PC Magazine's Article on Blogging: Are Blogs on Their Way Out?
Submitted by karenpardue on Sun, 2007-03-04 05:36.
I receive and read copious amounts of computer and web developer magazines and journals. Bad side, very expensive. Good side, I learn not only what I should be paying attention to for my job but what is being discussed in editorial circles. The March 2007 (Vol. 26 No. 5) issue of PC Magazine includes an article by Aaron Dalton, freelance writer, entitled, "All Typed Out." Dalton explores what seems to be a decline of blogging. Ward cites information from Technorati which estimates 63.2 million active blogs in existence with over half "abandoned" within three months. Furthermore, research firm, Gartner, estimates "the total number of dead, abandoned blogs at more than 200 million" (p. 17). The firm believes that while some blogs are interesting and relevant, many are not. Bloggers may have run out of things to say... or not. Dalton included in his article others' opinions as to the state of blogging. Car.com senior editor, David Thomas, believes the popularity of blogs is not lost on large businesses (see Blogging 101 from the first week of the course) and corporations like Microsoft. Dalton agrees with Thomas, stating, "Look for more corporations to use blogs as part of their branding and communication efforts, [essentially], more commercial, more professional, and more about money (p. 18).
As I read this article, I thought, are our efforts to learn blogging's uses washed up so soon? Not a chance! Let me explain. Occasionally in the past I have felt as librarians we were on the tail end of social networking, the young ones having cleared the trail for those who follow. Dalton's article made me realize that libraries and librarians may actually be trailblazers for 'blogging, phase 2'. While I do not think there will be necessarily a dramatic decline in what Dalton describes as "authentic" blogs (Rebecca's Pocket describes these as an "uncensored, unmediated, uncontrolled voice") , the use of blogs by professionals, scholars, and businesses will ensure this "vehicle" of communication will continue to be useful.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2095007,00.asp
Karen Pardue
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Karen, I really appreciate
Karen, I really appreciate your sharing this data and possible trend. I remember reading something similar about MySpace. There definitely seems to be a correlation these days between the speed of the arrival of new trends and the speed of those trends' decline. What does this mean for us as librarians? I remember sitting in MLIS first year classes and hearing about wikipedia for the first time. Bloglines wasn't even on my radar. Without doubt, we will be tackling and promoting a completely different range of technologies 15 years from now. I think the key for us is to adopt the technologies that our users are comfortable with and have embraced, and find a way to make those technologies relevant at the library.
Shireen Deboo, Librarian
South Seattle Community College
Shireen, You really
Shireen,
You really pinpointed the purpose for why the LIS profession keeps abreast of these new toys and tools, that is, our users. Sometimes I worry about my personal ability to change with the changing times. I do now because I only graduated in the past two years. How am I going to feel about the new technologies 15 years from now? I don't want to stagnate or find myself in a rut unable to relate to library users because I have dug in my heels and said, "I won't!". I think, for myself at least, keeping immersed in the interests of young library users keeps me me 'young' as well and able to move with the times. Thanks for your post!
Karen Pardue