It seems that blogging is in decline. According to the MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog thingies in the side bar many people who used to visit this blog no longer do so. Well, that's probably just because I write boring stuff. But it seems to be happening elsewhere as well.
A while ago there was a bold new attempt to provide links between blogs and the mainstream media in the form of Twingly. This would enable one to see at a glance who had blogged about a particular news item, which was quite useful. I hoped it might grow and spread to more newspapers, but the only one that I knew that adopted it was The Times in South Africa, and even they seem to have dropped it now. Perhaps it's the worsening economic situation, and The Times and other media are retrenching. But even if that is the case, the fact that links to the blogosphere are the among first to go is significant. Two years ago people were predicting that the mainstream media were in trouble, that blogging was taking over. Now, it seems, the blogosphere is no longer perceived as a threat.
The process is even more advanced in Usenet newsgroups, where participaation has dropped enormously, and what remains is usually just cranks and fanatics. But beven the bloggers are disappearing, or flocking to join the ranks of twitterers.
So the better our tools for communication become, the less we are able to make use of them.
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8 comments:
I usually have javascript turned off in my browser (for security reasons), and I think that makes me invisible to the sites that keep track of traffic.
Also, more and more people are reading blogs through newsreaders (I use FeedDemon), and I don't think they show up, either.
So you might have more readers than you think. :)
I always read your blog, but it's usually in Bloglines so I don't actually visit the blig itself, and thus probably won't register in your sidebar thingies. The only times I come to the actual blog are on the rare occasion I make a comment.
The point about using readers is true. I think most people when they find a blog add it to their reader these days. I add them straight away in fact, if it's one I know I will return to.
At a guess, about fifty percent of people who visit a blog do so through a reader these days.
I've visited on several times and noticed that I've not appeared on either My Blog Log or Blog Catalog widgets.
Malcolm,
You need to stay logged in to MyBlogLog and Blog Catalog to appeatr in the widgets, I think. Perhaps if you don't visit the sites for a long time your login lapses, and then you would have to log in again (but don't log out when you leave).
I also subscribe to your blog via a reader, so maybe don't show up in stats - but I do try to post a comment now and again so you don't feel ignored :)
Thomas,
I turn off scripts (Java, Flash etc) with the Noscript add-on to save bandwidth, but I think i still show up on those.
Yewtree, I used to use MyBlogLog to visit your blogs, but now find them far more difficult to find.
Crushed,
You do seem to show up quite a bit on the widget, and that's how I'm reminded to visit your blog.
I totally agree with what has already been said about readers. More often than not I view your posts through a reader which wont register as a visit. In fact, that's how I came across today, I spotted something in the reader that I wanted to comment on. I don't think blogs are dead yet.
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