Yes, Virginia, There Are Still Blogs

A couple of weeks ago on Facebook, I got a message from Beckeye of The PopEye inviting me to be part of a private group. Seeing as I do love to brag about knowing a secret handshake, I joined the group. And it turned out to be quite the walk down memory lane, because all these bloggers I found in my early years of blogging were there. Skyler’s Dad, Dale, Coffey, Splotchy, Grant Miller, Flannery Alden, Gifted Typist, Mathdude…and so many others. Finding the link to one blog would lead me to other blogs I’d long forgotten – some still active, some mildly active, others covered in thick, bloggy dust. It was as if I’d returned to Wonderland after a long absence. (That sounds like a great plot for a TV show, doesn’t it?)

Before Facebook was big, before Twitter was a gleam in Silicon Valley’s eye, and long before phones were smart, we had blogs. A magical place where people could write about whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and find other people who were doing the same thing. Little communities would form, private jokes would be shared, cross-blog projects would be conceived – like the fabulous Green Monkey Music Project of iSplotchy’s doing. (For the record, I’m still mildly annoyed that I never got my chance to guest host GMMP and it was about to be my turn.) It was a supportive, fun community, and though there are many bloggers I’ve never met in person, there are still a few I maintain online relationships with (shout out to Becky and Barbara), and now thanks to the Facebook group, there are several more bloggers I can reconnect with. Because guess what, kids? Blogs aren’t dead. People may move on and do other things, adopt new technology, or simply go with self-hosted WordPress (ahem), but blogs are far from dead. And I am personally very glad that they aren’t.

Last night I realized that this spring it will be 10 years since I started blogging as The Girl with Moxie. Thinking back on that time, I remember what motivated me to start a blog: I wanted to flex my writing muscle without feeling beholden to any editor. I wanted something I could do in my cubicle that looked like work, just so I could make it through 8 hours without losing my shit. When I lost that job, I suppose I could have stopped blogging. But GWM had become a place where I could share stories about my technology challenges and dating woes, or reflect on big topics like vulnerability, happiness, and validation. My blog still is all of those things, and as far as I can see, it will continue to be those things until I get so famous I no longer have time for you people until I feel to stop.

So the next time you hear someone scoff about blogs, or they claim blogging is dead, just point them over this way. Because there are most definitely still blogs. They exist as certainly as love and generosity and the Kardashians exist, and blogs abound and give to life much humor and joy. And there is definitely a Santa Claus, too.

16 Replies to “Yes, Virginia, There Are Still Blogs”

  1. Ten years! We really should throw a big sloppy drunken blogiversary party for you!

    My blog is a very different place from what it was in those heady days where we all had jobs we hated and hung out on the blogosphere just to keep some semblance of sanity. Far fewer visitors and considerable fewer posts. But it’s still important to me to keep that little piece of digital real estate as a place where I can dump my thoughts and catch up with others.

    The blog is dead! Long live the blog!

    1. I am all for a drunken blogiversary party! Will there be male strippers and party hats? I am glad your blog continues – being able to integrate them with FB and Twitter makes a huge difference in my level of engagement.

      I considered doing NaBloPoMo (one blog post a day for a month) in November but realized I had too many other things going on to make that sort of commitment. Many of those other things involve writing for pay, which this blog has yet to produce. But I soldier on! Long live blogging!

  2. Well said! My blog isn’t dead, it’s just lazy, like me! I love that Becky too and have met her a couple of times.

  3. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to comment yesterday. So many people blogged, and I didn’t get home until after 8:00. Luckily, my wife’s a blogger, too, so she totally understood and sent me to my computer to catch up on people.

    And I’ve proudly met the Beck-Eye, twice!

  4. I still blog too! Although not as much as I used too. It has been 8.5 years for me– so you have me beat!
    Thanks for stopping over and I will have to check out that Zazzle

  5. I love this eloquent defense of blogging. I feel like blogging is the newspaper of personal expression, and Facebook and Twitter are the 24/7 news channel. Getting it out sloppy and fast have become more important than getting it out right with perspective. Glad to read this 🙂

    1. Thank you! My blog posts are irregular due to my intense dislike of fast, sloppy writing. (And I apologize for taking so long to approve your comment.)

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