As LIBR 559M comes to a close, so does this blog. Blogging is not for me.
Although I have already have a personal blog that I use for posting recipes, using a blog for that purpose is completely different than using a blog for daily (or even weekly) recording of thoughts or activities. All my attempts to keep a diary in my life have been complete failures, so when I think of a blog being a sort of diary, it’s no wonder that I had troubles with a diary’s digital equivalent.
I’m certainly not unique in the problem of keeping up with updating one’s blog. That’s why there are so many half-started, neglected, and abandoned blogs out there on the web. It’s almost an expected feature of the medium; you might discover a new blog you love, but you can’t expect it to be around forever.
The challenges of blogging are the reason why so many blogging alternatives have popped up recently. Microblogging, with Twitter being the ultimate example, is the best evidence of this. Twitter is perfect for “bloggers” who have something the share but don’t want a timeline to follow and who don’t have the time or inclination to write multiple paragraphs. Of course, a regular posting schedule and a certain post length aren’t mandatory, but a blog won’t draw much interest if it doesn’t have much to say or it says it irregularly. Tumblr is another addition to the microblogging scene, which is another short-form blogging tool that encourages the sharing of images, audio, quotes, links, videos, etc. And Facebook status updates fulfill the need for microblogging for most people on the web.
Facebook fits my needs to share with people on the web. I’m a lurker, not a creator. I don’t need to share my thoughts and activities with the world… or even my friends. I have no ambition to create a professional blog–at least not at this point in time.
I’m glad I’ve now had a true blogging experience. I know for certain that my style is better suited to other social networking tools. I know how to use blogging tools if I do feel inspired to start one in a workplace setting. And although I confess that I am not a blogger, I do not see the “death of blog” anytime in the near future. The blog fulfills a certain role on the internet that hasn’t been replaced by any other digital tool. Microblogging isn’t blogging.
So, happy blogging to all you bloggers out there. I’ll be reading! Just not contributing…