life hasn’t quite been the same again.
Daphne raised a good point about how work gets in the way of blogging. I must admit that there were times when I was hard pressed and unable to pen a single word. However, I find that the more stressed out I am, the more I need to find that “inner voice” within me to maintain my sanity and individuality in a sea of corporate conformism.
Blogging the long form requires effort and discipline. It requires one to put on the thinking cap and compels one to dig deep within to find that ounce of originality. What I hope it does for me – in the long-term that is – is to immortalise my intellectual (and to some extent, personal self) on a digital canvas so that even if I do lose it one day, people who matter to me can dig through these digital archives.
By Daphne Maia on Sep 4, 2010 | Reply
Walter, ur last point made me realize… Sometimes I really don’t know why I blog anymore. Must really take time to review my purpose of maintaining 4 blogs, then maybe the motivation will come back.
By juanmarketing on Sep 16, 2010 | Reply
This one is the most real truth I ever seen…
Hi to all marketing passionated…
By Shermeen on Sep 26, 2010 | Reply
While I’m not a social media guru, I use most of the tools regularly on a personal basis, and I’m of the opinion that blogs haven’t past their expiry date at all. I feel that no social media channel we have thus far replaces its use 100%.
When I’m looking for quality thoughts, I look for blogs or relevant online portals. Facebook covers the more personal aspects; twitter is good for aphorisms, updates and link-sharing, but isn’t comprehensive; Youtube…….. let’s just say you can have videos in a blog post, but you can’t post a blog post on Youtube! Same goes for flickr. To me, the other social media tools are the nails that require a blog to hammer the ideas in more solidly.
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As for leveraging on blogs to portray a certain front so you can secure that job – that’s off-putting. I feel that blogging first and foremost should be what genuinely interest you – what you bother to google at 1am to find out about, what you think about when you walk and look at the world around you, etc.
When you do that, it naturally follows that people will regard you as an authority, because you never stop trying to learn about that topic, and thus your expertise in that niche can only increase.
So for people who stop blogging after their facade has served its purpose, they’ll come across as superficial /false, and I’m sure it’ll affect their blogger’s credibility in the future if they ever try that trick again.