There’s an interesting post by Carolyn Elefant on Legal Blog Watch today. Assessing a recent survey which claims that 452,000 people claim that blogging is their primary source of revenue, Ms Elefant ponders the future of blogging. Citing the Wall Street Journal’s take on the phenomenon – “Not since eBay opened its doors have so many been able to sit at their computer screens and make some money, or even make a whole living” – she asks whether the number of blogs and bloggers will continue to grow in coming years.
Ms Elefant’s answer is no, for instead she sees “a move toward consolidation of quality blogs, with smaller, less-original blogs (the “me too” blogs or reference-type blogs that merely echo content from other bloggers) falling out of favor or displaced by Twitter. Though there will always be a place for small niche blogs with unique audiences, I think that opportunities to blog for profit will decline.”
Allowing for the UK’s customay lag behind the US in all things technological, the process of consolidation is already underway on our shores. Newspapers and magazines jumped on the blogging bandwagon indiscriminately some four years ago, but now only the strongest voices survive. In the personal sphere, anecdotal evidence suggests that many people initially relished the freedom of expression granted by the blogosphere, only to lose interest rapidly, whether because of hostile comments, poor readership figures or the realisation that blogging is like all writing: it takes effort, commitment and talent, and without this holy trinity it’s fairly futile.
Blogs are the 21st century version of that staple of newspaper and magazine publishing – the column. They facilitate greater interaction with the columnist, and enable up to the minute commentary (a sometimes dubious luxury), but ultimately, like columns, those written by the best in the business will prosper. Ms Elefant is right – watch this space for consolidation, not proliferation.
