Blogging has changed so much since I first started back in 2009, and I know that a lot of you are worried about the future of blogging and at times I am too.
As what might be considered an old school content creator, I can see why beginners and the new generation of creators are focused on short form video content fast-paced sites like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. After all, learning how to start a blog is an entirely different skillset and many people think of blogging as being too complicated they may also find that it's not an easy way to make money.
The topics of blogging, what blogging platform to use, doing keyword research, and more was discussed during one of my Facebook Live streams (see below). I shared my thoughts about the future of blogging in the next 3 to 5 years. It's an interesting question but, before we dive into this topic, let's first take a look at what's changed about blogging and the effort is takes to get blog traffic and a significant readership over the past few years. The evolution of blogging and what it takes to become a blogger in the last few years is quite surprising, to say the least.
How Has Blogging Changed
As Chris Garrett points out, in a recent interview with Darren Rowse, the growth of Facebook has made a huge impact on the way people engage with blogs and our content. If you have been blogging for a couple of years, most likely you have noticed a shift in the way you engage with your readers. For example, I find that most of the conversations that used to happen on my blog are now taking place on YouTube, Facebook Live or other social sites like Twitter, Instagram and even podcasting apps like Anchor.fm.
I'm sure I don't need to tell you that video is all the rage now but so is podcasting. I find that at times it's much easier for me to pull out my iPhone and go live on YouTube than it is to write a blog post. In fact, I'm struggling to write this one now (can you tell?).
My friends get a notification when I go live and they look forward to being a part of my stream audience. You can see in this Facebook Live replay below. We had a great conversation and the interaction between my friends is reminiscent of the comment section from one of my blog posts back in the day!
Does Blogging Need to Change?
The transition from blogging to video and podcasting seems to be happening right before our very eyes.
IMO, a few things need to happen in order for us to convince the next generation of content creator that they need to have a blog.
- Starting a blog on your own custom domain name needs to be more simplistic (or maybe I should just say easier)
- Hosting and protecting a blog needs to be more affordable (especially for those of us who are using WordPress)
- Moderating spam comments shouldn't be “a thing” or a task we have on our to do list
Do Your Children Blog?
My daughter Nicole is the one who got me blogging when I saw her first blog. Do your children show an interest in blogging and do they realize the importance of having a website? I'm guessing that YouTube or Twitch has their attention depending upon what age group they are in. If they're in the late teens perhaps they show an interest in podcasting. Either way, I would love to see you encourage them to use a blog as their home base for their content.
Keep me posted on how it goes or if you need help.
If you have a question, or want to leave feedback that might be featured on the podcast, you have three options:
- Call-in to my station over on Anchor.fm or
- Use my handy SpeakPipe page to record your question in a voicemail.
- Send me an email here
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