Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Future of Blogging: An analogy

I've been blogging for quite a while now. Technically, it's been more than 2 years. But if you dig a little deeper, you'll realize that my posts are more frequent compared to previous years. I have had my share of experiences with fellow bloggers and the way blogging works and how different it is from the way it should have worked. 

Now I got into blogging thinking I will write on topics I feel like, topics that interest me and will expect my friends (college, office) to go through them and give their opinions on the same. I still write on topics that interest me and have strong opinions on certain topics which the social / blogging world won't accept. However, I must admit, I got carried away with numbers. Number of page-views, number of shares (or the lack of it), number of followers, number of comments, ranking in various websites (like Technorati etc). I realized I am slowly moving towards a state where I am concerned only about numbers. And I don't blame anyone including myself. You see, its all about numbers in India, isn't it? You have the numbers, you are up in the ladder and close to "success" - whatever that word means.

Blogging industry - or the blogosphere is constantly adapting to surroundings and variables that shouldn't have been a part of blogging in the first place. Let's analyze the other industries and think if my logic makes any sense.

1. Movies (primarily Bollywood): Movies in Bollywood moved from story-line (which differentiated the best from the rest) to the so-called masala flicks (which is nothing but entertainment and story is just a by-product). Similarly songs moved from being soulful with heartfelt to songs that are more interested in molesting women (Like Munni) and women ready to be molested (like Sheila). There was no "need" in the market yet we accepted it.

2. Cricket: Cricket is a typical case in point. From Tests to ODIs to T20s, we are making the user feel the need where there is none. And now people start debating which format to be removed / reduced to increase profitability. From technique, we have moved towards stroke play and now to slam-bang cricket. Don't get me wrong, I love T20s. The thing is, it should not interfere with Test matches.

We observe one thing that is common in both the industries - there was no "need" to have an alternate product, but the need was pushed in the market and then it started generating profits - which is why the industry is existing. It's all about profits (numbers). 

Blogging world is also going through a transition. Here I am not considering bloggers who are blogging for money. They know their goal and are moving towards it. But what about the rest of us? Are we here only for the numbers? Numbers are important as it indicated how your blog is being perceived in the blogosphere. Which is like a feedback mechanism. But now-a-days, a "need" is being introduced in this world which could directly lead to marketers selling their products through this platform. That is the future - we cannot evade it. My only concern is that we are moving too quickly towards the next phase thereby compromising the content and quality.

12 comments:

  1. A thought provking blog post,,

    I think Bloggers either want to be recognised, earn money or spread a word.

    of course transformation is good, as humans we keep on transforming..

    as we come to know more about blogging starting from day1,, our opinion on blogging had chaned a lot...

    what do you say binu ?!!

    www.readitt.in (the e magazine)

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  2. well said.
    quite a trap the obsession with stats is - page views, follower counts etc etc .
    but each of us will take our own sweet time realizing the importance of your last line. hope we do wake up to our original reason for writing / starting a blog: me first, then others

    laughing at the way you described the Munni & Sheila songs.

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  3. well......to some extent what you say is right that the success in blogging means a lot how many followers one have n how many comments he/she is getting....but still what i feel is there are a bloggers who never compromise on quality of the content at their space and ultimately its the quality that counts, one may have hundreds of followers in that list but the readership is going to fade away with time if quality is not being maintained...thats what i think.......

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  4. I've not witnessed the blogosphere as much as you, but I've noticed there are too many bloggers who still talk about how their day sucked, how their cat puked, how they think their world should be, etc. As is the case everywhere, there are some matured people and all the others are part of the herd. No offenses to anyone of the blogging fraternity...

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  5. Number race is a myth. You can have as many followers as you like. I know someone who has 4700+ followers and zero comments. Page views is also false as many use their own counts. They should have disabled feeds for traffics if they want to deceive the readers. That would be smart cheating...Six months down the lane I feel the true essence is writing what comes from your heart.

    Binu, we shouldn't talk about quality today as you know I am quite disappointed with Indiblogger contest result. And you know the reason why...

    Write what you feel like atleast like minded people will follow and appreciate you...:)

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  6. There is too much blogging about outfit, dieting and food on the Norwegian blogs.. I get sick of it!

    Well, I like to say I blog for my own satisfaction, but it is nice to read other blogger from around the world like you:-)

    Regards from Tania

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  7. Thank you guys for the insightful comments. I was personally not expecting a like minded response!!

    My whole point is - numbers are good motivators, and that's where it should remain. Numbers shouldn't drive bloggers like it is happening today..

    However, there are some who blog just for the love of it.. Like you guys.. Great to have bloggers like you guys too in the blogosphere.. :)

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  8. nice post on blogging...

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  9. A very valid point being discussed-'the need of blogging being pushed in market' by link-up communities.The blogging culture is in ruins!I feel heart whenever I see a non-promoted blogger's quality posts being neglected while some others get much more than they deserve!(not envious of their popularity but feeling for the true writers)..Thanks for introducing yourself on my blog.happy blogging.stay connected.

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  10. Binu, I strogly believe that its not the time, its th phase. Every blogger, or at least me, have gone through different phases - the excitement of having a page, the joy when we get one comment, the eagerness with which we wait for the next conversation, the want for more readers, the want for acceptance, slowly we go from the "what we want to write" mode to "what he/she want to read" mode. we crave for being noticed. pagerank excites us. blogsville is completely a different world and we tend to indulge in her. and slowly we sink in. thats when we return to the "what we want to write" mode. the return wud happen. its in inevitable. just give it time. :)a time wud come when u really dont care about the numbers cos u wud realize that frnds meant to be wud happen without pushing too hard. Just my thought :P

    Merry Christmas bro!

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  11. You have a valid point Sawan :) And very well said buddy.. I guess for some the phase happens early, and for some a little late..

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All yours..

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