Has Blogging Reached Its Peak?

~ beetleypete

With new followers as rare as hen’s teeth, and many of the ‘Lockdown Bloggers’ disappearing as quickly as they arrived in 2020, I am left wondering whether or not Blogging has had its day.

From limited research, it would seem that Instagram and You Tube have attracted people who might otherwise have been blogging. The instant gratification of a photo or video is a lot less work that an 700-word blog post or a fiction serial, let’s face it.

Over the past few months, I have noticed that comments on my posts are almost always from the same group of people. No complaints about that, as they are my blogging friends, and I value their input and contribution to our community more than I can say.

But casting my eye over other blogs, there is definite evidence of a ‘slowdown’. Many are receiving fewer comments, and no replies to replies. The Reader seems to be being used to just ‘Like’ posts almost immediately, and the amount of comments generated by most posts is falling all over WordPress.

So, does this matter? Personally, I would blog to online tumbleweed, comments or not. But many bloggers are becoming frustrated by the lack of engagement in 2022, and I understand that frustration. I confess that I am lucky. I have amazing followers, regular comments, and daily blog views are usually around 300 since the ‘slowdown’.

Becoming part of such a community takes commitment, and a lot of time at the keyboard. Content is king. So if you do not post regularly, you will get sparse views of your old ones.

Let’s all agree to keep up with the blogs we follow. Show some encouragement, leave comments as well as likes, and keep the circle of blogging alive.

If not, what was it all for?

103 thoughts on “Has Blogging Reached Its Peak?”

  1. This is an interesting perspective. I have at least one new blogger every day. I don’t think it’s reached its peak, I think it changes with a change in seasons, vacations, work, and many other reasons. Best to you, Pete. I have much catching up to do. Will email soon.

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  2. You know what is weird, Pete? I stopped but left my LARA blog up and gained new followers. They are reading back years. Not leaving comments on your blog is because of Firefox and my Apple laptop – it won’t let me. But yes, it may be that blogging has reached a peak. We are old bloggers, you and I, at it for YEARS!

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    1. It is nice to get new followers when you have stopped blogging. I like how our blogs will stay online whatever happens to us, possibly for centuries. They will be an amazing resource for the historians of the future.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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  8. Blogging has definitely changed, probably because there are so many more creative outlets now. John’s comment is spot on! I struggle to keep up in the Blogosphere, as I’m also into podcasting, photography with Instagram, TikTok and Youtube videos, etc., not to mention connecting with online friends via Facebook. Oh, and also real world stuff. 😉 As for earning money? Hahahahahaha! 😆 P.S. I’m working on that Soul Music post, Pete, and should have it ready to publish next week. Will let you know. Cheers!

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  10. I have noticed as well, but I consider myself a part of the problem. I took a couple of classes that demanded my attention, then being under the weather, time for posting and commenting became a bit elusive. I do still answer or acknowledge every comment on my blog even though there are fewer than what I once saw.

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  11. Hear, hear! I have been pondering about blogging for months now. I thought, “What’s the point?” because I did not have something interesting to write. I used to love writing about movies, but I don’t find many very good anymore. I’ve stopped making it an issue to watch the newest release. I enjoy commenting back and forth with bloggers. It does feel like it was the best in the 2000s.
    I have same dozen of followers who always comment. I love you all.

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    1. Yes about 10-15 years ago blogging was very active. I have noticed blogs I used to see regularly making posts haven’t had any new posts for about 4-5 years, some even longer. Such a shame. It’s indicative of the short attention span of the youngsters today. It seems they want to see the same sorts of video content of twerkers and posers on social media. Hopefully it’ll get to the stage when blogging will be seen as “retro” and people will come back to it. I won’t stop blogging even though I only get maximum 10 views on average per post because my blog is about archiving vintage content for the future.

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        1. Thank you Pete. I’m realistic in that I know how niche my blog is. I also use Facebook and Instagram and sometimes post links to some of my blog posts on these when I think they will be of interest. The one I did on Fred Astaire was of interest to a Fred Astaire Facebook page for example. I do think Vintage is not going away though, judging by the numbers of vintage folks on Instagram. This is where they mostly seem to be online.

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  13. As someone with a full time job (Monday-Friday), I find that finding time to blog during the working week is not always possible. Apart from being tired, I have friends to meet Etc, so its a question of balancing various work and social priorities.
    I have recently begun to post my poetry on Tiktok. I enjoy doing this, however, I will not be giving up my blog as I see the app as another means of promoting my poetry and engaging with new audiences (not as a substitute for my blog).
    I am grateful to everyone who comments on my blog and who like my posts, and if I press the like button on another blogger’s blog, it is genuinely because I enjoyed the post in question.
    Best wishes. Kevin

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    1. Thanks for your thoughts, Kevin. If I was still working 12-hour shifts for the Metropolitan Police in London, I would never have had the time for blogging. I only started a blog the year I retired from work. (2012)
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  14. Blogging is definitely more work than FB or Instagram though I do those too. (I sometimes get ideas for a blog post after responding to IG prompts and challenges.) Those platforms allow people to scan quickly and move on, while blog posts are longer and require more commitment, both for the writer and the reader. I stick with blogging because I enjoy it, and the engagement it provides from ‘core’ followers. But if I didn’t get any responses, it would be discouraging, and I might consider moving on, too, and find a different outlet. I guess we need that feedback!

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  15. My blog is part of my author’s website, and it serves the purpose of a newletter for me. In addition to the community, I enjoy creating blog posts because it has allowed me to explore the relationship between images and text, which I’d never considered before.

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    1. Liz, I am very happy to hear that your blogging style works for you, and is successful. I consider you to be a fully-engaged community blogger, and that is the best compliment I can give anyone here on WordPress.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  16. I’m not sure if what we’re experiencing is “pandemic” related any more than I believe it’s the reason for so many “we’re hiring” signs. Granted in the States a million people died. Out of 330 million. So where the heck is everybody? They didn’t ALL die. As for “followers” most are drive by friend farmers. No Romanian Life Coach or German Depressive Artist is reading my stuff. They’re simply looking for a return to get their numbers up. As above, most commentors are the usual suspects, who are greatly appreciated. I joined the blogging scene in 2015 looking for causerie and I have discovered it ain’t happnin’ on the ‘net. As a result of that experiential process, I now follow few blogs, and those only out of respect for the author’s work or entertainment value. As I don’t “do” any form of social media, and hadn’t expected WP to evolve that way I’m freakin’ lost out here. I think, as a poster I saw the other day proposed, that living in world that isolates and taps glass to communicate has eroded old school people skills to the point of (poster) Guy waving, saying “Hey! Nice afternoon, eh?” Lady on bicycle – “Fuck off”. If we have a few commentors as web family who make sense and aren’t droolers we’re lucky.

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    1. Thanks, Phil. In a different vernacular, and no doubt a completely different accent, you manage to say many of the same things I do about modern-day blogging. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  17. Here in the Desert Southwest, we tolerate sabertooth hens (although they are known to attack foxes), lightning-fast jackalopes (although they attack bighorn sheep), and beep-beeping roadrunners (although they engage in occasional road rage) because these unruly critters are rarely seen. However, burrowing graboids and super-rabid camelops are everywhere! They really are a pest!

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  18. Of course it was for something – something big for many people who found an outlet for their talents. We have all benefited from free publishing through reading and contributing for over a decade or so. (I would never have ventured except at Sarah’s prompting) I fell by the wayside long ago, duh, but I still appreciate the consistently high value of the creative output of others, particularly yours.

    The world seemed to shift violently a few years ago and traditional ways of dealing with difficult realities were superseded. Your posts still entertain, enlighten and move. They always will. XX (Not sure this comment will be uploaded because of now customary WP barriers.)

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    1. I’m glad WP did not obstruct your comment. As always, it was thoughtful, and considered. Even though you gave up, and I miss your wonderful writing, I really value the fact that you still comment on my posts from time to time.
      Best wishes as always, dear Pippa.
      Pete. xx

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  20. This is a great point Pete. I have noticed that I have a very robust cult film site, primarily because I share the stories to a number of cult film pages on FB, and they are avid readers. To a much smaller degree, I see the same thing for the food site I share to on FB as well. As for the wide variety of material I share on my own blog, it has indeed settled in at a nice number, but a limited amount of comments and usually from a core group. We will see if that ever changes again…

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  22. I really can’t compare blogging to other social medias because with the exception of Face Book, which keeps me in touch with old show biz friends, I don’t bother with others. Maybe now with the pandemic ‘over’ new bloggers will be trying their hand at writing.
    And when they do I would hope they would not let WP hamper them like it seems to do to us old bloggers.

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  24. Pingback: Privy Serendipitous Cogitations | Liming's Links

  26. Hi Pete, I do believe you are correct and the amount of interaction on blogs has diminished. I’ve never worried overly about meeting new bloggers, I can hardly keep up with existing friends, but some of the old guard have vanished. The passing of both Sue Vincent and Mary Smith last year left a hole for me but other dedicated bloggers have reduced their blogging or taken sabbaticals. That being said, I still have a good community of blogging friends PS I’ve also noticed that many friends from the US have reduced their blogging as they are so to king longer hours. That is a function of the poor state of the economies of the world.

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  28. It is easy to get lost down the rabbit hole of blogging, and keeping up with everybody you follow. When I participate in a prompt for instance, like Friday Fuctioneers (FF) I deliberately read everybody’s posts. I’d like them to read mine. We all want to be read, don’t we?
    I have noticed that even FF numbers seem to have dropped. There used to be well over 40 participants every week. The last few times maybe just over 20?
    I spend all day on the computer for work and so pick and choose what to read, because screen time.
    Maybe after Covid lockdowns and too much time on computers, people are getting out more!
    Let’s hope it picks up soon.
    I wish I had time to read your serialised stories now regularly, but I usually come in late in the piece and don’t make time to catch up. Sorry. But they’re always great!

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  30. While it certainly peaked during COVID, I don’t think blogging has reached it’s hay day. Many people use other blogging platforms such as Ghost, Blogger, Tumblr and custom made platforms. Sometimes, we need to step away from our main platform and seek audiences from other places, like twitter, Vero, Mastodon, Instagram, etc and seek new audiences who may be interested in our work.

    Also, blogging is definitely a lot easier than YouTube and Instagram. At least for me. With YouTube, you have to write a script, record yourself and/or others, edit and then upload. With Instagram you still need to think about what you’re trying to create and then communicate it to your reach. They’re just other places that people enjoy.

    Blogging will always stay, and more people will come and some will go, but it will never truly disappear. Unlike many social platforms which have come and gone.

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    1. Thanks for clarifying You Tube and Instagram, Michael. I only upload videos of my dog to my You Tube account, and that is simple to do, even for me.
      I am happy with the current level of readership on my blog, and doubt I will seek new readers from other platforms. But I do appreciate your good advice.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    2. I have thousands of followers shown on my stats, Jack. (8,842, including email only and Twitter) But I reckon a realistic figure of those who actually read my blog on a regular basis is less than 500.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  35. I’d rather comment on blogging than faceless orchestrated political jibes. Here there is intellect too . . . and some comedy . . .but the best part is being taken down memory lane.

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  37. like you, i’d blog to a tumbleweed, which is exactly how it was for me at the beginning. i think with the variety of social media options, perhaps people are choosing and easier and cheaper route, or with people back to work full time, less time to blog, but i still am happy with a loyal band of readers and any who happen to stop by along the way.

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  38. Is blogging a dead horse that we should seriously consider burying once and for all time in order to escape the frustration? Besides that, it costs $180 per year to stay on wordcrap.com.

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  39. Likes are nice, comments are definitely appreciated. 🙂 I do wonder though if other platforms like Substack with the lure of maybe making some money off of your writing isn’t also a cause of lesser engagement on WordPress. I know I tried it, even though I still cannot seem to get the hang of it really, since the dynamics of a newsletter are a bit different than those of a blog.

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      1. I believe that it is not that blogging is dying in 2022, I believe that the form of blogging is changing. More people are communicating via social media than by blogs these days so engagement with blogs on ordinary traditional platforms is diminishing. But personal blogs are enjoying stable results as 2022 progresses. And to those who have started blogs with an eye to earning money from them, I say, “Forget it.”

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