In the past few years, bloggers have been going through some growing pains. They've been facing a lot of challenges, but that's not to say they're dying off. In fact, for many bloggers, this is a time to grow stronger than ever before.
Bloggers have always had to pay close attention to what readers want and need—that's part of their job, after all. The rise of social media and the shift in how people use the internet have made blogging much more complicated, but they've also created opportunities for bloggers to do things they couldn't before.
The internet has changed a lot in the last 20 years. We used to have to physically meet up with our friends to talk about the things that interested us, but then we discovered message boards and forums. We thought that was the end of it—we could just meet in one big room with a bunch of other people who wanted to talk about the same thing! But then blogging came along.
For a while, blogging was king. It allowed people to share their thoughts and ideas without having to compete for attention on a forum thread—you had your own space for expression. You could design it however you wanted, share links, photos, videos—whatever you wanted! And you didn't have to worry about being moderated by some random person who wasn't even interested in your topic. That's what made it so great!
Ah, the blog. Once the stuff of legend, then the stuff of forgotten history.
And we're not sure if you know this, but blogs are making a comeback. Before, blogs were the internet's best-kept secret. People shared their stories and gave advice through them in a way that didn't feel staged or fake. They could be funny or serious, and they often went viral without any effort on their creators' part. It was like shooting stars zooming through cyberspace at lightning speed.
But then social media came along and crushed everything. Gone were the days of message boards, forums, and blogs… there was only Facebook now. And Twitter. And Instagram. And Snapchat. And every other social media platform that turned our lives upside down and made us feel like we had to constantly be on top of something new just to stay relevant.
It's been tough, but we've survived these past couple of years without blogs. And this is the ultimate sign that the world has come full circle—blogging is back!
And it's not just because hipsters have a way of bringing back the rejected stuff from the past: it's because people are craving the kind of thoughtful content that you'll find on a blog but can't get from other social media platforms. Sure, you can share your thoughts with a quick tweet or post a link to an article on Facebook, but if you want to really delve into an idea or topic? You're going to need more than 300 characters or a few paragraphs—you're going to need a blog.
Blogs are back, and they're better than ever.
What do we mean by "better than ever"? Well, it's kind of a more nuanced thing than you might think at first glance. But it boils down to this: the way people get their content has changed so much in the last couple of years that blogs are now—again—a viable place for people to get information from sources they trust.
The way people consume content has changed again, and people have become wary of getting their news from social media platforms that have been proven to be rife with misinformation. Now readers are looking for relevant material written by reliable sources—and that's exactly what blogs offer! Blogs allow writers to share their expertise in an easy-to-read format without having to worry about wading through hundreds of comments or scrolling past ads or sponsored posts.
We don't know how long blogs will be around for (although we hope they're here forever), but we do know that as long as they are, they'll be held to a higher standard than their clickbait-y counterparts.
That's because blogs have a reputation to uphold. They're supposed to be the authority on a subject, the place you go when you want a deep dive into something—you know, like what your favorite celebrity had for breakfast or the top 10 places to get a copy of your birth certificate. But with all this responsibility comes expectations, and it's important that you deliver on those expectations.
