Friday, May 13, 2011

Is the world of the Internets changing?

I know I've been scarce around these parts in the last couple months. It's not that my life has suddenly gotten all that interesting. Or even all that busy. But I'm in the process of trying to finish up a manuscript and I've got another commitment that does take up quite a bit of time, so blogging sadly has gone by the wayside.

I've also discovered that I'm not reading as many blogs as I used to. I try to check in with my friends' blogs and some of the great book blogs on a regular basis, but rather than checking once a day like in the past, now I'm checking once a week or maybe once every couple of weeks and catching up with all the posts.

I had a discussion about this with a friend, and she said she's doing the same thing these days. Have blogs run their course? Five and a half years ago, when Alison Gaylin, Lori Armstrong, and Jeff Shelby and I began the First Offenders blog, we were the first "group" author blog. Now they're a dime a dozen. There weren't very many book bloggers out there, either. I did read Dooce, and still do — she's made a career out of blogging. But if blogs were to sag in popularity, would that affect her, too?

I find that I get most of my "news" on Facebook these days. People post about themselves, books they're reading, links to news stories and book reviews, book events. Stuff that I might have found on blogs two years ago. But now it's all in one place.

I haven't even updated my website in a while. I've got a book event in June for INK FLAMINGOS at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT, but I have yet to post that on my website. But someone did post the RJ Julia announcement about it on Facebook.

Is the world of the Internets changing? Are we evolving from blogs to Facebook? I do admit, though that I do not understand Twitter. I have an account but rarely ever post anything. It just seems redundant and silly.

What do you think? Granted, there might not be anyone out there these days since I'm not even here all that much myself. So my question might be going out into the wind. But in the odd chance that someone out there is reading this, I'd like to hear your thoughts. Are you reading blogs as frequently or do you find it's lagging, too?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to agree--which is rather sad, considering I write one! (OK, technically HBE is a "column.") There is so little time to accomplish all the things that need to be done that I often find myself without the time--or the memory--to frequent a lot of my favorite blogs. Of course, Facebook (and the ability to share links there) is the great equalizer. I'm just happy I happened to be on when you posted a link to this!

John

K.C. Shaw said...

Blogs may be on the downswing, but I don't think Facebook is taking their place. Remember Myspace? Friendster? Facebook is going to be just like them in a few years, but people will still be blogging. And tweeting, probably. I don't read blogs daily the way I used to either, but I check my feed daily to see if anything's come through that I want to read.

Eleanor said...

My blog has been languishing of late, too (although I just wrote a new post after nearly a month). I think blogs have a finite shelf life. After a while, the author has said everything he/she means to say and it starts getting repetitive. Speaking for myself, at least.

Karen Olson said...

KC, I don't think that Facebook is going away. It's doing things that Friendster and MySpace never did. It's like the new watering hole. Those other social media sites never did anything like Facebook. Certainly it will still evolve, but I think it will grow with us, not away from us.

Alice said...

Hi Karen, as you know, my attempt to give up Facebook failed big time. It's THE best social network media available today (others may disagree) but nobody can deny that it is huge. I think, though, that blogging is here to stay. Blog posts can be integrated in Facebook and shown on News Feed so it's really, really good! :D

dollycas aka Lori said...

I really hope not, my blog has been a life saver for me literally. I use facebook to direct people to my blog but hopefully it will not replace it. I post 2-3 times a day and my following is slowly growing and because of it I have made some wonderful new friends I wouldn't have made without it. I hope they continue to have a place. My biggest worry right now t that printed books are going to disappear in favor of e-books and there truly is nothing like the smell and feel of a new book.

Chrisbookarama said...

I have noticed a change in blogging. It's not as relaxed as it once was. I'm trying not to change too much. I still enjoy it and as long as I do, I'll keep doing it. There are a lot of people on Goodreads now too. That might be taking a bite out of it.

I'm a Twitterer (a twit?) but mostly because I get to chat with my book friends. It's weird because I'm so anti-Facebook.