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Joined: 3/7/2011
Posts: 12
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So, I was in my Fiction Writing class, and the topic comes over to blogging when my professor talks about a friend of his being pushed by his publisher to start a Twitter, a Facebook, and a blog. He then states that this is another instance of publishers being slightly behind the times and that he thinks blogging has seen its time and it's on it's way out as a popular medium.
He then asks the class if they agree, and I'm the only one who says no and they all look at me like I have four heads and toes sticking out of my ears.
I personally disagree because I still read dozens of blogs every day, and discovered new awesome blogs from Twitter posts. But according to my professor, I'm the minority. So, I guess my question is, do you feel blogging has seen its day?
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Joined: 2/27/2011
Posts: 15
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I can't think blogging is dead--like you I read dozens of blogs a day and my reader is filled to the brim with other ones I follow less frequently. With the advent of a large majority of people having devices that can track blog posts I'd think it was an even bigger thing then ever before. Now you can read and update your blog from almost every platform!
I think Facebook is a bit over-rated, especially with the privacy issues and such. Myspace is definitely so. But for a lot of readers the
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Joined: 3/10/2011
Posts: 6
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I disagree with your professor. Without blogs, via what medium should we hear from sources about the latest news, what's going on, current events, etc? Newsletters are for the most part obsolete, and email campaigns get tossed in junk mail. Blogs are a great way of multi point of view news.
Mira Grant wrote Feed, and part of it talks, fictitiously of course, about the possible impact of blogs on the news. It's not a stretch of the imagination to believe - well, if zombies were a real possibility.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
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Blogging is just coming into its heyday for the writer, imo.
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Joined: 3/14/2011
Posts: 80
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Definitely not, especially with the surge of indie and self publishing. They get a lot of free press/publicity via the Book Bloggers. Send them an ARC and they will get the word out there for you. It's part of building your platform.
I also think, while Twitter is amazing and a necessity for writers these days, you can only say so much in 140 characters. Use Twitter to point people to your blog where you can be your creative wordy self and converse with people about topics important to you work/the industry. I blog twice a week and a small but dedicated fan base who always come comment on my topics and give me feedback and advice. it wouldn't work as well with just Twitter.
People who think it's dead aren't looking or have no reason to read blogs. A couple months ago I found out about google reader and was ecstatic! I can follow all my blogs in one place now! It's so helpful since I was checking 10+ places a day.
Long live the blogger! 
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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 214
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I don't think that blogging is dead; it's just changed its function. I was a top blogger at Myspace -- yeah, I know, big deal. I was the anti-Carrie Bradshaw! ("Relationships" was a hot topic there.) But you eventually find out that blogging for self-expression and to gain an audience means -0- if you can't monetize the blog. So I stopped. It was cutting into my work time.
Now I have a couple of niche blogs that I've monetized. They're about goods and services, obviously. That brings in a tiny bit of passive income. I'm a big proponent of tasteful monetization. Sure, it's good to get a reading audience. But you should be able to get something out of the deal, even if it's just $50 a month or so per blog.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 222
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I have a blog on writing that I do because I love writing it. Some people even read it, which makes the effort I put into it well worth it.
I read quite a few blogs. I definitely follow the blogs of the writers I like best. It is a treat for me. I think your publisher has the right idea for pushing towards blogging. It gives a connection to readers who like your work.
@ LisaMarie - I don't write my blog for money, and I never expect to be paid for it. I write it because I want to give other writers my experiences and thoughts on the writing craft. If everyone did something for money on the internet, well... I would very likely not bother using the internet anymore because I can tell when people just do something for money. :/
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 25
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Hmn. I've had my blog for about 3 years now and it brings in some income as LisaMarie suggested.
I think where your professor was coming from is that a lot of fiction writers are resistant to the whole blogging thing. It can certainly cause unintended trouble for a writer as well as establishing an online platform that can be very positive. Many people, especially those who came up in earlier years, aren't used to writing or doing content in bite-sized chunks. They're not naturally suited to a blog. It rubs them the wrong way, and like anything else, it's not essential to every person.
It is TRUE that publishers, especially in YA, want to see that online platform. I don't think it's fair or right for them to expect writers to just arrive, totally self-branded and pre-approved with broad, existing online audiences. Writing is a growth and development process. So expecting writers to create and self-brand themselves before ever publishing anything or seeing what audiences would like . . . kind of putting the end before the beginning.
However, I think the class looking at you like that is more reflective of the fact that it's probably a typical fiction writing class. Most of the members are probably more interested in themselves and their Permastories (maybe those don't exist any more, but they did when I was in grad school - that was the story that the nonwriting writing student would bring to every workshop, no matter which semester or which point in their process they were - i.e. they only wrote one story the whole time) than they are in real writing. Your teacher sounds like he has some connections to the industry, so he is hearing the standard request and that is definitely still being made.
If there were not a purpose, I do not think it would still be made of authors by publishers. So factually - no, blogs are not dead. I think the people who actually sell books might have a little more info on this, which is why I'm making this statement.
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Joined: 4/6/2011
Posts: 29
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I'm curious - if blogging is dead, what's supposed to replace it? FB and Twitter don't provide the same thing at all. I think the utility of social media in general is overwhelmingly oversold, but even I think some blogs are pretty good.
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 3
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Let me add my voice to the unanimous cry above that far from being dead, blogging is thriving. To compare it with Facebook and Twitter is to talk about fast-food with multi-course meals.
It is also obvious that while people who use Facebook and Twitter do it for very similar reasons - quick and fleeting contacts. Blogger, on the other hand, blog for a variety of reasons and, by and large, dive far deeper into their subject.
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 26
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Blogging is one of the best places for writers to express themselves. Not only can we talk about our writing, but we can share bits of our lives and who we are. Twitter is great for quick info. But when I see someone on Twitter and want to know more about him/her, the first thing I check for is a blog page. The same with FB. I think they compliment each other.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 4
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I have had a blog for 4 months. I am blogging about programming and technology. I suppose that does not tie in directly to science fiction or fantasy writing but I have been an application developer for over 12 years and it is a part of who I am. I'm a bit of a geek. I ordered parts and built my own computer. It actually booted up the first time I turned it on and I got windows 7 64-bit installed and updated in about an hour. It's a 3.2 Ghz quad core with 4GB DDR2 and a radeon hd 5670.
I use twitter to notify that new articles have been posted to my blog. As far as myspace, doesn't seem to be anyone there anymore. I'm on linkedin too.
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Joined: 8/26/2011
Posts: 3
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I don't think blogging is dead. Maybe the idea of the blog being the top notch resource... sure, I can understand it through that sense of thinking.
But in today's term... you need a blog. You need Twitter/Facebook/etc. They all work together.
Twitter works for those quick updates. But the blog lets you be personal. Let's you speak without restriction.
I mean, to be honest, how did I found out about BookCountry.com? A Tweet! And here I am, discussing, in a greater detailed aspect than what I could do on Twitter (or even Facebook).
I think that blogs are important but you need to stay in the focus of the blog itself - why are you blogging? What is your purpose? If you create a blog to say you have a blog, then yes, it will be hard to gain any traffic.
It took me a long time to find my niche and really get my blog going, but I did it. I call it Book, Business, and Bronyaur because that's what it is. I look at publishing and all it's changes and analyze them. I look at the business side of publishing and anaylze it. And then of course, I talk about myself... my books, my publishing figures, my plans, etc.
But wow, I'm amazed to think someone would agree that blogging is dead. Now, if you return to your class, could you bring the subejct up and ask the prof in what capacity do they mean?
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Joined: 3/29/2011
Posts: 25
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Blogging isn't dead, it's just changing. People used to blog about what they ate for dinner and what they did on vacation. Now we have Twitter for that. Blogs now are more for professionals sharing information about their industry, educational purposes, etc. I think if you have a blog, you better have something important to say, otherwise you're better off on Twitter 
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