Monday, June 4, 2012

Blogs & Pinterest & Zombies

I just read another post about how blogging isn't what it was a year ago. Many of this writer's friends are no longer posting, and s/he laments, "Blogging is dead."

My daughter recently got an iPod Touch. It comes with the same iMessage app the iPhone has. First, she could only text me. Now she has two friends she can text. One million text messages later...

zombie scanner app
Seriously, she texts constantly. Occasionally they also jump on Facetime and talk, but then they're right back to texting.

The good news is, I've got an easy thing to ground when she misbehaves or doesn't do her homework. My point is I expect this behavior to level out once the novelty is gone. 

Maybe that's a faulty analogy. Regardless, I'm not so ready to declare blogging dead. It's like any other social media--it works for some people, it doesn't for others.

Blogging moves slower, it requires brains, and Blogger often makes users emit weird noises... Much like a zombie.

Personally, I find Twitter bewildering. It's like I'm posting my random thoughts in the hopes one of my friends might be online at that moment to catch me and reply.

I've been admonished for this Luddite approach: Some other tweeter might respond, and I could make a new friend!

*nom nom nom*
But I'm kind of suspicious that way, and I'm not the type of person who chats with strangers about randomness. (Hmm... wait.)

My husband and I have lived in four different states and have friends all over the world. We use Facebook to keep up with everybody, share pictures, make jokes, remember when, share music, share movies, etc.

(Attention investors: I've never used it to buy or sell anything.)

I've always loved art and fashion and looking at photography in magazines. I also like finding unique items to buy and wear (or to dream of buying and wearing).

Me on Pinterest
Pinterest is the absolute most amazing outlet for my love, and every pin's a link to where you can find the item!

I don't use it to sell anything, but I have used it to buy stuff. (Attention investors: This one's sheer marketing genius.)

Goodreads I use when I remember to. Tumblr is simply baffling...

This silly little blog has done amazing things for me. I've had to cut back on posting, but...  (If you can recite my story, please skip to the "resume.")

I started this blog reluctantly, not expecting anything from it. I didn't know what to write about, and I didn't know a single other person with a blog.

Gradually, I met other blogging writers. We shared our writing mistakes, problems, fears, discoveries, ideas, successes, etc. Now we have a pretty tight circle of writer-friends, and I know of at least two who've sailed up the Amazon charts using blog tours.

For me, blogging has provided critique partners, feedback on short writing samples, actual writer friends, an agent. 

When I launched my editing business last year, blogger friends sent me clients, became clients, posted about it, told me where I could advertise. Now I have a steady stream of business. (Resume.)

Wait. That did all happen a year or more ago! Maybe they're right! It is dead, and I'm hanging out with... (insert shocking musicZombies!!!

I think it's more as a good blogging friend (M. Pax, link) said last week on another good friend's blog (link): You've got to find the social media outlet that suits your personality. Then you've got to interact with others using it.

Then she said, "Muuhhh... brains... nom nom nom..."

What do you guys think? Am I missing it? How do you view the social media outlets? Why are you still blogging--or are you quitting? Any good brain recipes?

Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends! <3

50 comments:

Natalie Aguirre said...

I really like blogging because you can share so much more and say so much more than something like Twitter (says the person who isn't on it). I do think the connections we make through blogging are important and it's a way to help each other when our books release. So I hope it isn't dead. I'm debating whether to join Twitter. I probably will because everyone is there though I'm not sure how much I'll do with it.

Old Kitty said...

I love blogging (so far)!! It's easy to use and I understand the tech side of it (well the Old Blogger - the new one is blah!!). And I found Charlie through blogging! So yay!!

Twitter, FB, Pinterest, texting, iphones, ipads, kindles... etc - they all flummox me so I don't go there. :-)

I'm a happy vegetarian and so don't have any brain recipes apart from advise to eat lots of carrots. LOL!

Take care
x

Stina said...

All of the forms of social media I like most it has to be blogging. That's where I've made the most friends and have had the most opportunities. I tweet, but not very often. It's just too noisy for me now.

I'm still tempted to try Pinterest because I love photography.

Laura Pauling said...

I don't think blogging is dead but I also don't think it's what it was a couple years ago - but I think that's good. There was so much focus on followers and huge numbers of followers and contests and now it's just about blogging. Which is nice.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I WANT a zombie app!! ;D

Blogging is as alive as ever. It's just evolving like everything else in life. I feel so blessed to have found blogging and all my awesome cyber writer friends!! Granted, I think we need to balance it.

Jennifer Shirk said...

Yeah, I don't think blogging is quite dead either. At least I hope not!
Other social outlets are great but you really can't get to know a person as well as thru blogging. IMHO. :)

Talli Roland said...

Funny, I was just pondering this today! I love blogging, but I'm seeing more people these days on FB and Twitter than blogs. Personally, I'm finding it harder and harder to get around to everyone like I used to when it comes to comments. I'm tired! I'll never give up my blog, but I think I will likely reduce the number of posts to twice a week or even weekly.

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Blogging moves slower, it requires brains, and Blogger often makes users emit weird noises... Much like a zombie.


LOL! I love that.

And I certainly feel like a zombie this morning. (Ugh. Monday.)

As far as twitter: yes, chatting to random people for fun pretty well sums it up. Although I do that at the grocery store too. :)

Matthew MacNish said...

Blogging is still the best social media for me.

Twitter is like being at a party where everyone's talking and no one is listening.

Pinterest much be a chick thing, because I can't see it as anything but a waste of time.

Facebook is eh, still Facebook. I don't pay attention to the ads either.

G+ is an epic fail.

Goodreads is full of bad users.

And um ... that's it.

Precy Larkins said...

Great points! I don't think it's dead. Bloggers go on breaks every now and then, but most of the time, they always come back. :) (eep, you're right! We are zombies! hahaha)

OOh, I just started Pinterest and it's so fun. Lots of lovely pictures. I don't do Tumblr. I do Twitter occasionally, but you're right--it feels weird to throw out random stuff out there when your friends are not online. It kinda feels like talking to yourself.

Anyway, happy blogging! We'll be around (to eat your brain or something. Heh!) :)

Laurel Garver said...

I love Matthew's commentary/descriptions of the various social media. The very idea of Twitter makes me break out in hives. "Noisy" social media are a poor fit for me for sure.

I agree that new platforms will always draw away some folks. Sometimes it's a temporary obsession with the novelty, sometimes it's permanent--due largely to whether it's a better temperamental fit, I think.

I love the thoughtful folks I've met in the blogosphere, and have come to accept as normal the fact that some friendships are long-term and some friends "move away" and lose touch.

vic caswell said...

ack! the thing for me, with blogging, is that i'm a super slow reader and i can't even BEGIN to keep up. i'm always scolding myself for falling behind on it, and i'm starting to worry that it produces way too much guilt for me.

i don't tweet or tumblr.

pinterest is AMAZING for me! i find soooo much inspiration and i study the images for composition, usage of light and line, and inspiration...

facebook is actually a lot of fun for me, now that i've taken my personal life out of it (for the most part). i only have like four family members and two friends i know irl on there anymore. the rest are artists and writers and podcasters.

ack! sometimes i feel like this is a social media world and i'm drowning in my attempts to try to learn the appropriate means in which to socialize.

Carolyn Abiad said...

Of course, you realize you are asking us zombies to tell you what you want to hear. ;)

Pat Hatt said...

Yeah blogging has been the most rewarding for me, actually made quite a few friends on it and met a few in real life. Twitter is okay, facebook I hate and the rest pfft, too busy for that. But blogging will always be for the rhyming cat.

Unknown said...

I still love Blogging. I post less but love visiting other people's blogs. I have found so many wonderful writing buddies through it. They have been so supportive. The only other site I visit a lot is Goodreads.

StratPlayerCJF said...

I don't do Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, or any other social media, but I do blog. As a writer-in-development, I like the fact that blogging is more-or-less writing. It's focused on my personal creative output much more-so than other media.

I have enjoyed watching my circle of blogging acquaintances broaden, and welcome all the writer-centric info and experiences that fellow blogger-writers are sharing.

But the challenge with blogging is the same as with any other social medium -- the more you develop interaction, the more it tends to lessen the depth: In other words, the more followers I gather, and the more blogs I follow, the harder it is to make the interaction with these fellow bloggers more than an occasional exchange of quick comments. The exchange of a "follow" becomes less and less significant the more of them you do, simply because no-one has the time to seriously "follow" hundreds and hundreds of other blogs.

But I will always follow a few key people diligently ( wink! ) -- like a Zombie ever returning, lurching after a few tasty morsels of familiar grey-matter...

;^)

RaShelle Workman said...

I'm still a blogger fan. They are fun to peruse (sp), but my latest fascination in Pinterest, whenever I have a free minute, I'm checking it out.

Anonymous said...

It's true. You have to do what works for you. I tend to favor Twitter and my blog; Facebook, Pinterest, and email works too. I have avoided Klout, Google+, etc. Can't to everything.

Nice post!

Lydia Kang said...

Ha ha, Zombie girl!
I went through a brief "blogging is dead" phase/mentality recently. And then I realized it's not. It's still alive and well, and we who blog appreciate it for the community it provides. I think if you blog only to promote, you're in trouble. If you blog to find real relationships, and then promote, it can be different. There has to be something real at the bottom of it all, you know?

And that may include the Zombies...

Patti said...

I know a lot of people I started blogging with and became friends with have stopped blogging. I take breaks once in a while, but always seem to come back. I like reading about how others are going through the same thing as me.

Blogging may not be what it used to be, but I don't think it's dead.

Patti said...

And, I totally agree with you about the twitter thing. Can't wrap my head around it.

AMOffenwanger said...

As a person who still reads (gasp!) paper books, and only has a dumbphone (as in, a little flip phone that makes phonecalls. That's it. Nothing but.), I really couldn't care less what people on the cyber lane think about the vital signs of the blogging world. It works for me. Slow is good.

And I thoroughly agree with Lydia: there's got to be something real at the bottom of it. Like in your blog, right here.

Angela said...

I'm still blogging, but I feel the rules are changing--at least they are for me.

My niche is expanding, my posts are more varied, more my personality and less what is politically correct. I think that's a good thing, but now everyone agrees.

I guess you haven't stood for anything unless you've made a few enemies along the way. FWIW, I love your blog!

Unknown said...

My blogging life and experience has definitely changed over the years. Change isn't necessarily bad, it's just different.

LTM said...

@Precy--Thanks! And I'm guarding my head. Staying barricaded in my house. :D j/k It's true that blogging has to fit your life and time or it becomes too much. The good news is I think everyone understands that. *nom nom nom*

@Chris--FB and Pinterest are my other outside outlets. You're so right about being a new writer and blogging and how much you can learn. The amount of feedback is another huge plus. I've grown so much as a writer from this group, and everyone's so supportive. There's always someone who's "been there." *nom nom nom*

@LBD--I've never even heard of Klout!!! :D Thanks, girl, and you're right. Keep it easy. <3

Colene Murphy said...

I do think blogging has changed, you're right, but I wouldn't say it's DEAD. I think as long as people have things to say they think other people care about (whether they actually do or now is another matter) then it will never die. But it's not the same as it was, no not at all. I thought about stopping recently but I don't think I honestly could yet. I love the people too much. (also, twitter is nutso.I feel the exact same way about it!)

Summer Ross said...

I adore blogging. I don't find it dead- i find it just the right outlet to let out my creativity and I love reading what other people do as well. It's a community I belong to.

M Pax said...

lol on the zombie noises over blogger. Screaming, too. Don't forget the screaming.

Aww, thanks for the mention. Blogging has done fantastic things for me, too. I love the Twitter. I'm on Pinterest now, too. It's kind of fun. Like building a scrapbook or something.

I mentioned your wonderful editing talents several times over the weekend. Perhaps your ears were ringing ...

nom nom nom

Janet Johnson said...

Minus pinterest, I think we shared the same brain that just got eaten by that zombie. I do still blog (except when I have to stop because of moving . . . you know), but I confess, I do visit fewer blogs than I did a year ago. But really that's because I've connected with people so I have my favorites (like you!).

Nancy Thompson said...

I blog because I must. That's not to say I don't enjoy it, because I do to some extent. I've made some wonderful friendships via blogging and have some great critique partners, too. Plus, my blogging buds are helping me with my book/blog tour come October when my book launches. So I can't ever give it up. My publisher expects me to blog. Just as they expect me to Tweet. And I do Tweet, but I really don't get Twitter at all. I love Facebook, but it's much more personal in nature, I compare Facebook to Twitter like committed sex is to casual sex. I'm getting more into Goodreads, especially since developing am author page. Pinterest I just don't get at all. For me, it would jsut be another time suck I simply cannot afford, so I won't there.

Oh and texting thing, it won't ever go away!

walk2write said...

I still won't use FB for some reason. The idea of somebody posting their pictures on my wall or whatever it's called? It's like letting someone take over my kitchen. Twitter is a little bit like that but not quite as obtrusive. I've been blogging for four years now, and it's still something I like to do, though not as often as before. I do miss some of the people who were visitors when I first started. Not sure what happened to some of them. They just stopped without saying goodbye.

It is difficult to keep up with all of the different media. I'd much rather sit with a few friends and sip on coffee or a glass of wine while we discuss books or politics or fashion, but who does that anymore?

Julie Musil said...

I hadn't heard that blogging was dead! Maybe I'm the only person living in a land of zombies? *shivers*

I love the relationships that I've developed with blogging. Tweeting is fun, but fast. With Pinterest, I'm a complete loser. Can't figure that thing out!

Creepy Query Girl said...

Like I told DL when he posted on this subject this week- I don't think blogging is dead. Sure, other outlets light be quicker and easier but blogging continues (and will continue) to bring with it a lot of advantages. It's definitely a more complex form of expression. A person can put more of themselves into a blog than they can any other outlet. And so people feel like they're really getting to know the personality 'en profondeur' and not just the random skim thoughts they might post on other networks. It definitely helps you form tighter bonds I think.

LTM said...

@Summer--I think you've hit on the difference. We have sort of built up a community here, and like Laura said, people have stopped worrying so much about numbers and marketing. They've either dug in or moved elsewhere where those things matter more. :o) <3

Lisa Gail Green said...

Mmmmm brains... Oh sorry! I totally agree, though now I have to explore Pinterest. I keep hearing about it, not that I have time for more social media. I love blogging and the people I've met. Do what works for you, absolutely!

Anonymous said...

You had me at Zombies. But damn if I don't agree 100% with Matthew.

Jemi Fraser said...

Of all the social media sites, blogging makes the most sense to me. I've found tons of friends via blogging and I've no plans to stop :)

Anonymous said...

Today on MSNBC I heard Facebook posting is down about 35 percent. I think blogging has a long way to go before its a saturated market. I think Amazon and the ability to self publish a book is a driver that will keep on, well ... driving the blogging world for a while.

Jolene Perry said...

Keeping on contact dealing with the same stuff I do (writing/publishing) keeps me sane.

I've pulled back on blogging, and will probably pull back some more over the summer.

I love twitter. Love. Once you get people sorted into "lists" SO. MUCH. BETTER.

I got the book contract I'm about so sign b/c an editor "overheard" my friend and I talking about a girl hockey player and a messed up drummer as our main characters, chimed in, and we were on the phone talking with the editor the following week...

Anonymous said...

I like blogging. Don't see giving it up. I'm on Twitter. Mostly to tweet my blog posts and repost other people's blog posts that I like. I'm on Facebook, but do mostly the same as Twitter. Don't use Goodreads or Pinterest.

cleemckenzie said...

I like to use Twitter to say, "Hey! Something interesting is going on over here." and to DM friends. "Check your email. I've sent you a message." It's my nudge medium.

As to fb, I still like it to keep in touch with groups that share common interests.

I still prefer blogging and reading other blogs. There's so much interesting information everyday.

Love Pinterest! So great to see all those images. That reminds me I have to go there and check in! Thanks.

J.L. Campbell said...

Blogging opened up a new world for me, so it's not something I'd think about quitting right now.

I find it hard to keep up with all the various social media outlets, so only use two, which I can barely keep up with anyway.

Anonymous said...

I share your thinking on most of the social media outlets (e.g. I even forgot that I have a Tumblr account). I find there is a slightly different audience for each so maybe that is another good reason to be involved in more than one. Or two.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I think blogging will still be here for a long while, but I also think it's changing. Just little things eg, I don't think the expectation to blog every single day is there any more.

I also don't think we need to be on every single social media outlet. If we do, then we spread ourselves too thin.

"Muuhhh... brains... nom nom nom..."

LTM said...

@Liz--I hear that! My Tumblr account is... tumbleweeds. :D You're right about the audiences, though. I think that plays into the whole "what suits your personality" advice. :o) <3

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

I agree, it is important to find the media site(s) that work for YOU and then interact. (Pinterest is my new love)

And thanks for stopping by my blog :)

DL Hammons said...

I'll refer to a lyric from one of my favorite WHO songs..."Rock is dead, they say....LONG LIVE ROCK!"

:)

D.G. Hudson said...

I agree with Matt on his assessments of social media. It's a realistic angle.

Blogging isn't dead, it's just evolved to another level. It's the contact with other writers and readers that makes it worthwhile.

I plan to continue blogging and following other blogs that have quality content. Some bloggers are getting burned out, but perhaps they just need to adjust their schedule.

KM Nalle said...

I blog less than I used to, but really I love visiting blogs more than I love writing one. Since the two kind of go hand in hand, I post when I've got something to say.

I feel the same way you do about Twitter. I probably don't spend enough time on it.

LTM said...

That's the key, I think--finding the blogging schedule that works. And yes, Matt is very smart. ;o)
Thanks, D! :o) <3