More NYT’s Nonsense About Blogs On The Wane
The NYT's wants blogs to go away so badly, they consistently look for ways to suggest that's the case. Having been out here for 7 years, the reality is, they are doing better than ever. The medium is simply maturing.
Blogs were once the outlet of choice for people who wanted to express themselves online. But with the rise of sites like Facebook and Twitter, they are losing their allure for many people — particularly the younger generation.
Scott Rosenberg takes the NYT's item on pretty well.
The technology press has been keen on the “blogging is dead” (or “dying”) meme for some time now, but it’s tough to find actual data or evidence supporting the notion. Blogging, of course, is changing; in the digital world, all is flux. But if you’re going to declare, as today’s New York Times headline does, that blogging is “waning,” it would be good to be able to show a decline in numbers. And that, sadly, is missing from the Times story — which cherry-picks statistics that look very different in their original contexts.
I spend time on Twitter I might otherwise have spent blogging. But the net result may actually be good for blogging. One does fewer throw away posts meant to only say something quick, better said via Twitter. What this is really about is alternative media taking on the old, or mainstream media. According to the Times, 14% of children ages 12 – 17 are blogging. That may have halved from when blogging was all the rage in media, but it's still a healthy percentage.
Among 18-33 year-olds, the percentage dropped by 2 points in 2010. Good. It's a little crowded out here, as it stands. I've no reason to doubt that New Media, in its various forms, continues to grow in size and influence.
