The Good-Old Days of Blogging

In the early day of blogging it was common for bloggers to read something on one blog, and then use that as inspiration for their own post.  They would link back to the muse, give credit to the other blogger, and then add their two cents.  Bloggers would comment on each other's sites and look for ways to help promote others who were also writing blogs that caught their attention.

Early blog guru's like Darren Rowse of ProBlogger and Brian Clark of CopyBlogger got their start being a peer to others who were exploring blogging.  It was not a competition, nor about being a self-focused activity.  Blogging was about community.... really, it was!

Those days are long gone.  Most bloggers seem to only promote their own thoughts and ideas while they pontificate.  There seems to be few outbound links to other writers of blogs, and rarely do people seem to site their inspiration...., unless that other person is famous.  There seems to be a mistaken notion that famous people will see a post and "discover" the person who wrote about them (yeah, it doesn't happen that way too often).  I still see people link out to the most well read blogs, but it is no longer common for bloggers to promote their peers.  (See my Blog Roll on the right side of this page, and click through to see some great blogs!!!).

It also seems like with the addition of so many blogs, that few people are as interested in reading what others have to say as they were in the past.

I miss the old days.  It was fun.  There was a feel of the Wild West, but it was a community of people seeking to learn, share, and connect.  Lots of people were blogging about blogging.... and there was something cool about having a blog.

It was the topic and the writers opinion that mattered, not the flash of who was the cool kid on the block.  But then it all got stale.  Too many corporate marketing consultants pushed a ton of non-bloggers into creating their own portals.  This shifted blogging to be more promotional, and the intrigue of finding an interesting blogger who could be shared with friends vanish in the over-crowded sea of pre-scheduled posts.

And yet I still write.  It is cathartic for me, and it allows me to explore thoughts. ideas and observations.  I try to promote others (which is why I created the weekly "Cool Things My Friends Do" posts), but I do not link out as much as I did in the past.  I wish that culture of quoting and linking was still active.

It is still exciting for me to read posts by the people who I admire, but I rarely find new bloggers that catch my attention.  By reading posts on other platforms I am encouraged and inspired and I plan to seek out some thought provoking sites and use them as my muse.  Look for more posts here where I that take concepts I find elsewhere and add to the conversation.

Your thoughts?

Have A Great Day

thom singer