Ronez Quarry, St John, Jersey, active since 1861
It was about 2005 that I started creating a simple website diary to talk about my new-found passion of running. The word ‘weblog’ had only recently been coined and I suppose mine was indeed a type of early blog. Maybe it’s still out there in some corner of cyberspace where abandoned websites still live sad and lonely lives waiting for a reader to show up.
In early 2008 I emigrated (or so I thought) to Ireland. In October of that year I set up a proper blog to cover my adventures there. Roy in Ireland is still readable, though the posts have been brought onto this blog’s archive.
I started this blog up shortly after my unexpected return to Jersey, along with a now-mothballed blog entitled Athletics Jersey. It covered a lot of stuff connected with writing, and indeed my growing love for my home island. And, until fairly recent, I continued to be an active blogger. I’m not sure what happened.
Today I took a look at the 54 blogs listed in my Reader. I categorised them as follows.
- Active – 26
- Sporadic – 14
- Dead – 14
So I’m not the only one. I wonder, are new blogs springing up to replace those dying a natural death? I’m not so sure. Maybe us bloggers are dying off and people are taking more to bite-sized applications like Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and God knows what else.
What do you reckon? Are we an endangered species?
Back On The Rock 
What a great insight into your blogging career, Roy.
As for endangered species, I don’t think so as it seems that ‘blogging’ is becoming more acceptable these days (not that that’s necessarily a good thing for creativity).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Jean. Perhaps my perception’s wrong then. Certainly I still enjoy reading those still-active blogs, including yours of course.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe it’s the longevity that’s at issue. I don’t see anything but a rise in blogging generally.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I do hope not. I’m probably a Sporadic lately and like you, I’ve noticed a tailing off amongst some of those bloggers I used to read every week. Shame. Trawling through categories of interest so far hasn’t produced any replacements yet. There’s an awful lot of rubbish out there when you start looking! I think there is definitely a place for the blogger – for those who want to write at length. Twitter et al are for quick communications not necessarily with the need to be literate. Keep blogging for those who can string a few sentences together with grammatical correctness!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Jenny. Hopefully there will always be a place for well-written blogs. Totally agree about the rubbish – just like the proliferation of mediocre self-published books on Amazon etc. My writing adviser Sue thinks that blogs work best these days in conjunction with other forms of social media. And of course I always look forward to your work 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks Roy. I think your writing adviser is probably right- most folk seem to link blogs to Facebook or Twitter. I’ve been steadfastly refusing to sign up but I can see merits to both if used in moderation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, mine are linked to those sites. Not for any particular reason but I think ‘why not?’
LikeLiked by 1 person
I sure hope not, Roy. I’d miss your wonderful videos. It does seem that writers are turning to newsletters at the recommendation of marketing people who want you to gather as many emails as possible. I’m not sure I’d go that route. I enjoy the interaction with fellow bloggers too much. Great to see you!
LikeLike
Thank you Jill. I think many of us are known as ‘old school’ bloggers these days. Maybe we’re in some sort of backwater 🙂 I’ve always blogged without the thought of expansion or the gathering of an audience – I think in common with most other blogs I follow. I’m not a marketer’s dream.
As to Newsletters I do a weekly one for my Jersey Joggers group, and a monthly one for Jersey Writers, but again they’re not for self-promotion.
Hope to still be meeting with you in the blogosphere 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m on and off these days, Roy – but life gets in the way of blogging sometimes 😉 I’ve gone through my five novels in the last four weeks and proofed them to go on Create Space. Because I lost the the originals when my laptop broke, I had to downloads them from LULU in PDF, convert them to Word and then reformat them. At first it was such a trial, but after a while I really enjoyed it and enjoyed reading them again (you tend to forget the finer details of your novels when you haven’t read them for a few years!)
I really hope you’re going well these days 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good for you Dianne! Once my stuff is written and out there I mainly forget about it. I lost the will to live with CreateSpace and now pay someone to do it 🙂 I might try Lulu for print copies of my short stories collection coming up shortly.
Yes I’m good, though the first part of this year was stressful on the work front. Happily settled again now. Pleased to know that life is good for you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“I lost the will to live with CreateSpace and now pay someone to do it” – Oh my… that’s just about how I’m feeling at the moment. If you want some help with LULU just let me know 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
HI Roy. Don’t go!! But you do ask a very good question. I’ve gone over this question on two separate occasions, once when I decided to keep going because I really loved it, despite it taking more of my time than I could justify to myself, and then again when I stopped for about a year. I did some research the first time and discovered that most blogs last for about 2 years. Maybe people eventually feel that they’ve said all that needs saying, hard to say.
I started in the first place because people told me that blogging is a good way to practice writing. And it is. It also allows you to share your thoughts and even just to explore your thoughts through writing, even is nobody responds. That’s what I missed most.
Blogging also provides you with some new friends in the blogosphere. For me that includes you and Jenny!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Jane. We ought not to be surprised that interest wanes really. Other things come along from time to time. Maybe I’ll kick this one up again, explore a few more facets of local life perhaps. I’m pleased that you have revived Robby Robin and you too have chosen a different direction for it.
LikeLike
I remember you mentioning that you were blogging before it was called blogging. You’re a trendsetter, Roy! I still post about once a month which is a good pace for me as it doesn’t interfere with my other projects and keeps blogging fun. I’ve noticed a lot of new blogs coming up and some of my favorites tend to get quieter after the three year mark (perhaps because blogging is a way to get the creative juices flowing and then once they flow, people turn to other projects, who knows?). Interesting question you’ve posed though and love reading all the responses.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Letizia – nice to hear from you. Hope you’re well. Maybe I ought to search out some good new blogs. From what you are all saying they are out there to be found. Neither do I want to disappear entirely after 10-11 years of blogging. So hopefully I’ll see you around soon.
LikeLike
I hope you will continue to write and post some of hot lovely videos too 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree that not as many people are blogging these days as a few years ago; I have seen a similar pattern in my own blog subscriptions as you have. I am on a break for the summer right now but plan to resume in September. One really has to love blogging for its own sake, for the rewards of it are often years in coming. I initially started blogging to gain followers and external validation but now don’t even pay attention to how many followers I have, instead enjoying the internal benefits of having a forum that I control to express my thoughts and views.
As well, although a lot of bloggers are also writers, blogging is it’s its own unique form of writing, just like poetry is a different form from novel-writing. In making your decision on whether or not to continue, you must ask yourself if you feel that love, and also reexamine your blogging goals. Perhaps you don’t need to totally quit but just establish a more spaced-out yet still regular schedule. I know you will make the right choice, whatever you end up deciding.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Janna, and thank you for your thoughtful comments. Strange, I started blogging at the point you are now; I wasn’t bothered if anyone other than me read it. It really was more of an old-fashioned diary. Then more recently I found myself in a little community, though I’m not nearly as productive and outgoing as many others.
Yes, your blog seems to be an extension of your own writing. I think I’m still a diarist at heart and I don’t feel the need to write it on a continuous basis. I’m so ‘meh’ about it I haven’t even created a new page for my last novel yet 🙂 So, your comments have made me examine my own motivation and approach. Therein maybe lies the answer. Maybe blogging per se is healthy, and mine is just one of the dying ones. We’ll see. Thanks again Janna.
LikeLike
Maybe you will feel inspired to start blogging again soon. Sometimes other aspects of our lives take over, and its right that they should. Blogging is fun, or should be, but its not the real world. Its a great way to mert people and make friends across the globe, though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Ali. It’s been interesting to get the comments from everyone. It seems that the blogging community is constantly changing but not dying. Individual blogs fade away but are replaced by others. Some just keep rolling on. As for this one we’ll see.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes I’ve seen that happen too, and it is quite sad when its someone you have got to know and like.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Blogging, like running or any physical activity, and like writing and really, anything important in life, needs consistency and constant care (much like a beautiful flower). Please, please, keep watering your blog – we all love the blooming results.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, thank you Pam. You’re right of course but neither is there any point in flogging a dead horse. I’ve been really interested in all the replies and I’m pleased the blogosphere is thriving.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh no…I suppose we are all dying, never mind our blogs…and so our perspectives change! I know several bloggers who have now evolved into vloggers (I think that is what they are called!) But some of us just keep pushing out ‘stuff’ regardless. Others keep producing excellent material and that will live on and on. I hope your life as a blogger is not coming to an end…..have a rest, change tack, reinvent, but please keep on going!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks SV. I’ve got huge respect for the stand-out high quality researched and attractive blogs out there. In years to come they will stand up as prime reference material along with mainstream media. Your advice is spot on though. Maybe I’ll review things to re-kindle my own interest,
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have wondered that, too, sometimes. It seems like a lot of bloggers I’ve followed over the past few years have taken “time off,” or have just disappeared altogether. I know that life and priorities shift, but I did wonder if blogging was becoming outdated. I, too, took a break.
But now that I’m back and actively blogging, I’ve discovered so many new blogs. There is plenty of action out there, still. I just needed to take a little time to explore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Juliann. It seems, from other comments, that blogging is alive and well but individual blogs often have finite lives. Actually I’m not that interested in discovering new blogs. I find that my still-active 26 are fine – including yours of course 🙂 Time will tell if I kick mine back up again. My other writing is taking precedence right now.
LikeLike
Thank God THIS is what your blog is about. I read the title and somehow thought the story was about you personally:). I’m not dying. Not anytime soon, to my knowledge. Let me know if you find out differently, though . . . . I think perhaps the plethora of “me too” blogs will die–but hopefully blogs will remain a platform for writers who truly have something to say.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha ha. Though you never know when our numbers might be called Kristine in the bingo game of life. Yes, it seems the blog as a collective is self-renewing though its component parts might slow down or stop.
Hopefully your always-thoughtful posts will continue for a while to come.
LikeLiked by 1 person
From your lips to God’s ears, Roy :-).
LikeLike
So, I actually read your post at the Portland airport before I left on my Italy trip. And, it echoed my thoughts completely. Blogging is part of both my professional and personal life, so that makes it a pretty big part of my life.
When I left for Italy, having been on my annual blogging break where I take the time to decide: should I keep doing this? or should i hang it up? By the time I had been in Italy for a few days, I was pretty sold on quitting everything (fiction as well). By the time I came home, I had changed my mind.
Because of the reality of blogging at this point, the time commitment and the ridiculous noise we have to compete with, it’s an easy argument for my logic to win. Why keep doing it? Then, my heart speaks up, in its slightly uncertain voice. Because of the reason you started it in the first place…because you love it.
The business side of me can pretty much rip this whole creative side of me to shreds. Writing books will probably never earn me more than $50 a year (if I’m lucky), and the whole “platform” thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. So, I have to look past that. And Roy, that’s tough for me. I’m a romantic, but I’m a skeptic too.
Okay, I’ll stop now. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Totally understand how you feel Britt when you had (have) legitimate hopes of making money through creative writing. And when you produce such good works and spend lots of time polishing up your blogs for an audience. You wonder ‘what’s the point?’
Then you gave the correct answer yourself. You’ll continue when you perceive that you enjoy the process in itself.
Certainly I learned very early on that only the fortunate and/or excellent few can rely on writing to make a living. Therefore I can take it or leave it. Presently I’m leaving the blogging a bit while working on my books sporadically.
Nice to see that Rome had a positive effect as well as being a great trip in itself.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope we aren’t an endangered species but it can be very time consuming to regularly blog (and I don’t work very often!) For every blog that disappears there seems to be a new one blossoming. I often wonder how married couples deal with a blogger in the family. It is a solitary passion and sometimes Teddy seems annoyed…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Encourage Teddy to be a blogger! Shared passions and all that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
He has a damn cheek – he is on Flickr at every opportunity. To be fair, he does sell his photos through Getty Images…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I actually have been noticing that this whole concept of blogging is becoming more known among people……I recently joined instagram…..and its a very boring place!! Blogging is much more liberating and personal I feel 🙂
LikeLike
Well Mithai it needs new work and new ideas from you young ones to replace us oldies. That way the blogging scene will remain fresh and dynamic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol you guys are the ones who taught us all about bogging!! Only after reading all of yours fantastic blogs and the communications, newbies like us got inspired to give it an effort. We need you guys!! 😀 😀 We get inspired and learn from you everyday!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t pen as many blogs as I did when I began, but the archive on my site has all that info stored and available. Now I’m much more particular about posting. Sporadic? Maybe, but not dead yet! Merry Christmas Roy.
LikeLike
Indeed Renee. Our own descendants will have so much more information about us and far less mystery. I wonder if they’ll be at all interested?
LikeLiked by 1 person