Why Blogs Will Stick Around

Bruce Sterling might think blogs will die out within ten years, however, memes like the The Ageless Project may be what’s needed to keep them going. Ageless, if you’re not familiar with it, lists bloggers by their birth year, with the topmost two being 95 and 93, respectively. Listings for each decade range from 1910s to 1990s – the youngest blogger listed is twelve. (My father, whose health blog I’m trying to set up, is nearly 80.)

This sort of categorization is what will continue to keep the blogosphere interesting. I think that Bruce Sterling misses the point of why blogs are so popular. He is a popular, experienced writer (and one of my faves), but there are many people who are not, who crave to communicate. Proof of that is evident in the current success of widgets like Twitter.

Granted, people will get sick of reading about how many minutes ago you picked your nose. However, as long as humans feel the need to communicate in print/digital, I can’t see how blogs will not have some cultural value. They may not stay the cash cows that some blogs are today, but if consumer electronics goes the way that some think, there may be hope yet. I’m speaking of rollable screens and electronic newspapers with wireless content loading – why not blog content on there, too? Especially tech news, health, politics, etc.

What’s more, if more twelve-year old bloggers follow the one listed in The Ageless Project, in ten years, they’ll be out of college, past the diary blog stage, and have many more friends and readers than today. A whole generation of bloggers, who’ll learn what it takes to keep their blogs fresh and interesting. On the other hand, maybe vlogs will replace blogs entirely, though somehow I don’t think so.

Originally posted on March 16, 2007 @ 12:50 pm