Are Personal (Including Running) Blogs Dying?

Are fewer people blogging?

This is something I’ve noticed slowly over the last year or so, but I wasn’t sure if it was becuase I’ve changed or becuase the world of blogging has. As we become more accustomed to the quick fix of Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, are we no longer inspired to read several hundred or thousands of words in a blog? When I started typing  “Are blogs…” into Google, one of the top results was “dead.”  There’s a A LOT of conversation around this on the internet, so I’d guess my hunch is true, although it doesn’t mean we should stop blogging.

I’ve always blogged because I love to write and I enjoy the experience of sharing with others. I’ve met countless friends through this blog and it has connected me to countless opportunities that I would not otherwise had. I won’t stop blogging becuase I truly enjoy it. However, as of late I’ve noticed that my desire to read other people’s blogs has gone down and I often forget to even log into BlogLovin’ for a week (if someone posts a link on social media I’m more likely to read!), particularly because many of my favorite bloggers stopped blogging and I haven’t picked up a lot of new favorite blogs to replace them. My daily stats have also decreased a bit, which is likely because I blog AND comment on blogs less often, but it could also be becuase fewer people are tuning in to blogs in general.

I’ve also noticed that people are writing a lot more on Instagram and Facebook these days and using it as almost a mini blog of its own. I’ve grown to know people at a more intimate level via simply reading the caption on their Instagram posts. People are digging deeper in social media now instead of simply posting a photo and saying “Great run!” They’re engaging their followers in conversations and connection with them.

Another reason I read fewer blogs is that I found a lot of bloggers were posting a lot of sponsored content, and I don’t really enjoy reading a blog if the majority of it is sponsored. An occasional post is fine, but constant marketing is not fun to read.

However, I still enjoy reading blogs because I love getting to know someone and following their story. I am rarely hooked on a blog after reading one or two posts. I need time to develop a relationship. So for those blogs that I’ve already created that relationship, I’m going to keep reading. But for those I haven’t, I just don’t have the spare time right now to develop it.