Here we are in June and I’ve got to ask the obvious, is blogging still a thing, and is it a thing that matters?
In the time since #blogjune 2014, I have blogged a grand total of 9 times, nearly half of those in November. My annual June blogging is mostly respectable:
- June 2014 – 30 posts
- June 2013 – 4 posts
- June 2012 – 23 posts
- June 2011 – 24 posts
- June 2010 – 33 posts
but otherwise, in the inbetween times, not so much.
I barely read other blogs these days, certainly none in libraries or even friends for that matter. I sort of keep up with a few streams on computing, tech and gaming but that’s about it, and sporadically even then.
Several years ago it was a really fun time, lots of interesting blogs and everyone was reading and commenting, there were lots of growth spurts and ideas bouncing everywhere. For me at least, I’ve reached something of a developmental plateau. There’s still interesting things happening but the urgency is not the same; perhaps there’s more of a move toward consolidation around good practice. Though that sounds a little too corporate-speak :)
Perhaps it could be said that those of us who used to blog and think we were radical, have become the establishment. We’ve created our networks, lists of contacts, etc. we are now the old guard…or like to think we are. For me twitter and facebook continue to be happy places for engagement, others spend more time in instagram and other places.
What do all you pesky kids want now? ;-)
snail 
Hey Snail! Thanks for your thoughts on this. I’ve been wondering along similar lines – where are all the cool kids now? How do we share knowledge, experience and build on each other’s ideas these days? I’ve noticed a decrease in the number of Australian librarians doing the blogging thing regularly. I’m starting to feel like a bit of a laggard with my blog and that I somehow missed the invite to the party somewhere else. Looking forward to #blogjune :)
Via my Feedly http://feedly.com/i/my I’ve linked to a number of interest to me blogs & RSS feeds that supplement my ravenous twitter & social media hunger. A new one of late is Right Relevance http://rightrelevance.com/ & Zite via an apple device that algorithmically feed me too.
I’m looking forward to contributing to this discussion in the next few days!
Pingback: Back from the (Virtual) Graveyard | The Foodie Librarian
I stopped blogging specifically about libraries quite a number of years ago for a number of reasons – but mostly because I felt like I’d run out of things to say. The period from 2006-2010 was HUGE in terms of the volume of discourse swirling around the biblioblogosphere, but it’s definitely tapered off since then. I don’t think the issues have necessarily change, but maybe we’ve stopped feeling like we need to continuously address them? I don’t know.
My feeling is also that it goes both ways. I’m more like to blog if I know I’ve got an audience. I’m more likely to blog if I’ve got other blogs to respond to, and vice-versa. One of the strengths of the aforementioned golden age of biblioblogs is the interconnectedness of the online discourse created.
But I also feel like the industry is somewhat fragmented. The issues are as diverse as the sectors themselves, and as much as I’d like to think that we all have “libraries” in common, the reality is that there are plenty of librarian bloggers who blog about things that have no relevance to my life or my work. These can be fascinating to read if I have the time and the inclination to think outside my square, but often this isn’t the case…
Pingback: Blogging is still a thing » flexnib
Pingback: Social Curation, PLE and lots of shout outs. | GraemeO28 Librarian and biker
Pingback: Not much #blogjune-ing for me | Great Library Expectations