tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post6032217029466660423..comments2024-03-02T01:51:01.731-08:00Comments on Lauren Wayne: Why blogging is dead (and why it is not)Lauren Waynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07500733577920040395noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post-66100538870627095602016-06-14T09:36:57.974-07:002016-06-14T09:36:57.974-07:00Great Post Lauren, and I completely agree. I'v...Great Post Lauren, and I completely agree. I've been blogging since 2003 and I've seen my own metrics of post success change from 'number of comments' to 'hits' on Google Analytics. Since the majority of my traffic comes from new visitors via search engines, I take SEO into consideration just as much as audience when writing blog posts. Not a bad or a good thing, it still works well for me, but it certainly is not the same as it used to be. <br /><br />What I don't like is when people blog directly on social media. Tumblr for example. Not only do you not own the content any more, but it isn't working for you as much as it could be. Or I should say, it's working for you in a different and more limited way. The more this happens, the more it keeps people trapped in their ecosystem. If there's plenty of content right in the stream, why click an external link? Ugh.<br /><br />One thing that can help bridge the gap between blogs and social media comments is to replace the wordpress/jetpack comments with a social media commenting plugin like Facebook Comments or even Disqus. You lose the SEO of the comments, but you can keep the social media comments right there with the content, which is a win-win.<br /><br />And ditto on Google Reader. I moved to Feedly, which is fine, but I don't understand why Google dropped support for both Reader and Feedburner. No doubt this helped contribute to the current false belief that RSS is dead.<br /><br />Keep up the great work!<br /><br />Yours Darkly,<br />-ConradConrad Zerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10472291234527703256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post-68924409925435460432016-06-12T19:58:41.964-07:002016-06-12T19:58:41.964-07:00@Kay: You're right — I wonder what new methods...@Kay: You're right — I wonder what new methods of information delivery we'll all come up with. Lauren Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07500733577920040395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post-54933332340188275572016-06-12T19:57:29.048-07:002016-06-12T19:57:29.048-07:00@Inder: I think you have me confused with someone ...@Inder: I think you have me confused with someone who was good at replying to comments, lol. I always *meant* to. I'm not complaining (or not trying to) that I don't get many comments — it's just an observation. I don't comment as much anymore, here or elsewhere. I notice fewer comments on others' blogs. Just in general, fewer comments on blogposts, I think. <br /><br />Today's the day I realized a few things: (1) This blog is showing both native Blogger AND IntenseDebate comments to select groups, so half the comments are here & half in ID, and I don't know how to reconcile this! (2) I think I want to uninstall ID because it's no longer maintained, but I also want to redo my whole template so think I'll wait to wade into the coding of that. (3) I didn't receive any notifications for these comments, just happened to see them here by chance. Not in my spam folder, either. Mysterious.<br /><br />I could see where sewing tutes would be well suited to the Pinterest/Google-search era. Food blogs seem to be doing just dandy as well. <br /><br />It's very true that we can become more sensitive to who's eavesdropping on us as we continue to blog. I know I worry about that, especially as regards my oldest. I don't want my kids one day to find something online I've written about them and feel hurt by it. But: The flipside is I've had a lot of really funny, engaging conversations with them lately about stories I'd shared on my blog when they were little that they're asking me to retell again and again. So, yes, as a record, it can be invaluable. It's kind of like how I got out of the habit of regular (on-paper) journaling, but I do enjoy delving back into my diaries of days past and wish I had that kind of record going still.<br /><br />Anyway, you're one of my most faithful commenters, so thank you. Gold star! Platinum!Lauren Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07500733577920040395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post-47500549782734738382016-06-12T19:47:06.302-07:002016-06-12T19:47:06.302-07:00@Luschka: Exactly! I would never have met you if n...@Luschka: Exactly! I would never have met you if not for blogging. <3 I really value all the friendships blogging helped forge.Lauren Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07500733577920040395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post-79592018730357727922016-06-12T19:38:55.222-07:002016-06-12T19:38:55.222-07:00Yes, totally. I keep wondering when Blogger will d...Yes, totally. I keep wondering when Blogger will disappear entirely… I think it's fun to write for yourself, and I plan to do more of that since it just doesn't matter as much anymore, anyway! :)Lauren Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07500733577920040395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post-2151122111712875082016-06-11T10:25:29.463-07:002016-06-11T10:25:29.463-07:00Best post I've read in ages ... I have 5 langu...Best post I've read in ages ... I have 5 languishing blogs, once written for a time, place and audience; they've been fossils for a long time and that's fine. Reading this, I see now why I have not started a new blog, being so involved in social media and book marketing, I must've sensed that the blog is not the way to go. Makes me wonder about virtual book tours on blogs, though! Yeah, they're specialized and people go to them for the book info ... Hmmm ... focused-delivery blogs in future? Maybe someday there'll be a "vintage blog" movement or biographers will find richness in searching blogs. <br />Kay in SeattleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post-32170961783634745352016-06-10T10:27:58.121-07:002016-06-10T10:27:58.121-07:00I still read blogs! Mostly sewing blogs these days...I still read blogs! Mostly sewing blogs these days, though, rather than parenting blogs (I do follow a couple special ed blogs, and of course many of the sewing bloggers I follow are parents and talk about parenting). There has been a bit of a crisis in sewing blogging as well, but sewing has the advantage of being both visual and technical, so it was possibly the perfect subject for blogging, unusually suited to the medium ... ?<br /><br />I have noticed that you don't respond to comments on your blog anymore, Lauren. I do miss that, I think the conversation was always fun, and maybe I just crave that "gold star" of recognition. So when you complain that you don't get comments anymore, I'd say, well, I comment but I don't get responses as often as I used to!<br /><br />I freely admit that too much commercial content, especially unrelated to the subject matter of the blog, seriously turns me off. I do, however, support many bloggers by buying e-books, patterns, and other products that they make. But if there are too many posts advertising Kleenex or Folgers crystals, I get really bored and annoyed, and I will remove the blog from my feed if it's a regular thing. It's more than just the ad content, which is annoying - my observation is that bloggers who are working too hard to monetize sometimes lose their own voice and their blogs become less fun and personal. Some writers can straddle this really well, but many cannot. <br /><br />I am still blogging, but as time goes on I am more sensitive about my children's privacy and my own privacy. There was a time when my blog was so small that I really felt that it was a pretty safe space to vent or talk. Now I am pretty sure that my boss and everyone on the planet is reading, or would read if I said anything problematic, and it has dampened my enthusiasm for personal sharing, and I think that the loss of personal sharing is another factor sometimes associated with a loss of enthusiasm and interest in blogging. I definitely blogged less last year than in prior years, but in retrospect, I was sad about this, because my blog does provide a great record of my life, my creative work, and my kids growing up. Inder-ifichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09724667602427496583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post-12373313787724223552016-06-10T07:37:06.461-07:002016-06-10T07:37:06.461-07:00Yes yes a thousand times yes. I do feel sad for th...Yes yes a thousand times yes. I do feel sad for the 'good old days' though. It was a fun community. Luschkahttp://www.diaryofafirstchild.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post-2311230867440410042016-06-10T06:52:18.388-07:002016-06-10T06:52:18.388-07:00Haha, case-in-point? No other comments here. Obvio...Haha, case-in-point? No other comments here. Obviously you just posted yesterday, but it seems fitting for the post at hand. I am only a casual blogger, with infrequent posts, highly personal, and so basically, I write for me, because I like to write. However, I do remember the good old blogging days... When blogger was the new kid on the block, but mostly everyone preferred Live Journal or Xanga... Good times, for sure... I am totally guilty of the search engine-blog relationship without continuing to have interest in a blog once I found the information I wanted. I guess it's weird how you hope things stay the same, all the while you are changing yourself, without realizing it. Thanks for the post. It has made me a little reflective and nostalgic. =)Holly Guerrerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02638384423064414943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4465123549328008863.post-64255433778679187002016-06-10T06:52:07.516-07:002016-06-10T06:52:07.516-07:00Haha, case-in-point? No other comments here. Obvio...Haha, case-in-point? No other comments here. Obviously you just posted yesterday, but it seems fitting for the post at hand. I am only a casual blogger, with infrequent posts, highly personal, and so basically, I write for me, because I like to write. However, I do remember the good old blogging days... When blogger was the new kid on the block, but mostly everyone preferred Live Journal or Xanga... Good times, for sure... I am totally guilty of the search engine-blog relationship without continuing to have interest in a blog once I found the information I wanted. I guess it's weird how you hope things stay the same, all the while you are changing yourself, without realizing it. Thanks for the post. It has made me a little reflective and nostalgic. =)Holly Guerrerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02638384423064414943noreply@blogger.com